Blocky vs NPS
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
Blocky
Fast DNS proxy and ad-blocker for local networks
VS
NPS
Lightweight proxy server for intranet penetration
| Feature | Blocky | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 6,844 | ★ 34,157 |
| First released | 2019 | 2019 |
| Replaces | Pi-hole, AdGuard Home | ngrok |
Why pick each one
Choose Blocky if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.8k GitHub stars
Choose NPS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 34.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is Blocky or NPS better?
Neither is universally better. NPS has the larger community, while Blocky is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Blocky and NPS free and open-source?
Yes. Blocky is licensed under Apache-2.0 and NPS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Blocky and NPS with Docker?
Blocky: yes. NPS: yes.