Caddy Security vs Traefik Forward Auth
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted identity & sso options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | Caddy Security | Traefik Forward Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 53 · Fair |
| Category | Identity & SSO | Identity & SSO |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 2,238 | ★ 2,391 |
| First released | 2021 | 2018 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare Access | Cloudflare Access |
What are Caddy Security and Traefik Forward Auth?
Caddy Security
Caddy Security is an open-source plugin suite for the Caddy web server that adds authentication portals, authorization policies, and SSO. It provides self-hosted identity features directly inside the proxy.
- Auth portal for Caddy
- OAuth and SAML support
- Authorization policies
- MFA support
Traefik Forward Auth
Traefik Forward Auth is an open-source, minimal forward authentication service that adds Google and generic OIDC login to applications behind the Traefik reverse proxy. It is self-hosted as lightweight access middleware.
- Forward auth for Traefik
- OIDC and OAuth support
- Lightweight
- Domain whitelisting
Caddy Security vs Traefik Forward Auth: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Caddy Security versus MIT for Traefik Forward Auth. Traefik Forward Auth is the lighter option, starting around 64 MB of RAM against 128 MB for Caddy Security. Traefik Forward Auth is the more established project (first released 2018), while Caddy Security arrived in 2021. Traefik Forward Auth lists first-class Docker deployment; Caddy Security does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Caddy Security if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.2k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose Traefik Forward Auth if…
- Released under the MIT license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
Frequently asked questions
Is Caddy Security or Traefik Forward Auth better?
Traefik Forward Auth is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Caddy Security if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Caddy Security and Traefik Forward Auth free and open-source?
Yes. Caddy Security is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Traefik Forward Auth under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Caddy Security and Traefik Forward Auth with Docker?
Caddy Security: check the project docs for container support. Traefik Forward Auth: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Caddy Security or Traefik Forward Auth?
Traefik Forward Auth has the smaller minimum footprint at 64 MB of RAM, compared to about 128 MB for Caddy Security. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.