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Head-to-head · Reverse Proxy Software

ngrok vs Envoy Proxy

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score ngrok #8 in Reverse Proxy Software 8.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit ngrok
Envoy Proxy #9 in Reverse Proxy Software 8.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Envoy Proxy

ngrok leads on 0 checks, Envoy Proxy on 0, and 6 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scorengrok · 8.2/10
  • Free planboth

ngrok scores higher on our rubric for reverse proxy software: 8.2 against 8.1 out of 10; our editors rank them #8 and #9.

On deployment model, ngrok gives you Both where Envoy Proxy offers Self-hosted.

ngrok is the better fit for managed tunnels, APIs, and secure ingress. Envoy Proxy is the better fit for advanced proxying and service-mesh workloads.

  • ngrok fits best

    Managed tunnels, APIs, and secure ingress

  • Envoy Proxy fits best

    Advanced proxying and service-mesh workloads

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature ngrok 8.2/10 Visit ↗ Envoy Proxy 8.1/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.2 8.1
Ranking #8 in Reverse Proxy Software #9 in Reverse Proxy Software
Best for Managed tunnels, APIs, and secure ingress Advanced proxying and service-mesh workloads
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $10/mo Free plan
Free plan ✓ ✓
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Windows, macOS Windows, macOS, Linux
Support Email, Tickets, Docs Community, Docs
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Mid-market, Enterprise
Features ngrok 4/5 · Envoy Proxy 4/5
TLS termination ✓ ✓
Web application firewall ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Response caching Not checked yet ✓ (best)
WebSocket support ✓ ✓
Rate limiting ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Both Self-hosted
Configuration method Both Both
Our review
Pros
  • Secure tunnels connect local or private services to public endpoints
  • Traffic policies support authentication, forwarding, and rate limiting
  • WAF rules, TLS termination, inspection, and global load balancing included
  • Supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC, and WebSockets
  • Combines routing, rate limiting, retries, circuit breaking, and health checks
  • Offers both static configuration and dynamic xDS APIs
Cons
  • Free plan limits endpoints, transfer, requests, and team membership
  • Pay-as-you-go adds usage charges beyond its included allowances
  • Enterprise pricing uses per-device and per-customer pricing
  • Self-managed deployment requires operational ownership
  • The cache filter is work-in-progress in some versioned API documentation
  • Its extensive configuration may exceed simpler proxying needs
Our verdict

ngrok is developer infrastructure for exposing, routing, and securing applications, APIs, services, and AI models. It connects local or private services to managed public endpoints through agents, APIs, SDKs, or Kubernetes integrations.…

Read the review →

Envoy Proxy is open-source Layer 7 proxy software for modern service-oriented architectures. It can run as an edge proxy, service-mesh data plane, or sidecar alongside application servers. Self-managed deployments are supported on Windows,…

Read the review →
  1. ngrokReverse Proxy Software 8.2Free plan
  2. Envoy ProxyReverse Proxy Software 8.1Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • ngrok — where it wins

    • Secure tunnels connect local or private services to public endpoints
    • Traffic policies support authentication, forwarding, and rate limiting
    • WAF rules, TLS termination, inspection, and global load balancing included

    Where it doesn't

    • Free plan limits endpoints, transfer, requests, and team membership
    • Pay-as-you-go adds usage charges beyond its included allowances
    • Enterprise pricing uses per-device and per-customer pricing

  • Envoy Proxy — where it wins

    • Supports HTTP, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, gRPC, and WebSockets
    • Combines routing, rate limiting, retries, circuit breaking, and health checks
    • Offers both static configuration and dynamic xDS APIs

    Where it doesn't

    • Self-managed deployment requires operational ownership
    • The cache filter is work-in-progress in some versioned API documentation
    • Its extensive configuration may exceed simpler proxying needs

More comparisons

All reverse proxy software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update