Coraza WAF vs SafeLine
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
SafeLine
Self-hosted web application firewall with a web console
| Feature | Coraza WAF | SafeLine |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 96 · Excellent |
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 128 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | source, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,835 | ★ 22,669 |
| First released | 2021 | 2023 |
| Replaces | ModSecurity, Cloudflare WAF | Cloudflare WAF |
What are Coraza WAF and SafeLine?
Coraza WAF
Coraza is an open-source, high-performance web application firewall library compatible with ModSecurity rules and the OWASP Core Rule Set. It is embedded into self-hosted proxies such as Caddy and Traefik.
- ModSecurity-compatible
- OWASP CRS support
- High performance
- Embeddable WAF
SafeLine
SafeLine is a self-hosted web application firewall that protects sites from common attacks using semantic analysis rather than rule signatures. It runs as a reverse proxy with a management console.
- Semantic attack detection
- Reverse proxy WAF
- Web management console
- Bot protection
Coraza WAF vs SafeLine: key differences
Both projects are written in Go. Licensing differs — Apache-2.0 for Coraza WAF versus GPL-3.0 for SafeLine. Coraza WAF is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for SafeLine. Coraza WAF is the more established project (first released 2021), while SafeLine arrived in 2023. SafeLine has the considerably larger community, at 22,669 GitHub stars versus 3,835. SafeLine lists first-class Docker deployment; Coraza WAF does not.
Why pick each one
Choose Coraza WAF if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (3.8k GitHub stars)
- Written in Go
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Choose SafeLine if…
- Semantic attack detection
- Clean web console
- Simple Docker install
Watch out for
- Some features paid
- Docs partly Chinese
Frequently asked questions
Is Coraza WAF or SafeLine better?
Neither is universally better. SafeLine has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Coraza WAF and SafeLine free and open-source?
Yes. Coraza WAF is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SafeLine under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Coraza WAF and SafeLine with Docker?
Coraza WAF: check the project docs for container support. SafeLine: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Coraza WAF or SafeLine?
Coraza WAF has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for SafeLine. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.