frp vs Outline Server
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
frp
Fast reverse proxy to expose local servers behind NAT
VS
Outline Server
Self-hosted Shadowsocks-based access server
| Feature | frp | Outline Server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | TypeScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 108,622 | ★ 6,243 |
| First released | 2016 | 2018 |
| Replaces | ngrok | NordVPN |
Why pick each one
Choose frp if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 108.6k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose Outline Server if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 6.2k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is frp or Outline Server better?
Neither is universally better. frp has the larger community, while Outline Server is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are frp and Outline Server free and open-source?
Yes. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Outline Server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run frp and Outline Server with Docker?
frp: yes. Outline Server: yes.