Caddy
Powerful, enterprise-ready web server with automatic HTTPS.
Caddy vs Nginx Proxy Manager
Two self-hosted Web Servers apps, compared on the facts we track: GitHub popularity and activity, license, language, Docker images and a rough hosting estimate.
Side by side
| Caddy | Nginx Proxy Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Powerful, enterprise-ready web server with automatic HTTPS. | Docker container for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface. |
| GitHub stars | 78,785 | 34,634 |
| Forks | 5.2k | – |
| Open issues (incl. PRs) | 271 | – |
| Commits (12 months) | 443 | 647 |
| Last activity | 2026-11-04 | 2026-11-05 |
| Latest release | v2.11.9 (2026-11-05) | v2.16.0 (2026-09-24) |
| Maintenance health | Active | Active |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language / platform | Go, deb, Docker | Docker |
| Docker Hub image | caddyserver/caddy | – |
| Docker pulls | 220 | – |
| Est. server size | ~512 MB, 1 vCPU | ~1 GB, 1 vCPU |
| Est. hosting from | $3.5/mo | $5/mo |
| Categories | Web Servers | Web Servers |
| Links | Website · Source | Website · Source |
What the numbers say
- Caddy is more popular on GitHub: 78.8k stars vs 34.6k for Nginx Proxy Manager.
- Nginx Proxy Manager had more commits in the last 12 months (647 vs 443).
- Caddy published a release more recently (v2.11.9 on 2026-11-05; Nginx Proxy Manager's latest is v2.16.0 on 2026-09-24).
- Caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0, Nginx Proxy Manager under MIT.
- Caddy is written in Go; the language of Nginx Proxy Manager is not listed upstream.
- Deployment options listed upstream: Caddy: deb, Docker; Nginx Proxy Manager: Docker.
- Only Caddy has a Docker Hub image that we detected (caddyserver/caddy).
- Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Caddy (~512 MB server) than Nginx Proxy Manager (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.
Summary: Caddy leads on GitHub popularity and Docker Hub availability; Nginx Proxy Manager leads on commit activity. The right choice depends on the features you need — read both project descriptions and docs.
This summary is generated from GitHub, Docker Hub and awesome-selfhosted data as of 2026-11-05. It does not rate features or quality.
Get the Docker images
Caddy
docker pull caddyserver/caddyImage on Docker Hub. Ports, volumes and environment variables differ per app; follow the official docs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager more popular?
Caddy has more GitHub stars (78,785 vs 34,634 for Nginx Proxy Manager, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.
Which is more actively maintained, Caddy or Nginx Proxy Manager?
Nginx Proxy Manager had more commits over the last 12 months (647 vs 443). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-04 for Caddy and 2026-11-05 for Nginx Proxy Manager. Our health labels: Caddy is “Active”, Nginx Proxy Manager is “Active”.
What licenses do Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager use?
Caddy: Apache-2.0. Nginx Proxy Manager: MIT.
Can I run Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker?
Caddy has a Docker Hub image (caddyserver/caddy). We did not find one for Nginx Proxy Manager, though the upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option.
Read more
Nginx Proxy Manager
Docker container for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface.
Browse all self-hosted Web Servers apps.