3proxy vs acme.sh
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
Not the right match-up?
3proxy
Tiny multi-protocol proxy server suite
VS
acme.sh
Pure shell ACME client for TLS certificates
| Feature | 3proxy | acme.sh |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | C | Shell |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 16 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source, docker | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,379 | ★ 47,426 |
| First released | 2002 | 2016 |
| Replaces | Squid | Certbot |
Why pick each one
Choose acme.sh if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- Mature project with 47.4k GitHub stars
- Written in Shell
Frequently asked questions
Is 3proxy or acme.sh better?
acme.sh is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider 3proxy if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are 3proxy and acme.sh free and open-source?
Yes. 3proxy is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and acme.sh under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 3proxy and acme.sh with Docker?
3proxy: yes. acme.sh: check the project docs for container support.