frp vs Openport

frp is a free, self-hosted reverse proxy for making intranet services reachable from the public network through nodes with public IP addresses. It supports TCP, UDP, HTTP, and HTTPS proxying, while client-server communication also supports QUIC, KCP, WebSocket, and other protocols. Its XTCP mode uses P2P hole punching so successful connections send traffic directly rather than through frps, but success depends on the network’s NAT type and cannot be assured. Client and server authentication support tokens and OIDC, with token authentication as the default; encryption is among the project’s listed capabilities. Proxy groups can balance load, and TCP or HTTP health checks can remove failed services from frps. Monitoring can run in memory or through Prometheus, which requires the Dashboard to be enabled. frps has a browser Dashboard for status and proxy statistics, while frpc includes an Admin UI for proxy status and configuration. Configuration supports TOML, YAML, and JSON; INI is still supported but no longer recommended. Written in Go, frp provides platform-specific binaries for cross-platform deployment without additional dependencies. The project is under development and says version 2 will not be compatible with version 1.

Openport lets users make a local TCP port reachable from the internet without opening a firewall port. It builds a tunnel between a device and the outside world for remote access, and its web service and API can show online IoT devices and manage a fleet. Access can be controlled by user groups. The `--http-forward` option assigns a hostname to a session for serving a local port over HTTP and HTTPS with a valid certificate. Custom-domain forwarding requires a CNAME record and works over HTTPS only. With TLS passthrough, TLS ends on the user's machine, keeping tunnelled traffic encrypted end to end. Forwarded ports require visitors to click a token link by default; a clicked link remains valid for 24 hours. Openport also lists brute-force blocking and port-scanning detection. It supports API, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows. Since client 2.3.0, sessions can forward UDP as well as TCP on the same port when the server supports it. The service was founded in 2014 and offers a free plan, a 30-day trial, and paid plans from $1/mo.