NPS vs socks5-proxy-server
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
NPS
Lightweight proxy server for intranet penetration
VS
socks5-proxy-server
SOCKS5 proxy server with built-in authentication and Telegram-bot for
| Feature | NPS | socks5-proxy-server |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | GPL-3.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 34,157 | ★ 142 |
| First released | 2019 | 2025 |
| Replaces | ngrok | — |
Why pick each one
Choose NPS if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 34.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose socks5-proxy-server if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in JavaScript
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is NPS or socks5-proxy-server better?
Neither is universally better. NPS has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are NPS and socks5-proxy-server free and open-source?
Yes. NPS is licensed under GPL-3.0 and socks5-proxy-server under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run NPS and socks5-proxy-server with Docker?
NPS: yes. socks5-proxy-server: yes.