Caddy vs Lighttpd
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?
Caddy
Fast, multi-platform web server with automatic HTTPS
VS
Lighttpd
Secure, fast, compliant, and very flexible web server that has been
| Feature | Caddy | Lighttpd |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | BSD-3-Clause |
| Language | Go | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary, bare-metal | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 74,748 | — |
| First released | 2015 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Nginx, Apache | — |
Why pick each one
Choose Lighttpd if…
- Released under the BSD-3-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Written in C
- Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Caddy or Lighttpd better?
Caddy is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Lighttpd if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Caddy and Lighttpd free and open-source?
Yes. Caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Lighttpd under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Caddy and Lighttpd with Docker?
Caddy: yes. Lighttpd: yes.