SHSelfHostIndex

CoreDNS vs Nginx Proxy Manager

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?
CO CoreDNS Flexible, plugin-based DNS server VS NG Nginx Proxy Manager Easy reverse proxy management with a web UI and free SSL
FeatureCoreDNSNginx Proxy Manager
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseApache-2.0MIT
LanguageGoTypeScript
Setup difficultyMediumEasy
Min. RAM128 MB256 MB
Deploymentbinary, docker, kubernetesdocker
GitHub stars★ 14,229★ 33,804
First released20162019
ReplacesBIND, dnsmasqCloudflare

Why pick each one

Choose CoreDNS if…

  • Released under the Apache-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
  • Mature project with 14.2k GitHub stars
CoreDNS details

Choose Nginx Proxy Manager if…

  • Beginner-friendly
  • Free certificates built in
Nginx Proxy Manager details

Frequently asked questions

Is CoreDNS or Nginx Proxy Manager better?

Nginx Proxy Manager is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider CoreDNS if its specific feature set fits your needs better.

Are CoreDNS and Nginx Proxy Manager free and open-source?

Yes. CoreDNS is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Nginx Proxy Manager under MIT. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run CoreDNS and Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker?

CoreDNS: yes. Nginx Proxy Manager: yes.

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