Envoy vs Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4
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?
Envoy
Cloud-native high-performance edge and service proxy
VS
Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4
Layer 4 proxy module for the Caddy server
| Feature | Envoy | Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | C++ | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,735 | ★ 1,741 |
| First released | 2016 | 2020 |
| Replaces | Nginx, HAProxy | HAProxy |
Why pick each one
Choose Envoy if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Kubernetes-ready with Helm charts available
- Mature project with 28.7k GitHub stars
Choose Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 if…
- Extends Caddy nicely
- Port multiplexing
Frequently asked questions
Is Envoy or Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 better?
Neither is universally better. Envoy has the larger community, while Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 is simpler to set up (medium difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Envoy and Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 free and open-source?
Yes. Envoy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Envoy and Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 with Docker?
Envoy: yes. Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4: check the project docs for container support.