bore vs localtunnel
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | bore | localtunnel |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 62 · Good | 52 · Fair |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | Rust | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 11,507 | ★ 22,484 |
| First released | 2022 | 2015 |
| Replaces | ngrok | ngrok |
What are bore and localtunnel?
bore
bore is a modern, simple TCP tunnel tool that exposes local ports to a remote server. It is a tiny self-hostable alternative to ngrok with just a few hundred lines of code.
- Minimal TCP tunnel
- Self-hostable server
- Optional secret auth
- Tiny codebase
localtunnel
localtunnel exposes a local web server through a public URL without configuring DNS or firewalls. The server component is open source and can be self-hosted.
- Public URL for localhost
- Self-hostable server
- No DNS configuration
- Useful for webhooks
bore vs localtunnel: key differences
Bore is written in Rust, while localtunnel is built with JavaScript. Bore is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for localtunnel. Localtunnel is the more established project (first released 2015), while bore arrived in 2022.
Why pick each one
Choose bore if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 11.5k GitHub stars
Choose localtunnel if…
- Zero configuration
- Free public URLs
- Self-hostable server
Watch out for
- Public server unreliable
- Limited security controls
Frequently asked questions
Is bore or localtunnel better?
Neither is universally better. localtunnel has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are bore and localtunnel free and open-source?
Yes. bore is licensed under MIT and localtunnel under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run bore and localtunnel with Docker?
bore: yes. localtunnel: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, bore or localtunnel?
bore has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for localtunnel. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.