frp vs Xpra
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
Xpra
Screen for X, persistent remote applications
| Feature | frp | Xpra |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Python |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 108,622 | ★ 2,923 |
| First released | 2016 | 2009 |
| Replaces | ngrok | NX, Citrix |
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 Xpra if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Active community (2.9k GitHub stars)
- Written in Python
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is frp or Xpra better?
Neither is universally better. frp has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are frp and Xpra free and open-source?
Yes. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Xpra under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run frp and Xpra with Docker?
frp: yes. Xpra: check the project docs for container support.