Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik

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

	Nginx Proxy Manager	Traefik
Description	Docker container for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface.	HTTP reverse proxy and load balancer that makes deploying microservices easy.
GitHub stars	34,634	65,470
Forks	–	6.3k
Open issues (incl. PRs)	–	981
Commits (12 months)	647	895
Last activity	2026-11-05	2026-10-30
Latest release	v2.16.0 (2026-09-24)	v3.8.0-rc.1 (2026-10-30)
Maintenance health	Active	Active
License	MIT	MIT
Language / platform	Docker	Go, Docker
Docker Hub image	–	–
Docker pulls	–	–
Est. server size	~1 GB, 1 vCPU	~512 MB, 1 vCPU
Est. hosting from	$5/mo	$3.5/mo
Categories	Web Servers	Web Servers
Links	Website · Source	Website · Source

What the numbers say

Traefik is more popular on GitHub: 65.5k stars vs 34.6k for Nginx Proxy Manager.
Traefik had more commits in the last 12 months (895 vs 647).
Traefik published a release more recently (v3.8.0-rc.1 on 2026-10-30; Nginx Proxy Manager's latest is v2.16.0 on 2026-09-24).
Both are licensed under MIT.
Traefik is written in Go; the language of Nginx Proxy Manager is not listed upstream.
Deployment options listed upstream: Nginx Proxy Manager: Docker; Traefik: Docker.
Our rough hardware estimate is lighter for Traefik (~512 MB server) than Nginx Proxy Manager (~1 GB); this is an estimate from the stack and category, not a benchmark.

Summary: Traefik leads on GitHub popularity and 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.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nginx Proxy Manager or Traefik more popular?

Traefik has more GitHub stars (65,470 vs 34,634 for Nginx Proxy Manager, as of 2026-11-05). Stars measure interest, not quality.

Which is more actively maintained, Nginx Proxy Manager or Traefik?

Traefik had more commits over the last 12 months (895 vs 647). The last recorded activity was 2026-11-05 for Nginx Proxy Manager and 2026-10-30 for Traefik. Our health labels: Nginx Proxy Manager is “Active”, Traefik is “Active”.

What licenses do Nginx Proxy Manager and Traefik use?

Both use MIT.

Can I run Nginx Proxy Manager and Traefik with Docker?

We did not detect a Docker Hub image for either app. The upstream listing mentions Docker as a deployment option for Nginx Proxy Manager and Traefik. Check each project's documentation for install options.