head to head · open source
frp vs openvpn-install
frp has 109,502 GitHub stars, 15,213 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. openvpn-install has 16,133 stars, 3,336 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. frp leads on adoption by 579% (109,502 vs 16,133 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; openvpn-install is written in Shell under MIT. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, openvpn-install 21%. openvpn-install 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| frp | openvpn-install | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 16K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-16 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 3.3K |
| 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-install if
- You want the openvpn-install feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and openvpn-install 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-install
openvpn install is an MIT licensed Bash script that installs and manages a self hosted OpenVPN server on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, Amazon Linux, Arch Linux, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, aimed at anyone who runs their own VPS, dedicated server or home machine and wants to generate VPN client configuration files per device.
read the full openvpn-install overview →
More in Infrastructure & Operations
Related comparisons
More Networking & Connectivity projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Networking & Connectivity field.
Frequently asked questions
Is frp or openvpn-install more popular?
frp has 109,502 GitHub stars and openvpn-install has 16,133. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and openvpn-install free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and openvpn-install under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and openvpn-install?
frp is written in Go and openvpn-install in Shell. 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-install?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,502 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose openvpn-install if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.