zrok
Open-source tunneling and secure sharing
FreeDevOpsOpen Source1 impressions
zrok is a free alternative to ngrok.
zrok provides zero-trust, peer-to-peer tunneling and secure sharing of apps, files and web content.
- for
- developers and small teams needing instant secure tunnels or resource sharing.
- pricing
- freemium
- license
- Apache-2.0
Key features
- Instant Secure Tunneling — Creates private or public tunnels to expose local services instantly.
- Private & Public Sharing — Share resources privately between users or publicly via a URL.
- File & Drive Sharing — Beyond HTTP proxies, zrok can share files, drives and other web content.
- Built on OpenZiti — Leverages the open-source Zero Trust networking platform for encryption and authentication.
- Automatic TLS & Auth — Public shares get trusted HTTPS certificates and support Google/GitHub OAuth.
- Self-Hostable — Run the single binary on any infrastructure, from a Raspberry Pi to large clusters.
Use cases
- Expose a local development server to the internet for demos.
- Share a private file repository with teammates without opening inbound ports.
- Create a public reverse-proxy for a web app without managing firewall rules.
zrok vs alternatives
 zrok |  Render |  Railway |  Vercel |  Coolify | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Zero-trust peer-to-peer tunneling | Managed app hosting | App deployment platform | Frontend hosting | Self-hosted PaaS |
| Pricing | Freemium | Subscription | Subscription | Subscription | Free |
| DevHunt upvotes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Launched | — | — | — | — | — |
- zrok vs Render: Render focuses on managed app deployment, not peer-to-peer tunneling.
- zrok vs Railway: Railway provides full app deployment pipelines, whereas zrok is for secure tunneling/sharing.
- zrok vs Vercel: Vercel specializes in frontend hosting with edge functions, not zero-trust tunnels.
- zrok vs Coolify: Coolify is a self-hosted PaaS similar to Heroku, not a tunneling solution.
zrok FAQ
Do I need a credit card to start using zrok?+
No, the free tier requires no credit card; you can add one later to remove interstitial pages.
Can I run zrok on my own infrastructure?+
Yes, zrok is open source under Apache 2.0 and can be self-hosted with no limits.
What types of resources can I share with zrok?+
You can share web applications, files, drives, video, and other web content via public or private shares.
How does zrok ensure security of the tunnels?+
All traffic is encrypted end-to-end using OpenZiti’s zero-trust overlay network and automatic TLS.
Is there support for authentication on public shares?+
Yes, you can enable Google or GitHub OAuth for public share frontends.
What happens if I exceed the free tier limits?+
You can upgrade to a commercial plan by contacting NetFoundry or add a credit card to lift interstitial restrictions.
Summarized by DevHunt from zrok.io · Oct 7, 2026. Details may change; check the official site.
About this listing
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