head to head · open source
frp vs OpenVPN
frp has 109,502 GitHub stars, 15,213 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. OpenVPN has 14,569 stars, 3,401 forks, 226 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frp leads on adoption by 652% (109,502 vs 14,569 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; OpenVPN is written in C under a custom or non-standard licence. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, OpenVPN 23%. OpenVPN 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 | OpenVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 15K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Custom / other |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 3.4K |
| 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 OpenVPN if
- You want the OpenVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and OpenVPN 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 OpenVPN
OpenVPN is open source VPN daemon. It provides secure tunneling for network connections. Project lives in Infrastructure & Operations / Networking & Connectivity ecosystem. Tagline says Zero Trust VPN solutions for secure business networking. GitHub description says OpenVPN is an open source VPN daemon. Repository language is C. GitHub license field says NOASSERTION, while README states GNU General Public License version 2. README states copyright 2002 2026 OpenVPN Inc.
read the full OpenVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or OpenVPN more popular?
frp has 109,502 GitHub stars and OpenVPN has 14,569. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and OpenVPN free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0, and OpenVPN has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between frp and OpenVPN?
frp is written in Go and OpenVPN 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 OpenVPN?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,502 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenVPN if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.