mitmproxy 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?
FeaturemitmproxyLighttpd
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseMITBSD-3-Clause
LanguagePythonC
Setup difficultyEasyMedium
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 44,605
First released20102020
ReplacesCharles Proxy, Fiddler

Why pick each one

Choose mitmproxy if…

  • Powerful for debugging
  • Highly scriptable
mitmproxy details

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
Lighttpd details

Frequently asked questions

Is mitmproxy or Lighttpd better?

mitmproxy 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 mitmproxy and Lighttpd free and open-source?

Yes. mitmproxy is licensed under MIT and Lighttpd under BSD-3-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run mitmproxy and Lighttpd with Docker?

mitmproxy: yes. Lighttpd: yes.

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