head to head · open source
frp vs SoftEtherVPN
frp has 109,506 GitHub stars, 15,212 forks, 48 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. SoftEtherVPN has 13,562 stars, 2,781 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. frp leads on adoption by 707% (109,506 vs 13,562 stars). frp is written in Go under Apache-2.0; SoftEtherVPN is written in C under Apache-2.0. frp has attracted 14% as many forks as stars, SoftEtherVPN 21%. 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 | SoftEtherVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 110K | ★ 14K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Go | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-15 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 15K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 SoftEtherVPN if
- You want the SoftEtherVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and SoftEtherVPN 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 SoftEtherVPN
SoftEther VPN is an open source, cross platform, multi protocol VPN server and client, written in C and licensed under Apache 2.0, intended for administrators and self hosters who need one program to serve many VPN protocols instead of running several separate daemons.
read the full SoftEtherVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is frp or SoftEtherVPN more popular?
frp has 109,506 GitHub stars and SoftEtherVPN has 13,562. frp has the larger community by that measure.
Are frp and SoftEtherVPN free?
Both are open source. frp is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SoftEtherVPN under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between frp and SoftEtherVPN?
frp is written in Go and SoftEtherVPN 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 SoftEtherVPN?
Choose frp if you want the larger community (109,506 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SoftEtherVPN if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.