head to head · open source
frp vs awl
frp has 109,614 GitHub stars, 15,220 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. awl has 684 stars, 45 forks, 35 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. frp leads on adoption by 15,925% (109,614 vs 684 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; awl is written in Go under MPL-2.0. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, awl 7%. frp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (p2p, proxy), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| frp | awl | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 684 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 45 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frp if
- You weight community size — 110K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick awl if
- You want the awl feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and awl fits your workflow better
About frp
frp is a fast reverse proxy written in Go that exposes a local server behind a NAT or firewall to the internet, built for operators and developers who need inbound access to machines they cannot port forward.
About awl
awl (Anywherelan) is an open source, fully peer to peer mesh VPN written in Go that gives your own devices stable .awl addresses so they can reach one another at the IP level from anywhere, aimed at self hosters, small groups of friends and personal device fleets of roughly tens of machines rather than at teams.
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or awl more popular?
frp has 109,614 GitHub stars and awl has 684. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and awl free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and awl under MPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and awl?
frp is written in Go and awl in Go. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, frp or awl?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,614 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose awl if its feature set, stack or MPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.