Caddy 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?
FeatureCaddyUnifi-controller
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0free
LanguageGoDockerfile
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM64 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, bare-metaldocker, one-click
GitHub stars★ 74,748★ 869
First released20152022
ReplacesNginx, Apache

Why pick each one

Choose Caddy if…

  • Zero-config TLS
  • Easy to learn
Caddy details

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
Unifi-controller details

Frequently asked questions

Is Caddy or Unifi-controller 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 Caddy and Unifi-controller free and open-source?

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

Can I run Caddy and Unifi-controller with Docker?

Caddy: yes. Unifi-controller: yes.

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