ngrok vs PageKite
ngrok
ngrok.comPageKite
pagekite.netSide by side
| Figure | ngrok | PageKite |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $10/mo | $3/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 5 |
| Spec score · Reverse Proxy Software | 9.1 (#1) | 8.3 (#9) |
| Founded | 2015 | 2010 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, United States | Reykjavík, Iceland |
| Integrations | Official documentation lists SDKs for Python, Go, Node and Rust and integrations including Okta SSO, Microsoft Entra ID and Datadog. | The features page names Twilio and Instagram real-time API as examples of remote services for which developers can test integrations and webhooks through PageKite. |
| Protocols | ngrok supports HTTP, TLS, and TCP, including WebSockets, gRPC, SSH, Postgres, MQTT, and Minecraft traffic. | It supports HTTP and HTTPS servers, SSH, and some other TCP-based protocols. |
| Support | Paid support options include Dedicated On-Call with an 8 business hour SLA, plus Slack or Teams and 24×7 paging add-ons. | The maker offers FAQ and how-to resources, online chat, and email support; Team, Business, and Embedded plans include priority support. |
| TLS | ngrok provisions HTTPS certificates automatically and supports end-to-end encryption where it does not terminate TLS. | PageKite says .pagekite.me names have SSL enabled by default and supports end-to-end TLS as well as wildcard relay certificates. |
| What it does | ngrok is developer infrastructure that routes and secures traffic to applications, APIs and AI models. | PageKite connects a localhost server to the public Internet through global front-end relays, acting as a dynamic tunneled reverse proxy. |
Plans
ngrok
- FreeFree
- Hobbyist$10 a month
- Pay-as-you-go$20 a month
- EnterprisePriced on request
PageKite
- Pay What You Want$3 a month
- Freelancer$5.99 a month
- Team$24.99 a month
- Business$49.99 a month
- Embedded$199.95 a month
In their own words
ngrok
ngrok is a cloud networking platform that secures, transforms, and routes traffic to services wherever they run. Its agent sends traffic through secure tunnels without requiring firewall changes. Traffic Policy uses CEL-based rules to route requests, authenticate them, apply rate limits or web application firewall controls, and reject them. Supported traffic includes HTTP, TLS, and TCP, including WebSockets, gRPC, SSH, Postgres, MQTT, and Minecraft. The Integrations Hub offers integrations and guides for areas such as SSO, databases, Kubernetes, OAuth, webhooks, and web servers. ngrok also verifies webhook signatures for more than 70 providers, including Stripe, GitHub, Twilio, Slack, and Shopify. The free plan includes $5 one-time usage, up to 3 online endpoints, up to 1GB data transfer, up to 20k HTTP/S requests, and one team member. Paid access starts at $10/mo. On Hobbyist, endpoints stop working when usage credit runs out, until the billing cycle ends and credit resets. ngrok lists region pinning across the United States, Europe, Asia Pacific, Australia, India, Japan, and South America.
PageKite
PageKite exposes a server running on localhost to the public Internet through global front-end relays, working as a dynamic tunneled reverse proxy. It supports HTTP and HTTPS servers, SSH, and some other TCP-based protocols. The maker lists home-hosted sites, SSH access, embedded-device access, webhooks, APIs, and remote debugging as uses. A single pagekite.py command can make a server visible. Accounts begin with one pagekite.me DNS name, allow unlimited subdomains, and support customer domains through CNAME records. SSL is enabled by default for pagekite.me names, with end-to-end TLS and wildcard relay certificates also supported. Relays are listed in the United States, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, and Australia, with automatic relay selection. PageKite is open-source software using AGPLv3-or-later for pagekite.py and most releases. Platforms include Android, Windows, macOS, Linux, web, API, and self-hosted deployments. Pricing is freemium, with a free plan, paid plans from $5.99/mo, and a 31-day trial.