Instead of ngrok
ngrok alternatives
ngrok routes traffic to services wherever they run through secure tunnels, without requiring firewall changes. It supports HTTP, TLS and TCP, including WebSockets, gRPC, SSH, Postgres and MQTT; its Traffic Policy can route, authenticate, rate-limit, apply WAF controls or reject requests. Developers can start on a free plan, but its usage credit is limited, and endpoints stop working when that credit runs out. Hobbyist costs $10 a month, while Pay-as-you-go costs $20 a month plus additional usage. The platforms include API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows.
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Fabio
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1Consul-driven HTTP and TCP service routing — Fabio updates routes from Consul service data and supports HTTP and TCP proxying, rather than ngrok's secure cloud tunnels and traffic policies.
- 2
freenginx
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1Self-hosted HTTP, mail, TCP and UDP proxying — freenginx adds cached HTTP reverse proxying, mail proxying and generic TCP/UDP proxying, while ngrok focuses on tunnels and traffic policies.
- 3
frp
Free plan AndroidLinuxMac+2Exposing intranet services with optional P2P — frp supports UDP and XTCP peer-to-peer hole punching alongside TCP and HTTP(S), unlike ngrok's tunnel and policy feature set.
- 4
LocalXpose
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+2Local tunnels with traffic inspection tools — LocalXpose adds real-time traffic logging and webhook inspection, modification and replay, with CLI and GUI tunnel interfaces.
- 5
Openport
Free plan APILinuxMac+2Remote TCP access and IoT fleet management — Openport centers on exposing local TCP ports and managing IoT devices through its web interface or API, rather than ngrok's broader traffic policies.
- 6
Pomerium
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3Identity-aware access to internal services — Pomerium checks identity, device state and request context for clientless internal access, unlike ngrok's general-purpose service tunnels.
- 7
Zoraxy
Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWeb+1Self-hosted proxy management with a web UI — Zoraxy combines a web UI for self-hosted services with HTTP, TCP and UDP proxying, an uptime monitor and visitor statistics.
- 8
Apache Traffic Server
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+1 - 9
HAProxy Community Edition
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+2 - 10
Traefik Proxy
Free plan Open source APILinuxMac+3 - 11
BunkerWeb
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted+1 - 12
Caddy
Free plan AndroidAPILinux+4 - 13
Envoy Proxy
Free plan APILinuxMac+2 - 14
NGINX
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1 - 15
PageKite
Free plan AndroidAPILinux+4 - 16
Redbird
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted - 17
Nginx Proxy Manager
Free plan LinuxSelf-hostedWeb - 18
Nuster
Free plan APILinuxSelf-hosted - 19
SNI Proxy
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted - 20
Reproxy
Free plan APILinuxMac+2 - 21
Skipper
Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hosted+1 - 22
Soli Proxy
Free plan APILinuxMac+1 - 23
Varnish Cache
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted - 24
Pound
Free plan LinuxSelf-hosted
Alternatives suit different setups: some expose local services through tunnels, while others are reverse proxies or identity-aware gateways you operate yourself. Before switching, weigh whether you need ngrok's broad protocol support and traffic policies, or a specific capability such as Consul-based routing, UDP proxying, device access controls or user identity checks. Consider deployment model, protocol coverage, access controls and the cost or limits of each plan. A self-hosted proxy may better fit infrastructure you manage, while a service with a free tier may still impose tunnel or usage limits.