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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

AS

24 alternatives to A self hosted alternative to Ngrok

Hi! I am sharing this because it may be useful to others. I created a simple Docker image that lets you easily expose a web app running locally on your dev machine to the Internet, via a proxy server. It is a self hosted alternative to something like Ngrok, which is a paid service if you use custom domains. A small server is cheaper than Ngrok (I use Hetzner Cloud and the cheapest server costs me 3€ per month). I use this method in particular to test HTTP verification with Let's Encrypt for a SaaS app running on my Mac. Hope this is useful :) Code:…

This is a Docker image that exposes locally-running web applications to the internet through a self-hosted proxy server. It serves developers who need to test their applications remotely without paying for commercial… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier. A self hosted alternative to Ngrok launched in 2019; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

  1. 1
    ngrok▲547

    Serve local web apps with one command

    2022 · ngrok.com · its alternatives →

  2. 2AS

    This is a proof of concept utility which allows you to expose local services to the internet at large: https://github.com/skx/tunneller In short it is a simple ngrok alternative, which you can self-host. Because it is a proof of concept it hasn't been tested extensively, but it seems like it will solve my immediate-needs. Of course it needs test, and structure added. But feedback can't hurt :)

    2019 · its alternatives →

  3. 3

    Tunnel, inspect & mock localhost - no backend needed

    Apr 2026 · proxyhub.app · its alternatives →

  4. 4

    Get your localhost app online in an instant, no api keys or login required.

    2023 · hello.ports.live · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    ngrok is developer infrastructure that routes and secures traffic to your apps, APIs, and AI models, wherever they run. Start on localhost, ship to prod.

    2013 · ngrok.com · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Expose local http, tcp or websocket connections to the public internet - amalshaji/portr

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7

    ohai! I've released Lightwhale 3, which is possibly the easiest way to self-host Docker containers. It's a free, immutable Linux system purpose-built to live-boot straight into a working Docker Engine, thereby shortcutting the need for installation, configuration, and maintenance. Its simple design makes it easy to learn, and its low memory footprint should make it especially attractive during these times of RAMageddon. If this has piqued your interest, do check it out, along with its easy-to-follow Getting Started guide. In any event, have a nice day! =)

    Apr 2026 · lightwhale.asklandd.dk · its alternatives →

  8. 8

    One private gateway for every AI model

    Aug 2026 · ngrok.ai · its alternatives →

  9. 9

    Scalable PaaS (automated Docker+nginx) - aka Heroku on Steroids - caprover/README.md at master · caprover/caprover

    2017 · github.com · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    🦅 Built-from-source container image of NGINX. Contribute to ricardbejarano/nginx development by creating an account on GitHub.

    2019 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11CI

    CRProxy is a new reverse web proxy service. We have a generous free plan that includes the ability to use custom domains and semi-custom sub-domains. We have reasonably priced plans with good bandwidth and no additional usage charges. Please give it a try and let me know what you think. Thank you, David

    2022 · crproxy.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Hi HN, I am Max and I am building QuickDeploy! It lets you deploy web applications of all sorts to your VPS with one command! Here is a little showcase of the tool itself: https://youtu.be/Feauj4OaePg Under the hood quickdeploy detects the language and framework you use, so e.g. Next.js and then creates a Docker image. After that it starts the container and waits until it is in a healthy state before using a reverse proxy to redirect traffic to the app. Added benefit is the use of your own domain with instant https! I am super happy with the result and the ease of use. After…

    2025 · quickdeploy.dev · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    wsgrok▲7

    I built it for myself because ngrok didn't let me add one more domain unless I paid $12 more. I probably should've looked for alternatives before building my own, but my grudge got in the way . Once I started, I wanted to make it better than the other options. Silly, I know. No one probably cares. I plan to open source it sometime next year because I’ve got other projects to finish first. It's free until I deplete my cloud credits, then it will switch to a tier-based model with a free option.

