Alternatives to Tunnelmole
An open-source tunneling tool that gives a server running on localhost a public HTTPS URL. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Tunnelmole
An open-source tunneling tool that gives a server running on localhost a public HTTPS URL.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Tunnelmole.
ngrok
A tunnelling agent and gateway that exposes a local app to the internet with request inspection.
ngrok is a closed-source freemium tunnelling service with request inspection and SSH and RDP access, and traffic always routes through ngrok's service.
zrok
An open-source tunneling tool for sharing local services and files publicly or privately, built on OpenZiti.
zrok is open source and self-hostable on OpenZiti, adding private sharing and file sharing, though it needs an invite and environment setup first.
localhost.run
A tunneling service that exposes a local web server to the internet using ordinary SSH.
localhost.run works with the standard SSH client and no sign-up, but is not open source, and free domains are not stable between sessions.
Pinggy
A tunneling service that gives localhost a public URL over SSH, with a web debugger for traffic.
Pinggy works over plain SSH without a client, supports HTTP, TCP, UDP and TLS tunnels, but is hosted only and free URLs change on reconnect.
LocalXpose
A hosted tunneling service with a client binary that exposes local servers to the internet.
LocalXpose offers a single closed-source client binary with automatic TLS certificates, requiring an account on its hosted service.
Expose
A tunneling service with an open-source client that gives local sites a public URL.
Expose has an open-source client but hosted tunnels depend on the Beyond Code service, with some features in a paid Pro plan.
LocalCan
A macOS app that gives localhost a stable public URL for testing webhooks and sharing previews.
LocalCan gives stable public URLs with a request inspector and replay, but runs on macOS only and is paid after a 14-day trial.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Tunnelmole as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
bore
Forward a local TCP port through a remote server.
Tunnelmole gives a local port a public HTTPS URL with one command, is open source and optionally self-hostable, though Windows without WSL needs Node.js.
Cloudflare Tunnel
Exposes a service on your machine to the internet through Cloudflare without opening a single port in your firewall.
Tunnelmole gives a local server a public HTTPS URL with one command and is optionally self-hostable, though it lacks Cloudflare's Zero Trust access policies.
frp
Reach private network services through a reverse proxy.
Tunnelmole is an open-source, optionally self-hostable tool that gives a local port a public HTTPS URL with one command, and needs Node.js on Windows without WSL.
smee.io
A free webhook payload delivery service that forwards events to an application running on localhost.
Tunnelmole is an open-source tool that gives a local port a public HTTPS URL with one command and can be self-hosted, installed via script or npm.
Webhook Relay
A webhook gateway that receives, transforms and forwards webhooks to public URLs, private servers or localhost.
Tunnelmole is an open-source, optionally self-hostable tunnel that gives a local port a public HTTPS URL, without retries or payload transformation.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Hookdeck
A hosted webhook gateway that receives, queues, filters and routes webhooks and external events.
mkcert
A zero-config command-line tool that creates locally trusted HTTPS certificates for development.
HTTP Toolkit
An open-source desktop tool for intercepting, inspecting and rewriting HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
