mitmproxy vs Syslog-ng

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?
FeaturemitmproxySyslog-ng
CategoryReverse Proxy & GatewaysReverse Proxy & Gateways
LicenseMITfree
LanguagePythonC
Setup difficultyEasyEasy
Min. RAM256 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, binary, sourcedocker, one-click
GitHub stars★ 44,605★ 2,363
First released20102022
ReplacesCharles Proxy, Fiddler

Why pick each one

Choose mitmproxy if…

  • Powerful for debugging
  • Highly scriptable
mitmproxy details

Choose Syslog-ng if…

  • Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • One-click install on common self-host platforms
  • Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
Syslog-ng details

Frequently asked questions

Is mitmproxy or Syslog-ng better?

Neither is universally better. mitmproxy has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are mitmproxy and Syslog-ng free and open-source?

Yes. mitmproxy is licensed under MIT and Syslog-ng under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run mitmproxy and Syslog-ng with Docker?

mitmproxy: yes. Syslog-ng: yes.

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