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6 self-hosted options

Open-source alternatives to ngrok

The best open-source alternative to ngrok is frp (Apache-2.0, 110,137 GitHub stars, Docker image). Traefik stands out for a permissive MIT license, and Pangolin stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,856).

About ngrok: A tunneling service that exposes local servers to the internet.

Updated · data from GitHub, refreshed daily

Top picks

  1. Rank 1:

    frp

    fatedier/frp

    Fast reverse proxy that exposes local servers behind NAT to the internet.

    Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026

    Proxy & VPNGoDocker

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars.

  2. Rank 2:

    Traefik

    traefik/traefik

    HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer that makes deploying microservices easy.

    Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026

    Web Servers & Reverse ProxiesGoDocker

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license.

  3. Rank 3:

    Pangolin

    fosrl/pangolin

    Identity-aware tunneled reverse proxy with dashboard UI, access control, and WireGuard-based tunnels (alternative to Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale).

    Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026

    Web Servers & Reverse ProxiesTypeScriptDocker

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,856).

At a glance

ngrok alternatives compared

Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.

ngrok alternatives compared, data as of 2026-10-26
AppStands out forLicenseGitHub starsCommits (12 mo)Last commitDocker image
frpthe most GitHub starsApache-2.0110,137192Oct 23, 2026Yes
Traefika permissive MIT licenseMIT65,373922Oct 23, 2026Yes
Pangolinthe most commits in the last 12 months (5,856)AGPL-3.023,2245,856Oct 26, 2026Yes
sishthe most recent release (v3.0.5, October 2026)MIT4,80136Oct 25, 2026Yes
OpenZitia permissive Apache-2.0 licenseApache-2.04,446902Oct 23, 2026No
Rathole–Apache-2.014,3811Aug 23, 2026Yes

Full list

All 6 ngrok alternatives

Open any app for live stats, license details and a deploy option.

  1. 1

    frp

    Fast reverse proxy that exposes local servers behind NAT to the internet.

    Stands out for the most GitHub stars. frp has 110,137 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 192 commits in the last year.

  2. 2

    Traefik

    HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer that makes deploying microservices easy.

    Stands out for a permissive MIT license. Traefik has 65,373 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 922 commits in the last year.

  3. 3

    Pangolin

    Identity-aware tunneled reverse proxy with dashboard UI, access control, and WireGuard-based tunnels (alternative to Cloudflare Tunnel, Tailscale).

    Stands out for the most commits in the last 12 months (5,856). Pangolin has 23,224 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,856 commits in the last year.

  4. 4

    sish

    HTTP(S)/WS(S)/TCP tunnels to localhost using only SSH (serveo/ngrok alternative).

    Stands out for the most recent release (v3.0.5, October 2026). sish has 4,801 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 36 commits in the last year.

  5. 5

    OpenZiti

    Fully-featured, zero trust, full mesh overlay network. Includes a 2FA support out of the box, clients for all major desktop/mobile OS'es.

    Stands out for a permissive Apache-2.0 license. OpenZiti has 4,446 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license and had 902 commits in the last year.

  6. 6

    Rathole

    Secure, high-performance reverse proxy for NAT traversal written in Rust.

    Rathole has 14,381 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1 commit in the last year.

FAQ

ngrok alternatives: FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is there a free alternative to ngrok?

Yes. All 6 apps on this page are open source and free to self-host, so you can replace ngrok without per-user fees. You pay only for the server.

Can I self-host an alternative to ngrok with Docker?

Yes. 5 of the 6 apps here publish a Docker image, including frp, Traefik and Pangolin, so you can run them on a home server or VPS with Docker Compose.

Which ngrok alternative is the most actively developed?

Pangolin (AGPL-3.0), with 5,856 commits in the last 12 months. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed.

How is this list ranked?

Open-source apps come first, then source-available ones and apps whose license appsgit could not verify; within each group, projects with at least 12 commits in the last 12 months come before less active or archived ones, then by GitHub stars.