comparison
reachpad vs Tailscale Funnel
Funnel is one setting on a machine you already have on a tailnet: this port, public, over TLS, on a hostname Tailscale gives you. reachpad is a machine you did not have, on which the app runs and stays running, with a link for signed-in visitors.
Side by side
| Tailscale Funnel | reachpad | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the app runs | A node on your tailnet | A reachpad workspace |
| Needs that machine up | Yes | No |
| Who can open it | Anyone, over the public internet | Anyone signed in to reachpad who has the link |
| Private-only alternative | Tailscale Serve, tailnet members only | A per-person workspace grant |
| Hostname | <machine>.<tailnet>.ts.net | A link on app.reachpad.dev |
| Ports | 443, 8443 and 10000 on the public side | Any port the app listens on |
| Setup | tailscale funnel 3000 on a node with Funnel enabled | reachpad ports expose 3000 <workspace-id> |
| Where the agent works | That node | In the workspace, and keeps working while you are away |
Tailscale documents Funnel at tailscale.com/kb/1223/funnel. The rows above describe it as documented on 23 August 2026.
The difference that matters
Funnel is the smallest possible answer to "make this port public" for a machine already on a tailnet. One command, TLS handled, a hostname you can send. For a team already living on Tailscale, it is hard to beat, and Serve gives the tailnet-only version for free.
reachpad answers a different question: where should the app be, so that it does not need my machine. The workspace is on the internet already, the agent built the app there, and the link is the process. Nothing about your tailnet is involved, and nothing about your laptop is either.
The two are not exclusive. A reachpad workspace is a Linux machine you are root on, and nothing stops you installing Tailscale in it.
When Tailscale Funnel is the right answer
When the machine is already on your tailnet and the app has a reason to be on that machine. When the visitor must be anonymous, or the opposite, a tailnet member only, through Serve. When one command on a box you already run is the whole requirement. If that is the situation, Funnel is two words and done.
Trying reachpad
166 hours 40 minutes of agent work is shared across up to 10 workspaces, with no card required. The quickstart is six commands and the last one is a link you can send.
Checked against published documentation on 23 August 2026. Something out of date or unfair? The other comparisons, or this page as raw markdown: /compare/tailscale-funnel.md