SHSelfHostIndex

3proxy vs Tinyproxy

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?
3P 3proxy Tiny multi-protocol proxy server suite VS TI Tinyproxy Lightweight HTTP and HTTPS forward proxy daemon
Feature3proxyTinyproxy
Deploy effortUnder-an-hour setupUnder-an-hour setup
Health score90 · Excellent87 · Excellent
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseBSD-3-ClauseGPL-2.0
LanguageCC
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM16 MB16 MB
Deploymentbare-metal, source, dockerbare-metal, source, docker
GitHub stars★ 5,479★ 6,009
First released20021998
ReplacesSquidSquid

What are 3proxy and Tinyproxy?

3proxy

3proxy is a small, free proxy server supporting HTTP, HTTPS, SOCKS, FTP, and other protocols in a single package. It is designed for low resource consumption and flexible access control.

  • HTTP, SOCKS, and FTP proxy
  • Per-user access control
  • Bandwidth limiting
  • Logging and accounting

Read the full 3proxy guide →

Tinyproxy

Tinyproxy is a small, fast HTTP and HTTPS forward proxy daemon designed for low resource usage. It is well suited for embedding in resource-constrained environments or as a simple outbound proxy.

  • Tiny memory footprint
  • HTTP and HTTPS proxying
  • Access control lists
  • Filtering support

Read the full Tinyproxy guide →

3proxy vs Tinyproxy: key differences

Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — BSD-3-Clause for 3proxy versus GPL-2.0 for Tinyproxy. Tinyproxy is the more established project (first released 1998), while 3proxy arrived in 2002.

Why pick each one

Choose 3proxy if…

  • Multi-protocol in one binary
  • Very small footprint

Watch out for

  • Sparse documentation
  • Manual configuration
3proxy details

Choose Tinyproxy if…

  • Extremely lightweight
  • Simple configuration

Watch out for

  • No caching
  • Forward proxy only
Tinyproxy details

Frequently asked questions

Is 3proxy or Tinyproxy better?

Tinyproxy 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 Tinyproxy free and open-source?

Yes. 3proxy is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Tinyproxy under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run 3proxy and Tinyproxy with Docker?

3proxy: yes. Tinyproxy: yes.

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