pgrok 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 | pgrok | RPort |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 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 | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,649 | ★ 21 |
| First released | 2023 | 2020 |
| Replaces | ngrok | TeamViewer, ngrok |
What are pgrok and RPort?
pgrok
pgrok is an open-source, self-hosted alternative to ngrok for exposing local web servers to the internet via secure tunnels. It uses SSH for transport and is simple to deploy.
- SSH-based tunneling
- Self-hosted server
- Custom subdomains
- Lightweight Go 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
pgrok vs RPort: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for pgrok versus GPL-3.0 for RPort. Pgrok is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for RPort. RPort is the more established project (first released 2020), while pgrok arrived in 2023. Pgrok has the considerably larger community, at 3,649 GitHub stars versus 21.
Why pick each one
Choose pgrok if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (3.6k 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 pgrok or RPort better?
Neither is universally better. pgrok has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are pgrok and RPort free and open-source?
Yes. pgrok is licensed under MIT and RPort under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run pgrok and RPort with Docker?
pgrok: yes. RPort: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, pgrok or RPort?
pgrok 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.