    Jan 2026 · wsgrok.com · its alternatives →

  14. 14
    zero▲94

    One command to deploy Docker containers to your own server

    Apr 2026 · shipzero.sh · its alternatives →

  15. 15

    Global CDN, zero config TLS, free custom domains

    2023 · webapp.io · its alternatives →

  16. 16

    Hey HN! We launched sliplane.io, where deploying Docker containers is super simple and wallet-friendly. With our Pay-per-Server approach, you can host as many containers as you want on each server at a set price - no huge surprise bills, just straightforward Docker hosting. You simply connect your Github repository and we do the rest that you expect from a PaaS, SSL by default, automatic deployments, backups of your storage etc. Pricing starts at 9€/month for 2vCPU, 2GB RAM, 40 GB Disk, 2 TB Egress. Cheers, Jonas

    2025 · sliplane.io · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    zrok is a fun incubator project I've been working on over the last six months. The goal was to see how we could build a tool in the genre of "reverse-proxy-meets-streamlined-sharing", like a lot of the other tools that you probably know, already love, or use regularly. I've been part of the OpenZiti team for years now, and it was an obvious choice to use OpenZiti as the foundation for zrok. We already know OpenZiti inside and out, and we know how it can best be leveraged to build a tool like this so that it's secure, zero-trust, and scalable, all while still keeping it friction-free and easy…

    2023 · blog.openziti.io · its alternatives →

  18. 18
    A2ROK▲14

    Tunneling Service for Multiple Protocols

    2025 · a2rok.harshkeshri.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Hi everyone, I'm Ahmed, founder of LocalXpose (ngrok alternative) - a reverse proxy that enables you to expose your localhost to the internet. This is my first SaaS. I created LocalXpose for (developers, DevOps engineers, sys admins or even gamers) to reach their localhost server behind a NAT or firewall with a secure and fast tunnel. Check it out here https://localxpose.io. Bye bye localhost, Hello World. Support me and give me your feedback, please!.

    2022 · localxpose.io · its alternatives →

  20. 20

    Hi guys, Wanted to share a project I have been working on for a while https://github.com/holesail/holesail It is a lightweight reverse proxy similar to Ngrok but works over peer-to-peer tunnels and requires absolutely no configuration. No port forwarding, no VPNs, no servers in the middle just a direct, end-to-end encrypted connection between two peers using a simple connection key. It supports both UDP and TCP and runs on Linux, Mac, Windows, Android and iOS and has a Node API that can be used to integrate it into any Android, iOS or CLI app. The goal is to make Holesail…

    Dec 2025 · holesail.io · its alternatives →

  21. 21
    ngrok▲8

    Securely tunnel local development to the web

    2016 · ngrok.com · its alternatives →

  22. 22

    If you’ve ever worked with web scraping or automation using Puppeteer or Playwright, you know that running Chrome can be tricky. While headless mode (Chrome with no display) often works, some page elements only render in headed mode, forcing you to run Chrome with a display. This usually means bloating your Dockerfile with complex dependencies like xvfb. Updating your server or Lambda container to handle this can increase costs and lead to dependency hell. The Solution: I’ve built a streamlined solution—a Docker image that runs Chrome with all its necessary dependencies and exposes a FastAPI…

    2024 · hub.docker.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23OS

    Hey Hacker News! I am madnuttah, I am a Windows/Linux Sysadmin and some folks may remember this username for "niche" mods I've made for Fallout and Skyrim and some C# UWP Windows Store Apps which I've retired because of Microsoft's unclear strategy abandoning things from one day to another. Why am I writing this? I wanted to be independent from the DNS servers of my provider, because they have often shined brightly with problems in the past instead of functioning properly, wanted to have a little bit more privacy and freedom back by fighting censorship via DNS, so I built my own Unbound…

    2022 · its alternatives →

  24. 24PS

    I've made a neat service to access SSH over NAT. Unlike ngrok and alternatives with registration, custom software, non-preserved random URLs and ports, this solution is just a remote SSH server which does not require anything more than an SSH client to both host and connect. Technically it allows to publish any service over SSH (web, proxy, any TCP port really), but only with SSH as a destination you'll preserve end-to-end encryption and won't allow my server to snoop on potentially unencrypted traffic. The service is mostly intended to give remote access to the device as fast as possible,…

    2021 · its alternatives →

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