head to head · open source
frp vs port-buddy
frp has 110,395 GitHub stars, 15,306 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped yesterday. port-buddy has 536 stars, 46 forks, 2 open issues and last shipped yesterday. frp leads on adoption by 20,496% (110,395 vs 536 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; port-buddy is written in Java under Apache-2.0. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, port-buddy 9%. port-buddy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (reverse-proxy), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
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 | port-buddy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 536 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | Java |
| Last push | 2026-11-02 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 46 |
| 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 port-buddy if
- You want the port-buddy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Java
- You evaluated both and port-buddy 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 port-buddy
🚀 Port Buddy — Secure Localhost Tunneling (HTTP, TCP, UDP) Official Website License Port Buddy is a lightweight, high performance ngrok alternative designed to instantly expose your local development servers to the public internet. Unlike standard tools, Port Buddy features native, zero configuration support for HTTP/HTTPS , raw TCP , and UDP protocols right out of the box. Whether you need to test webhooks, expose a local database, debug an SSH connection, or host a local multiplayer game server, Port Buddy creates a secure reverse tunnel with a single command—no router port forwarding required. ✨ Key Features…
read the full port-buddy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or port-buddy more popular?
frp has 110,395 GitHub stars and port-buddy has 536. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and port-buddy free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and port-buddy under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and port-buddy?
frp is written in Go and port-buddy in Java. 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 port-buddy?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (110,395 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose port-buddy if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.