frp 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 | frp | zrok |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 100 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 109,598 | ★ 4,720 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | ngrok | ngrok |
What are frp and zrok?
frp
frp is a fast reverse proxy that exposes a local server located behind a NAT or firewall to the internet. It supports TCP, UDP, HTTP, and HTTPS tunneling.
- Expose services behind NAT
- TCP, UDP, and HTTP tunnels
- Single binary
- Encryption and compression
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
frp vs zrok: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Frp is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for zrok. Frp is the more established project (first released 2016), while zrok arrived in 2022. Frp has the considerably larger community, at 109,598 GitHub stars versus 4,720.
Why pick each one
Choose frp if…
- Single lightweight binary
- TCP UDP HTTP tunneling
- Battle-tested and popular
Watch out for
- Needs a public server
- Manual config file editing
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 frp or zrok 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 zrok free and open-source?
Yes. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and zrok under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run frp and zrok with Docker?
frp: yes. zrok: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, frp or zrok?
frp 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.