Envoy vs LibreSpeed
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
LibreSpeed
Free and open source speedtest
| Feature | Envoy | LibreSpeed |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | free |
| Language | C++ | JavaScript |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, kubernetes, binary | docker, one-click |
| GitHub stars | ★ 28,735 | ★ 15,025 |
| First released | 2016 | 2022 |
| Replaces | Nginx, 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 LibreSpeed if…
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- One-click install on common self-host platforms
- Mature project with 15k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is Envoy or LibreSpeed better?
Neither is universally better. Envoy has the larger community, while LibreSpeed is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Envoy and LibreSpeed free and open-source?
Yes. Envoy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and LibreSpeed under free. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Envoy and LibreSpeed with Docker?
Envoy: yes. LibreSpeed: yes.