boringproxy vs zrok
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
zrok
Open-source sharing platform built on OpenZiti
| Feature | boringproxy | zrok |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 15 · At risk | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,384 | ★ 4,720 |
| First released | 2020 | 2022 |
| Replaces | ngrok | ngrok |
What are boringproxy and zrok?
boringproxy
boringproxy is a simple but powerful tool for tunneling from a public server to a private machine, with automatic HTTPS. It is designed to be boringly reliable and easy to run.
- Automatic HTTPS
- Single binary
- Web admin UI
- Self-hosted tunneling
zrok
zrok is an open-source peer-to-peer sharing platform built on the OpenZiti zero-trust network. It lets you share local web servers, files, and TCP services with public or private access.
- Public and private sharing
- Built on OpenZiti
- Self-hostable instances
- Frontend for web and TCP
boringproxy vs zrok: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for boringproxy versus Apache-2.0 for zrok. Boringproxy is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for zrok. Boringproxy is the more established project (first released 2020), while zrok arrived in 2022. Zrok has the considerably larger community, at 4,720 GitHub stars versus 1,384.
Why pick each one
Choose boringproxy if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (1.4k GitHub stars)
Choose zrok if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4.7k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is boringproxy or zrok better?
Neither is universally better. zrok has the larger community, while boringproxy is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are boringproxy and zrok free and open-source?
Yes. boringproxy is licensed under MIT and zrok under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run boringproxy and zrok with Docker?
boringproxy: yes. zrok: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, boringproxy or zrok?
boringproxy has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for zrok. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.