LocalTunnel vs Ngrok: Developer Tunneling Tools Compared

When developing webhooks, mobile apps, or APIs that need to receive callbacks from external services, you need a way to expose your local development server to the internet. Two popular tools for this are Ngrok and LocalTunnel. This guide compares them and provides setup instructions.

Why Tunnel Your Local Server?

Common use cases include:

• Webhook development: Receive callbacks from payment providers, messaging platforms, etc.
• Mobile app testing: Let your phone access your local API
• Demo purposes: Share a work-in-progress with clients or stakeholders
• Integration testing: Test third-party service integrations locally

LocalTunnel: The Free Alternative

LocalTunnel is a free, open-source tunneling solution that doesn’t require an account.

Advantages

✅ No expiry on tunnels - Unlike Ngrok’s free tier, LocalTunnel tunnels don’t expire. As long as your machine runs, the tunnel remains active.

✅ Auto-reconnect - If the underlying server dies and restarts, LocalTunnel reconnects without changing the exposed URL.

✅ No account required - Start using immediately without signup.

✅ Free forever - No paid tiers or usage limits.

Disadvantages

❌ No UI - There’s no graphical interface to inspect requests and responses. You’ll need to handle logging in your application.

❌ Less reliable - Being free and community-run, availability can vary.

❌ No custom domains - Unless you run your own server.

Installation

LocalTunnel requires Node.js. Install it globally:

npm install -g localtunnel

Usage

Start your local server (e.g., on port 3000), then create a tunnel:

lt --port 3000

You’ll receive a URL like https://wild-penguin-42.loca.lt that forwards to your local server.

Request a Specific Subdomain

lt --port 3000 --subdomain myapp

This creates https://myapp.loca.lt (if available).

Troubleshooting SSL Issues

If you encounter SSL certificate errors, try the HTTP version:

# If https://xyz.loca.lt fails, try:
# http://xyz.loca.lt (note: http, not https)

Ngrok: The Feature-Rich Option

Ngrok is a commercial tunneling service with a generous free tier.

Advantages

✅ Request inspector UI - Beautiful web interface to view all requests/responses.

✅ Replay requests - Click to replay any captured request.

✅ Stable and reliable - Professional infrastructure.

✅ Custom domains - Available on paid plans.

✅ Authentication - Built-in basic auth support.

Disadvantages

❌ Session limits - Free tier tunnels expire after a few hours.

❌ Account required - Must sign up to use.

❌ Changing URLs - Free tier gets random URLs each session.

Installation

# macOS
brew install ngrok

# Or download from ngrok.com and add to PATH

Setup

1. Create a free account at ngrok.com
2. Get your authtoken from the dashboard
3. Configure ngrok:

ngrok config add-authtoken YOUR_AUTH_TOKEN

Usage

ngrok http 3000

The terminal displays:

Forwarding    https://abc123.ngrok.io -> http://localhost:3000

Web Interface http://127.0.0.1:4040

Visit http://127.0.0.1:4040 to inspect requests.

Comparison Table

When to Use Which?

Choose LocalTunnel when:

• You need a long-running tunnel for development
• You don’t need request inspection UI
• You want to avoid account creation
• Budget is a concern

Choose Ngrok when:

• You need to debug incoming requests
• You want replay functionality
• Session duration limits aren’t an issue
• You need more reliability

Alternative: Self-Hosted Options

For production or team use, consider self-hosted alternatives:

Cloudflare Tunnel (Free)

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:3000

Expose (Paid, Self-hosted)

• One-time purchase
• Full control over your tunneling infrastructure

Bore (Free, Open Source)

bore local 3000 --to bore.pub

Quick Reference

LocalTunnel Commands

# Basic tunnel
lt --port 3000

# With subdomain
lt --port 3000 --subdomain myproject

# With authentication (via nginx on your end)
lt --port 3000 --local-host 127.0.0.1

Ngrok Commands

# Basic tunnel
ngrok http 3000

# With basic auth
ngrok http 3000 --basic-auth="user:password"

# Inspect traffic
# Visit http://127.0.0.1:4040

Conclusion

For quick, free, long-running tunnels without bells and whistles, LocalTunnel is excellent. For debugging webhook integrations with full request visibility, Ngrok is worth the minor inconvenience of session limits.

Many developers use both: LocalTunnel for general development and Ngrok when they need to debug specific integration issues.