Adguard vs Caddy

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?
FeatureAdguardCaddy
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicensefreeApache-2.0
LanguageGo
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM512 MB64 MB
Deploymentdocker, one-clickdocker, binary, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 74,748
First released20232015
ReplacesNginx, Apache

Why pick each one

Choose Adguard if…

  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • One-click install on common self-host platforms
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Adguard details

Choose Caddy if…

  • Zero-config TLS
  • Easy to learn
Caddy details

Frequently asked questions

Is Adguard or Caddy better?

Neither is universally better. Caddy has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Adguard and Caddy free and open-source?

Yes. Adguard is licensed under free and Caddy under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Adguard and Caddy with Docker?

Adguard: yes. Caddy: yes.

Related comparisons