GOST 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 | GOST | zrok |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 91 · Excellent | 88 · Excellent |
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | binary, docker | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 7,527 | ★ 4,720 |
| First released | 2017 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Chisel, ngrok | ngrok |
What are GOST and zrok?
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
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
GOST vs zrok: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for GOST versus Apache-2.0 for zrok. GOST is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for zrok. GOST is the more established project (first released 2017), while zrok arrived in 2022.
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 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 GOST or zrok 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 zrok free and open-source?
Yes. GOST is licensed under MIT and zrok under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run GOST and zrok with Docker?
GOST: yes. zrok: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, GOST or zrok?
GOST 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.