pgrok 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 | pgrok | zrok |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 79 · Good | 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 | docker, binary | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,649 | ★ 4,720 |
| First released | 2023 | 2022 |
| Replaces | ngrok | ngrok |
What are pgrok and zrok?
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
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
pgrok vs zrok: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — MIT for pgrok versus Apache-2.0 for zrok. Pgrok is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 256 MB for zrok.
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 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 pgrok or zrok better?
Neither is universally better. zrok has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are pgrok and zrok free and open-source?
Yes. pgrok is licensed under MIT and zrok under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run pgrok and zrok with Docker?
pgrok: yes. zrok: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, pgrok or zrok?
pgrok 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.