Compare software

stunnel vs socat: catalog facts
stunnel	socat
Free Free under the GPL 2.0 or later, with paid commercial support and non-GPL licences…	Free Free and open source under the GPL.
Windows, Linux, Command line	macOS, Linux, Command line
Adds TLS to existing programs without code changes Supports load balancing for larger deployments	Connects almost any pair of endpoints, including TLS and serial devices Handles forking servers and complex options netcat cannot
Configured through text files, with no graphical setup Not a community project; development is controlled by the author	The address syntax is dense and unforgiving The project site is served over plain HTTP only, so the repository is linked here instead
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License: GPL-2.0-or-later	License: GPL-2.0
No account needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 2, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

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