Cloud vs. Self-Hosted
Choose managed Pangolin Cloud or run the same software on your own infrastructure
You can run Pangolin as Pangolin Cloud or self-host the same open-source software. Sites, resources, and clients work the same way in both. The difference is who operates the server: the control plane, DNS, certificates, and the nodes that terminate tunnels.
Pangolin Cloud
Cloud is the managed control plane. You create an account, install sites and clients, and define resources. Pangolin runs the dashboard, database, certificates, and globally distributed nodes.
Use Cloud when you want high availability, automatic updates, and less operational work. You can still keep traffic on infrastructure you control with remote nodes.
Self-Hosted
Self-hosted Pangolin runs on a server you operate. You supply a public IP, a domain, and the listener ports. See Quick Install and DNS and Networking. You are responsible for updates, backups, certificates, and uptime.
Two editions:
- Community Edition is the core platform.
- Enterprise Edition uses the
eeimage and a license key. It unlocks extra identity, logging, and management features. Compare tiers on the Self-Hosted pricing page.
Enterprise Edition is free for personal use and organizations with less than $100,000 USD gross annual revenue. You still need a license key. Larger organizations need a paid license.
Remote Nodes (Hybrid)
Remote nodes are a middle path but are part of Pangolin Cloud. You run the node (tunnels, TLS, relay) on your server and bandwidth. Cloud still handles the dashboard, DNS, certificates, and failover. If your node goes down, traffic can fail over to other nodes or cloud points of presence.
Public TCP/UDP listeners that bind a port on the Pangolin host are a self-hosted-server feature. On Cloud, deploy a remote node for that. See TCP / UDP.
Quick Comparison
| Pangolin Cloud | Self-hosted | |
|---|---|---|
| Control plane | Managed | You run Pangolin, Traefik, and Gerbil |
| Traffic path | Cloud nodes, or your remote nodes | Your server |
| DNS and certificates | Managed | You configure DNS and Let's Encrypt |
| Updates and backups | Included | You operate them |
| High availability | Included | You design it (clustering on Enterprise) |
| Identity and logs | Cloud plans | Community core; extra IdPs, streaming, and AI session logs on Enterprise Edition |
| Data residency | Cloud regions, or traffic on your remote nodes | Entirely on your infrastructure |
| Best for | Fast start and less ops | Air-gapped networks, full control, compliance that requires self-hosting |
Cloud and self-hosted plans are listed separately on pricing. Click "Self-Hosted" at the top to toggle between deployment options.
When to Use Each
Use Pangolin Cloud if you want to start quickly, get HA and certificate management included, and optionally attach remote nodes so tunnel traffic stays on your network.
Use self-hosted if the control plane and data must stay on infrastructure you operate, you need an air-gapped or fully isolated deployment, or you already run Pangolin as Community or Enterprise Edition.
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