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Inlets

Inlets — Secure tunnel and load balancer exposing local services to the internet over WebSocket with token authentication.

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Our Verdict

Great self-hosted tunnel story; listing it under secrets management is a stretch.

Pros

  • Self-hostable tunnel with load balancer mode
  • WebSocket-based, firewall-friendly
  • Token auth and TLS by default
  • Pairs well with Kubernetes and home labs

Cons

  • Not really a secrets manager, miscategorized
  • Pro features gated behind subscription
  • Operational overhead vs managed ngrok/zrok
  • Docs assume comfort with Linux and Docker
Best for: Operators wanting self-hosted ngrok alternatives with LB capabilities. Not for: Anyone looking for secrets storage or rotation.

When to Use Inlets

Good fit if you need

  • Secure self-hosted tunnel exposing local apps over HTTPS
  • Token-authenticated webhook relay for local development
  • Kubernetes ingress tunneling for airgapped environments
  • IoT device management API exposure without port forwarding
  • Secure remote access to internal developer tools

Lock-in Assessment

Low 4/5
Lock-in Score
4/5

Inlets Pricing

Pricing Model
subscription
Free Tier
No
Entry Price
Enterprise Available
No
Transparency Score

Beta — estimates may differ from actual pricing

1,000
1001K10K100K1M

Estimated Monthly Cost

$25

Estimated Annual Cost

$300

Estimates are approximate and may not reflect current pricing. Always check the official pricing page.

Community Discussion

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