head to head · open source
frp vs lightway-core
frp has 110,539 GitHub stars, 15,318 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. lightway-core has 627 stars, 74 forks, 6 open issues and last shipped 7 months ago. frp leads on adoption by 17,530% (110,539 vs 627 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 | ★ 111K | ★ 627 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-11-10 | 2026-04-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 74 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick frp if
- You weight community size — 111K 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 README 中文文档 Sponsors frp is an open source project with its ongoing development made possible entirely by the support of our awesome sponsors. If you'd like to join them, please consider sponsoring frp's development. Gold Sponsors High performance residential and ISP proxies for developers 90M+ residential IPs worldwide. Rotating IPs, sticky sessions, and traffic that never expires. From $0.55/GB. Use RAPID10 for 10% off. Try it for free. The complete IDE crafted for professional Go developers The sovereign cloud that puts you in control An open source, self hosted alternative to public clouds, built for…
About lightway-core
= Lightway Core ifdef::env github[] :warning caption: :warning: endif::[] [WARNING] ==== Lightway C is no longer under active development. The repository remains unarchived for those who wish to use it for research purposes, but we strongly encourage the use of Rust], as it continues to be actively maintained and improved. ==== Lightway Core is a modern VPN protocol by ExpressVPN, to deliver a VPN experience that’s faster, more secure, and more reliable. == ExpressVPN One of the world’s largest providers of VPN services, ExpressVPN enables users to protect their privacy and security online with just a few…
read the full lightway-core overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or lightway-core more popular?
frp has 110,539 GitHub stars and lightway-core has 627. 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 (110,539 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.