Duck DNS 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?
Duck DNS
Duck DNS is a free Dynamic DNS service
VS
NPS
Lightweight proxy server for intranet penetration
| Feature | Duck DNS | NPS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Shell | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 375 | ★ 34,157 |
| First released | 2023 | 2019 |
| Replaces | — | ngrok |
Why pick each one
Choose Duck DNS if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Shell
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 Duck DNS or NPS better?
Neither is universally better. NPS has the larger community, while Duck DNS is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Duck DNS and NPS free and open-source?
Yes. Duck DNS is licensed under free and NPS under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Duck DNS and NPS with Docker?
Duck DNS: yes. NPS: yes.