localtunnel vs MeshCentral
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?
localtunnel
Expose your localhost to the world for testing
VS
MeshCentral
Full remote management and remote desktop web platform
| Feature | localtunnel | MeshCentral |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | HTML |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,440 | ★ 7,023 |
| First released | 2015 | 2018 |
| Replaces | ngrok | TeamViewer, ConnectWise |
Why pick each one
Choose localtunnel if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 22.4k GitHub stars
Choose MeshCentral if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 7k GitHub stars
- Written in HTML
Frequently asked questions
Is localtunnel or MeshCentral better?
localtunnel is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider MeshCentral if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are localtunnel and MeshCentral free and open-source?
Yes. localtunnel is licensed under MIT and MeshCentral under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run localtunnel and MeshCentral with Docker?
localtunnel: yes. MeshCentral: yes.