[jeremejevs]

"Time spent thinking" counts for Ngrok too: comparing alternatives is a pragmatic thing to do, before pulling a trigger on something. Not to mention that this is all part of reading Hacker News (I found frp through some previous thread).

Setting up a VPS with frp on it would take 30 minutes tops (assuming that I don't already have one and that I'm in no hurry). Even if I was some big shot, doing $120 an hour, that's just 60 / (10 - 3) = 8.5 months of Ngrok. These $60 would be a good investment by my book.

But I'm not counting pennies here, I'm merely pointing out that the pricing is unreasonable. I can afford it, but its usefulness per dollar is disappointing.

For example, compose.com can host a Pg database for $17, one master and one slave, with automatic backups, a rich control panel, competent customer support, batteries included. It's maybe only twice as expensive as replicating the setup on your own (which would take literally weeks for a single person), and brings almost as much value as hiring a sysadmin. And then there's Ngrok, 3-4 times as expensive as DIY, while saving you a total of 30-60 minutes of one-time effort. And costs more than a half of a pretty great Pg server. Ridiculous.

Props to the people behind Ngrok, if they're in the black with this pricing. Good strategy/marketing.