GOST vs RPort
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted remote access & vpn options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | GOST | RPort |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 0 · At risk |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,527 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2017 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Chisel, ngrok | TeamViewer, ngrok |
What are GOST and RPort?
GOST
GOST is an open-source command-line tool that provides flexible secure tunneling and proxying with support for many protocols. It is self-hosted to build relay chains and forward traffic.
- Multi-protocol tunneling
- Relay chaining
- Port forwarding
- Single binary
RPort
RPort is an open-source remote management solution that lets you access and control servers and desktops behind firewalls. It provides tunnels, scripting, and a web UI.
- Remote access behind firewalls
- On-demand tunnels
- Script execution at scale
- Web management UI
GOST vs RPort: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for GOST versus GPL-3.0 for RPort. GOST is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RPort. GOST is the more established project (first released 2017), while RPort arrived in 2020. GOST has the considerably larger community, at 7,527 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose GOST if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 7.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose RPort if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 256 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is GOST or RPort better?
Neither is universally better. GOST has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are GOST and RPort free and open-source?
Yes. GOST is licensed under MIT and RPort under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GOST and RPort with Docker?
GOST: yes. RPort: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GOST or RPort?
GOST has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 256 MB for RPort. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.