head to head · open source
frp vs node
frp has 109,598 GitHub stars, 15,222 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 10 days ago. node has 1,354 stars, 355 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. frp leads on adoption by 7,994% (109,598 vs 1,354 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; node is written in Go under GPL-3.0. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, node 26%. node 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 | node | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 1.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-23 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 355 |
| 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 node if
- You want the node feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and node 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 node
Mysterium Node is the official Go implementation of the Mysterium Network distributed VPN (dVPN) protocol, a cross platform package for operators who want to run a node on that network and for developers who want to build clients against it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or node more popular?
frp has 109,598 GitHub stars and node has 1,354. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and node free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and node under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and node?
frp is written in Go and node 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 node?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,598 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose node if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.