Compare software

socat vs Realm: catalog facts
socat	Realm
Free Free and open source under the GPL.	Free Free and open source under the MIT licence.
macOS, Linux, Command line	Windows, Linux, Self-hosted, Command line
Connects almost any pair of endpoints, including TLS and serial devices Handles forking servers and complex options netcat cannot	Starts a relay with a single command Concurrent bidirectional forwarding
The address syntax is dense and unforgiving The project site is served over plain HTTP only, so the repository is linked here instead	Command-line only, with no graphical interface Documentation is mostly in the repository readme
Downloadable app	Downloadable app, Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0	License: MIT
Not stated if an account is needed	No account needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.