A hosted ngrok alternative
ngrok was the first tool most developers reached for when they needed to expose localhost. It still is. But by 2026 the pricing has climbed, the free tier's random subdomains break webhook configs, and a chunk of the audience — anyone who has a VPS already — started asking why they should pay a recurring fee to proxy their own traffic.
This is a look at hosted and self-hosted alternatives. TezTun is a hosted, proprietary service: you run the client locally, and we operate the public tunnel servers. TezTun's source code is not distributed, and the service is not available for self-hosting.
Why people leave ngrok
- Random free-tier URLs. Every restart, your Stripe webhook is pointing at a dead address.
- Price. Paid plans start around $10–$20/month. Reasonable for companies; steep for a side project.
- Interstitial warning page on free plan. The "You are about to visit a tunnel" page is a deal-breaker for demos.
- Custom domain locked behind the higher tier. Often the one feature you actually wanted.
- Trust. Every byte of tunnel traffic flows through ngrok's servers. Fine for most; not fine for some.
The alternatives, honestly
localhost.run & serveo
SSH-based, zero install. Fine for a quick share. Random subdomains on free tiers, limited control, and varying reliability. Good as a utility knife, not a daily driver.
frp, rathole, chisel (self-hosted)
Excellent open-source projects you run yourself. You get a CLI tunnel client and a server binary. You handle TLS, DNS, subdomains, auth, and a web UI (or live without one). Solid choice if you enjoy ops work.
TezTun
A hosted tunnel service with a dashboard, HTTPS, custom domains, and accounts included. You connect your local app to TezTun's infrastructure without deploying or maintaining a public tunnel server. TezTun is free through December 31, 2027. New accounts receive Max access, including stable reserved subdomains and custom domains. Reserved URLs stay the same while the reservation remains active, subject to the subdomain reservation policy.
Side by side
| ngrok free | TezTun free | TezTun Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0 | $0 | Free through December 31, 2027 |
| Stable subdomain | — | — | yes |
| Custom domain | — | — | yes |
| Multiple tunnels | 1 | 1 | 30 |
| Request inspector UI | yes | yes | yes |
| Edge basic auth | paid | yes | yes |
| Interstitial page | yes | — | — |
When to stay on ngrok
If your workflow is "open ngrok, share the URL, close ngrok" five times a week and your employer pays the bill, stay. The tool is polished and the free quirks don't affect you.
When to switch
Switch if you hit any of these:
- You reconfigure a webhook URL every time you restart.
- You want
myapp.compointing at your local server, notabc123.ngrok-free.dev. - You're paying ngrok monthly for a personal project.
- You want a hosted service without maintaining your own public tunnel server.
Traffic still passes through TezTun's servers. If you need to operate the public server yourself, consider a self-hosted tool such as frp, rathole, or chisel instead.
Trying TezTun
No signup gate on the download. Create an account, run teztun http 3000, share the URL. Custom domain support is one click on Max. Full walk-through here.