nowfound

Alternatives

Products that do what A self hosted alternative to Ngrok does

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:…

  1. 1AS

    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

  2. 2IV

    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

  3. 3

    One private gateway for every AI model

    Aug 2026 · ngrok.ai

  4. 4FH
  5. 5
    zero94

    One command to deploy Docker containers to your own server

    Apr 2026

  6. 6NS
  7. 7

    Global CDN, zero config TLS, free custom domains

    2023

  8. 8
    Localdock121

    Every local project gets a real address.

    13d ago · localdock.dev

  9. 9SD

    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

  10. 10IO

    Hi HN, I'm Mohammed, a technical founder who loves shipping and giving back to the community. I'm open-sourcing the full-stack engine that powers my B2B product, apflow.co. What it is: A production B2B starter with a Go backend and Next.js frontend. Both are fully Dockerized with separate containers. No Vercel. No Supabase. Deploy the whole thing on a $6 VPS, or split frontend and backend across different providers. You own the infrastructure. The problem I was solving: Every SaaS starter I evaluated had the same issue: they locked me into someone else's platform. Vercel for hosting.…

    Dec 2025 · github.com

  11. 11WO

    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.

    Oct 2025 · wsgrok.com

  12. 12RY

    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

  13. 13SS

    2019 · github.com

  14. 14NN
  15. 15PS

    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

  16. 16DN

    2023 · github.com

  17. 17ZA

    As a self-hoster myself, I've been missing some of the nicer features for other PaaS and wanted to have them for my own side projects, so i set out to build a custom platform as a service that is self-hosted. Today after a whole year of working on it and using it for all my projects, I put out an initial stable version for the project for everyone to try. website link : https://zaneops.dev repo link : https://github.com/zane-ops/zane-ops (PS: yes, the website for zaneops is hosted on zaneops) Would love to hear your thoughts

    2025 · zaneops.dev

  18. 18

    Seven years in the making (I admit that I did get a kid at some point which slowed down progress and brought it to a halt quite a few times), I decided to finaly release it, with a rather drastic change to the now (I believe) generous licensing model. Unlike current major players in this field, I decided to go with uncrippled, free version for commercial use for corps with up to 1M USD ARR. I poured my heart and soul into this, not because I was looking for financial success, but because I felt it just had to be done, given the price hikes wherever you look today. While my wife and kid were…

    12d ago · fdeploy.com

  19. 19MA

    Hi HN, We’re building Mist, a lightweight, self-hosted PaaS for running and managing applications on your own servers. We started Mist because we wanted a middle ground between raw VPS management and heavy, all-in-one platforms. Existing PaaS solutions often felt too complex or resource-intensive for small servers, homelabs, and side projects. We wanted something that keeps the PaaS experience but stays simple and predictable. Our goals with Mist are: - A simple PaaS to deploy and manage apps on your own infrastructure - HTTPS, routing, and app access handled automatically - Low resource…

    Jan 2026 · trymist.cloud

  20. 20OS

    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

  21. 21

    Tunnel, inspect & mock localhost - no backend needed

    Apr 2026

  22. 22IM

    Hey! I'm a solo developer having fun learning Go. I have a side hustle and wanted to implement currency localization. I could use existing IP databases, but hosting on serverless is slow. So I built my own. I was surprised how fun it can be to use Go, and it's fast. Thankfully, Go's speed makes up for my dodgy code. Anyway, I'd love to get some feedback on my website/API. After a few weeks of testing and losing money on ads, I'm confident it's very reliable. This isn't a promo. It's basicly free (30k lookups/month), so there's no need to pay. Any advice or tips on how to grow and…

    2024 · ipflare.io

  23. 23AD

    I'd like to share a project I've been working on for the past few months. It's a distributed workflow engine written entirely in Go. Some highlights: * Tasks are executed in a Docker container * Can run stand-alone or distributed * Highly extensible * Able to enforce limits (CPU/RAM) per task * Web UI Would love the get your feedback on it, and find out if this could be useful.

    2023 · github.com

  24. 24AP

    Some folks at Tokyo just launched a Heroku alternative PaaS based on Docker containers called moCloud, what do you think? https://mocloud.io

    2015

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Refine with a description →