head to head · open source
frp vs lightway-core
frp has 109,639 GitHub stars, 15,224 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 12 days ago. lightway-core has 626 stars, 72 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 5 months ago. frp leads on adoption by 17,414% (109,639 vs 626 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; lightway-core is written in C under GPL-2.0. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, lightway-core 12%. frp was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | lightway-core | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 626 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-04-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 72 |
| 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 lightway-core if
- You want the lightway-core feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and lightway-core 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 lightway-core
Lightway Core is a small, multi platform C library published by ExpressVPN that provides the foundational components of a virtual private network protocol, written for developers, researchers, and VPN operators who want to build on or study the protocol behind ExpressVPN's Lightway.
read the full lightway-core overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or lightway-core more popular?
frp has 109,639 GitHub stars and lightway-core has 626. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and lightway-core free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and lightway-core under GPL-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and lightway-core?
frp is written in Go and lightway-core in C. 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 lightway-core?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,639 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose lightway-core if its feature set, stack or GPL-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.