CrowdSec 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.
Not the right match-up?
CrowdSec
Collaborative open-source intrusion prevention system
VS
SafeLine
Self-hosted web application firewall with a web console
| Feature | CrowdSec | SafeLine |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Language | Go | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 1,024 MB |
| Deployment | docker, binary | docker |
| GitHub stars | ★ 14,461 | ★ 22,312 |
| First released | 2020 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare WAF, Fail2ban | Cloudflare WAF |
Why pick each one
Choose CrowdSec if…
- Released under the MIT license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 14.5k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Choose SafeLine if…
- Released under the GPL-3.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 22.3k GitHub stars
- Written in Go
Frequently asked questions
Is CrowdSec 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 CrowdSec and SafeLine free and open-source?
Yes. CrowdSec is licensed under MIT and SafeLine under GPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run CrowdSec and SafeLine with Docker?
CrowdSec: yes. SafeLine: yes.