StackShareStackShare
Follow on
StackShare

Discover and share technology stacks from companies around the world.

Follow on

© 2025 StackShare. All rights reserved.

Product

  • Stacks
  • Tools
  • Feed

Company

  • About
  • Contact

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  1. Stackups
  2. DevOps
  3. Build Automation
  4. Localhost Tools
  5. MAMP vs ngrok

MAMP vs ngrok

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

ngrok
ngrok
Stacks419
Followers457
Votes57
GitHub Stars24.4K
Forks4.3K
MAMP
MAMP
Stacks63
Followers132
Votes2

MAMP vs ngrok: What are the differences?

Key Differences between MAMP and ngrok

MAMP and ngrok are two popular tools used in web development, but they serve different purposes and have distinct features. Here are the key differences between MAMP and ngrok:

  1. Local Development Environment vs. Tunneling Service: MAMP is a local development environment that allows developers to set up a complete web server on their local machine. It includes Apache, MySQL, and PHP, making it easy to develop and test websites locally. On the other hand, ngrok is a tunneling service that provides developers with a public URL to access their local web server. It allows developers to share their locally hosted websites with others over the internet.

  2. Platform Compatibility: MAMP is designed for Mac operating systems and offers a user-friendly interface for setting up and managing the local development environment. Ngrok, on the other hand, is platform-independent and supports multiple operating systems including Windows, Mac, and Linux. It provides a command-line interface for configuring and running the tunneling service.

  3. Ease of Installation and Configuration: MAMP provides a simple installation process and comes with a pre-configured setup that requires minimal configuration. It includes a control panel to manage Apache, MySQL, and PHP settings. In contrast, ngrok requires downloading and installing the appropriate version for the operating system and configuring it through command-line options or configuration files.

  4. Custom Domain and SSL: MAMP allows developers to set up virtual hosts and configure custom domain names for testing purposes. It also supports SSL certificate installation for secure connections. Ngrok, in contrast, provides a temporary public URL that includes a randomly generated hostname provided by the service. While ngrok does offer paid plans that allow for the use of custom domains, SSL certificate installation is only available on those paid plans.

  5. Port Forwarding and Firewall Compatibility: MAMP allows developers to specify which port to use for Apache, making it compatible with different firewall settings. It also allows developers to easily switch between different versions of PHP. On the other hand, ngrok automatically configures port forwarding to route traffic from the public URL to the local web server, making it easy to expose a local server behind firewalls and NATs.

  6. Pricing and License: MAMP offers both a free and paid version, with the paid version providing additional features such as unlimited virtual hosts and SSL. Ngrok also offers both free and paid plans, with free users having limitations on usage and features. The paid plans provide additional benefits such as custom domains, reserved TCP addresses, and increased connection limits.

In summary, MAMP is a local development environment that allows developers to set up and test websites on their local machine, while ngrok is a tunneling service that provides a public URL for accessing locally hosted websites. MAMP is platform-specific (Mac), has an easy installation process, allows for custom domain and SSL configuration, and offers a control panel for managing settings. Ngrok is platform-independent, requires configuration through command-line options, provides temporary public URLs with randomly generated hostnames, and handles port forwarding and firewall compatibility. Ultimately, the choice between MAMP and ngrok depends on the specific needs and preferences of the developer.

Share your Stack

Help developers discover the tools you use. Get visibility for your team's tech choices and contribute to the community's knowledge.

View Docs
CLI (Node.js)
or
Manual

Detailed Comparison

ngrok
ngrok
MAMP
MAMP

ngrok is a reverse proxy that creates a secure tunnel between from a public endpoint to a locally running web service. ngrok captures and analyzes all traffic over the tunnel for later inspection and replay.

It can be installed under macOS and Windows with just a few clicks. It provides them with all the tools they need to run WordPress on their desktop PC for testing or development purposes, for example. It doesn't matter if you prefer Apache or Nginx or if you want to work with PHP, Python, Perl or Ruby.

Expose any http service behind a NAT or firewall to the internet on a subdomain of ngrok.com;Expose any tcp service behind a NAT or firewall to the internet on a random port of ngrok.com;Inspect all http requests/responses that are transmitted over the tunnel;Replay any request that was transmitted over the tunnel
-
Statistics
GitHub Stars
24.4K
GitHub Stars
-
GitHub Forks
4.3K
GitHub Forks
-
Stacks
419
Stacks
63
Followers
457
Followers
132
Votes
57
Votes
2
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 26
    Easy to use
  • 11
    Super-fast
  • 7
    Free
  • 6
    Awesome traffic analysis page
  • 5
    Reliable custom domains
Cons
  • 5
    Doesn't Support UDP
  • 1
    El tunel SSH cambia de dominio constantemente
Pros
  • 1
    Great Support of Native Languages
  • 1
    Comes with PHP and phpmyadmin preinstalled
Integrations
Twilio SendGrid
Twilio SendGrid
GitHub
GitHub
Slack
Slack
Windows
Windows
macOS
macOS

What are some alternatives to ngrok, MAMP?

Termius

Termius

The #1 cross-platform terminal with built-in ssh client which works as your own portable server management system in any situation.

GoTTY

GoTTY

GoTTY is a simple command line tool that turns your CLI tools into web applications.

PageKite

PageKite

PageKite is a system for exposing localhost servers to the public Internet. It is most commonly used to make local web servers or SSH servers publicly visible, although almost any TCP-based protocol can work if the client knows how to use an HTTP proxy.

warp

warp

warp lets you securely share your terminal with one simple command: warp open. When connected to your warp, clients can see your terminal exactly as if they were sitting next to you. You can also grant them write access, the equivalent of handing them your keyboard.

Warp

Warp

It is a blazingly fast, Rust-based terminal that makes you and your team more productive at running, debugging, and deploying code and infrastructure. It is a fully-native app built in Rust that renders on the GPU. Our mission is to elevate developer productivity.

Expose

Expose

It is a beautiful, open-source, tunnel application that allows you to share your local websites with others via the internet. Since you can host the server yourself, you have full control over the domains that your shared sites will be available at.

Requestly

Requestly

Requestly is a lightweight proxy available as a browser extension & desktop app to intercept & modify network requests. Using Requestly you can Modify Headers, Redirect URL, Mock API response, Delay/Throttle requests, etc.

DevUtils

DevUtils

It helps you with your tiny daily tasks with just a single click! It's totally open source and work offline.

Teleconsole

Teleconsole

Teleconsole is a free service to share your terminal session with people you trust. Your friends can join via a command line using SSH or by using their browser. Use it when two parties are separated by NAT and you cannot connect via SSH directly.

Mr.2

Mr.2

Helps you expose a local server to an external network. Supports both TCP/UDP, of course, support HTTP.

Related Comparisons

GitHub
Bitbucket

Bitbucket vs GitHub vs GitLab

GitHub
Bitbucket

AWS CodeCommit vs Bitbucket vs GitHub

Kubernetes
Rancher

Docker Swarm vs Kubernetes vs Rancher

gulp
Grunt

Grunt vs Webpack vs gulp

Graphite
Kibana

Grafana vs Graphite vs Kibana