localtunnel vs Wirehole
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
Wirehole
WireGuard, Pi-hole, and Unbound in one compose stack
| Feature | localtunnel | Wirehole |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Remote Access & VPN | Remote Access & VPN |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Language | JavaScript | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 22,440 | ★ 4,967 |
| First released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Replaces | ngrok | NordVPN |
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 Wirehole if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (5k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is localtunnel or Wirehole better?
Neither is universally better. localtunnel has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are localtunnel and Wirehole free and open-source?
Yes. localtunnel is licensed under MIT and Wirehole under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run localtunnel and Wirehole with Docker?
localtunnel: yes. Wirehole: yes.