Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 vs River
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?
Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4
Layer 4 proxy module for the Caddy server
VS
River
Configurable reverse proxy from the Pingora project
| Feature | Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 | River |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | Go | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 64 MB | 64 MB |
| Deployment | binary, source | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 1,741 | ★ 2,351 |
| First released | 2020 | 2024 |
| Replaces | HAProxy | nginx, HAProxy |
Why pick each one
Choose Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 if…
- Extends Caddy nicely
- Port multiplexing
Choose River if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Active community (2.4k GitHub stars)
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 64 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 or River better?
Neither is universally better. River has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 and River free and open-source?
Yes. Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 is licensed under Apache-2.0 and River under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4 and River with Docker?
Træfik Hub Note Caddy-L4: check the project docs for container support. River: check the project docs for container support.