3proxy vs Varnish Cache
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
Varnish Cache
High-performance HTTP accelerator and caching proxy
| Feature | 3proxy | Varnish Cache |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | BSD-3-Clause | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 16 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source, docker | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 5,379 | ★ 4,050 |
| First released | 2002 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Squid | Cloudflare, Squid |
Why pick each one
Choose Varnish Cache if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is 3proxy or Varnish Cache better?
3proxy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler medium setup. Consider Varnish Cache if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are 3proxy and Varnish Cache free and open-source?
Yes. 3proxy is licensed under BSD-3-Clause and Varnish Cache under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run 3proxy and Varnish Cache with Docker?
3proxy: yes. Varnish Cache: yes.