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Hooklistener
Now Available in Public Beta

The Free ngrok Alternative for Developers

Expose your localhost to the internet with a single command. Includes a built-in webhook debugger, replay capabilities, and static domains for teams.

Start Tunnelling
$hooklistener tunnel --port 3000
terminal — -zsh
➜~hooklistener tunnel --port 3000
Tunnel Status ● Online
Forwarding https://funny-cat.hook.events → http://localhost:3000
Web Interface https://app.hooklistener.com/cli
POST/api/webhooks/stripe200 OK24ms
POST/api/webhooks/github200 OK12ms
POST/api/webhooks/slack...

Trusted by engineers at

ShopifyShopify
DockerDocker
BoeingBoeing
CiscoCisco
IBMIBM
T-MobileT-Mobile
OktaOkta
WizWiz
RazorpayRazorpay
HackerOneHackerOne
ShopifyShopify
DockerDocker
BoeingBoeing
CiscoCisco
IBMIBM
T-MobileT-Mobile
OktaOkta
WizWiz
RazorpayRazorpay
HackerOneHackerOne

Why developers switch away from ngrok

ngrok's free tier resets your public URL every time you restart, forces you to sign up, and requires installing a CLI before you can receive a single webhook. Most developers just want a public URL to paste into Stripe, GitHub, or Shopify — without the friction.

Here's how Hooklistener stacks up against the most common ngrok alternatives for webhook development.

FeatureHooklistenerngrok (Free)localtunnelCloudflare Tunnel
Free tierYes — generous limitsYes — 1 online tunnelYes — unlimitedYes — with domain
Signup required
CLI required
Persistent URL (free)Best effortRequires domain
Built-in webhook inspectionFull history + replayBasic (local UI)
Team sharingPaid plansVia Zero Trust
Setup timeUnder 10 seconds2–5 minutes1–2 minutes10+ minutes

More than just a pipe

Hooklistener tunnels are integrated with our powerful webhook debugging platform.

Infinite Inspection

Don't just tunnel traffic—inspect it. Every request is captured, indexed, and searchable with up to 60-day retention. No more lost logs.

Static Domains

Reserve your own subdomain (e.g., api.hook.events) so you don't have to update your webhook providers every time you restart.

Team Native

Tunnels are attached to your organization. Share debug URLs with your team instantly without sharing credentials.

Replay & Retry

Failed to handle a webhook locally? Fix the code and replay the exact request from the dashboard with one click.

Why Developers Switch from ngrok

ngrok is the default tunnel most developers try first, but the friction adds up quickly. The free tier caps you at 40 requests per minute and rotates your public URL on every restart, which breaks any webhook provider that expects a stable endpoint. To reserve a static domain or raise rate limits you have to move onto a paid plan that starts around $10 per month per user.

On top of that, every teammate has to install the CLI, log into an account, and keep a foreground process alive while they debug. If the tunnel drops mid-session, you lose the request history with it. For day-to-day webhook work, developers want a public URL that just stays up and captures everything — not another binary to babysit.

HookListener vs ngrok for Webhook Development

ngrok is a general-purpose tunnel: it exposes any local port to the internet and leaves the debugging up to you. HookListener is built specifically for the webhook loop. Every request that hits your public URL is captured, indexed, and replayable — headers, body, status code, and timing — without reaching for tcpdump or a proxy.

That means fewer moving parts when you are integrating Stripe, GitHub, Shopify, or an internal emitter. You can paste a stable HookListener URL into your provider once, forward traffic to localhost when you want to test your handler, and replay the exact request as many times as you need while you fix the code. ngrok can tunnel the bytes; HookListener gives you the debugging surface around them.

Free ngrok Alternative for Local Webhook Testing

You do not need to download a CLI or sign up to get started. Open HookListener, click generate, and you get a public HTTPS webhook URL that is valid immediately and survives browser refreshes. That alone removes the two biggest sources of ngrok friction for local testing: the install step and the rotating subdomain.

When you are ready to route traffic to your machine, the optional HookListener CLI tunnel forwards captured requests to localhost without tunnel drops or rate limits on the free tier. You can reserve a static subdomain on Pro, share captured requests with teammates, and keep the same URL across restarts — all without the ngrok paywall for basic webhook development.

Common Questions

Is Hooklistener really a free ngrok alternative?
Yes. Our tunnel feature is included in the free plan. You get ephemeral tunnels with HTTPS support. Unlike ngrok's free tier, we also include request history and replay capabilities.
How do I get a static subdomain?
Static subdomains (e.g., my-api.hook.events) are available on our paid plans, starting with the Pro plan. This allows you to keep the same URL every time you restart your tunnel.
Is it secure?
Yes. All tunnels are secured with HTTPS automatically. Traffic is encrypted from the public internet to your local machine.
Does it support WebSockets?
Yes, Hooklistener tunnels support WebSocket connections, making it perfect for developing real-time applications.
Ready to start?

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Create your first Debug Endpoint, set up a Monitor, or tunnel webhooks to localhost. The complete webhook toolkit is ready when you are.

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