SHSelfHostIndex

Caddy vs HAProxy Data Plane API

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?
CA Caddy Fast, multi-platform web server with automatic HTTPS VS HA HAProxy Data Plane API REST API for dynamic HAProxy configuration
FeatureCaddyHAProxy Data Plane API
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0Apache-2.0
LanguageGoGo
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM64 MB128 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metalbinary, docker
GitHub stars★ 74,748★ 389
First released20152019
ReplacesNginx, ApacheNGINX Plus API

Why pick each one

Choose Caddy if…

  • Zero-config TLS
  • Easy to learn
Caddy details

Choose HAProxy Data Plane API if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in Go
  • Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
HAProxy Data Plane API details

Frequently asked questions

Is Caddy or HAProxy Data Plane API better?

Caddy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider HAProxy Data Plane API if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are Caddy and HAProxy Data Plane API free and open-source?

Yes. Caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and HAProxy Data Plane API under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Caddy and HAProxy Data Plane API with Docker?

Caddy: yes. HAProxy Data Plane API: yes.

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