acme.sh vs Unifi-controller
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?
acme.sh
Pure shell ACME client for TLS certificates
VS
Unifi-controller
The Unifi-controller software is a powerful, enterprise wireless
| Feature | acme.sh | Unifi-controller |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | GPL-3.0 | free |
| Language | Shell | Dockerfile |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 47,426 | ★ 869 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | 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
Choose Unifi-controller if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Written in Dockerfile
Frequently asked questions
Is acme.sh or Unifi-controller better?
Neither is universally better. acme.sh has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are acme.sh and Unifi-controller free and open-source?
Yes. acme.sh is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Unifi-controller under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run acme.sh and Unifi-controller with Docker?
acme.sh: check the project docs for container support. Unifi-controller: yes.