🏆 Best Choice: Tunnelmole

✅ Tunnelmole (Recommended for 2025)

Pros:

  • ✅ Completely free with no limitations
  • ✅ HTTPS by default (free SSL/TLS certificates)
  • ✅ No account required to use
  • ✅ Open source (transparent and trustworthy)
  • ✅ No time limits on tunnels
  • ✅ No bandwidth restrictions
  • ✅ Fast and lightweight
  • ✅ Easy to install via npm

Cons:

  • ⚠️ Smaller community compared to ngrok
  • ⚠️ Fewer advanced features

Installation:

npm install -g tunnelmole
# or
npx tunnelmole 3000

Usage:

tmol 3000
# Gives you: https://randomsubdomain.tunnelmole.net

🥈 Second Best: LocalTunnel

Pros:

  • ✅ Free and open source
  • ✅ HTTPS included
  • ✅ No account needed
  • ✅ Custom subdomains (if available)
  • ✅ Easy npm installation

Cons:

  • ⚠️ Less reliable (tunnels can drop frequently)
  • ⚠️ Slower performance compared to others
  • ⚠️ Landing page warning shown to users before accessing your site
  • ⚠️ Subdomains sometimes unavailable

Installation:

npm install -g localtunnel

Usage:

lt --port 3000
# or with custom subdomain
lt --port 3000 --subdomain myapp

🥉 Third: Ngrok

Pros:

  • ✅ Most popular and reliable
  • ✅ Excellent documentation
  • ✅ Fast and stable
  • ✅ Advanced features (authentication, webhooks, etc.)
  • ✅ HTTPS included

Cons:

  • ❌ Requires account signup (even for free tier)
  • ❌ Free tier limitations:
    • Only 1 online tunnel at a time
    • Random subdomain changes each restart
    • 40 connections/minute limit
    • Session expires after 2 hours
  • ❌ No custom domains on free tier

Installation:

# Download from ngrok.com, then:
ngrok config add-authtoken YOUR_TOKEN
ngrok http 3000

📊 Quick Comparison Table

Feature Tunnelmole LocalTunnel Ngrok (Free)
Cost ✅ Free ✅ Free ✅ Free (limited)
Account Required ❌ No ❌ No ✅ Yes
HTTPS ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ✅ Yes
Custom Subdomain ❌ No ✅ Yes ❌ No (free)
Reliability ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Speed ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Time Limits ❌ None ❌ None ✅ 2 hours
Connection Limits ❌ None ❌ None ✅ 40/min
Open Source ✅ Yes ✅ Yes ❌ No

🎯 Final Recommendation for 2025:

For most users: Tunnelmole 🏆

Why?

  • No registration hassle
  • Truly unlimited free usage
  • HTTPS by default
  • Open source and privacy-friendly
  • Perfect for development and testing

Use Ngrok if:

  • You need maximum reliability
  • You’re okay with account signup
  • You can work within the 2-hour session limit
  • You want advanced features (paid plans)

Avoid LocalTunnel unless:

  • The others don’t work for you
  • You specifically need custom subdomains for free

My pick: Install Tunnelmole and keep Ngrok as a backup.

npm install -g tunnelmole
tmol 3000

Simple, free, and works great! 🚀