ngrok vs localtunnel

ngrok is a hosted gateway with four tiers, from a Free plan limited to 3 online endpoints and 1 GB of transfer up to a contract-based Enterprise plan. Localtunnel is an MIT-licensed client that shows no plans or prices, and its default relay at localtunnel.me redirects to a GitHub Pages project site. One gives you auth rules, metered usage and a monthly bill to read closely. The other gives you a single command and no stated operator, uptime promise or support route. Neither vendor states a country anywhere we looked.

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Both are reviewed in full in our localhost tunneling tool ranking: ngrok and localtunnel.

1. 01

   Three endpoints on the Free plan

   ngrok's Free plan costs USD 0 and allows 3 online endpoints, 1 GB of data transfer out, 20k HTTP/S requests, 1 development domain, 1 user and 1 TCP address. A one-time 5 dollar credit lasts a year and works only on that plan. Localtunnel's project site shows no plans, no prices and no limits at all. Localtunnel has no ceiling to hit on the pages read. ngrok is the one with a cap. Localtunnel has no ceiling to hit.

   Edge: localtunnel

2. 02

   What a month on ngrok adds up to

   Hobbyist is 10 dollars a month with 10 of included usage, 5 GB of transfer and 100k requests. Pay-as-you-go is 20 a month, then 0.10 per GB beyond 5 GB, 1 per 100k requests and 5 per extra user beyond three. Endpoint hours are metered too. Localtunnel offers only sponsor links for support. A solo developer wanting a fixed bill should read these meters carefully. Custom domains cost per active hour, so a developer wanting a stable branded address should price that line first.

   Edge: localtunnel

3. 03

   Rules that run before traffic arrives

   ngrok's Traffic Policy is a YAML or JSON rules language covering authentication, rate limiting, header and body rewriting, IP restrictions, TLS termination and routing. Its docs name Okta SSO, Microsoft Entra ID and Datadog among integrations, plus SDKs for Go, JavaScript, Python and Rust. Localtunnel states HTTPS for all tunnels and webhook testing through its API, and the pages mention no policy layer. For a service that needs gatekeeping, ngrok is far ahead here, and the pages show localtunnel offering nothing comparable.

   Edge: ngrok

4. 04

   Running your own relay

   Localtunnel's client has a host option that defaults to https://localtunnel.me and can point to another upstream server, and the server code sits in a separate localtunnel/server repository. The README does not describe a self-hosting procedure, though. ngrok runs as a cloud service on its own network, and only its Kubernetes Operator for Ingress is described as running in your cluster. If control over the relay matters, localtunnel's design allows it more directly. The operating burden then falls on you.

   Edge: localtunnel

5. 05

   Licence, owner and legal entity

   Localtunnel is MIT-licensed per its GitHub repository, with @TheBoroer named as maintainer and @defunctzombie as creator, and no company or country shown. ngrok's terms name ngrok, Inc. under California law, but state no address or country of incorporation, and the terms and imprint addresses we tried returned 404. ngrok offers a contracting company, while localtunnel offers an open licence. Which is clearer depends on whether you need a named vendor to contract with or readable source code to inspect.

   Depends on the buyer

6. 06

   Support route and uptime statement

   Enterprise on ngrok lists SSO/SAML, SCIM, SLAs, invoicing and SOC 2 reports, with the price given only by contacting sales. Localtunnel's project site names GitHub Sponsors and Buy Me a Coffee as the only support options, and no uptime statement appears. The public address redirects to a GitHub Pages site that we could not check in full, so uptime claims are absent. For anything customers touch, a documented SLA beats a donation link, so ngrok takes this round.

   Edge: ngrok

Does ngrok have a trial beyond the Free plan?

The only trial we found is the Free plan's one-time 5 dollar usage credit. It lasts one year and works only on the Free plan. No separate free trial is named on the pricing page.

Can localtunnel be used with a server I host?

The client's host option defaults to https://localtunnel.me and can point to another upstream server. The server code lives in a separate localtunnel/server repository. The README does not describe a self-hosting procedure, so expect to read the code.

Which of the two states where it is based?

Neither. ngrok's terms name ngrok, Inc. under California law without a country of incorporation, and localtunnel's pages name a maintainer without a location. So we list a country as not stated for both.

• ngrok pricing page: Free, Hobbyist and Pay-as-you-go limits, overage rates, Enterprise by sales, one-time credit.
• ngrok home page: Traffic Policy rule types, cloud network, SDK languages.
• ngrok terms of service: ngrok, Inc. and California governing law.
• ngrok docs: Okta, Entra ID and Datadog integrations, Kubernetes operator.
• Localtunnel GitHub repository: MIT licence, host option, separate server repository.
• Localtunnel project site: HTTPS tunnels, webhook testing, sponsor links, maintainer names.
• Localtunnel home page: what the tool does, the npm install route and the lt --port command.