relayd vs sslh
A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted reverse proxy & gateways options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.
| Feature | relayd | sslh |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Read-the-docs project | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 86 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | ISC | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | C | C |
| Setup difficulty | Hard | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 32 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | bare-metal, source | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 3,884 | ★ 5,117 |
| First released | 2006 | 2008 |
| Replaces | HAProxy, F5 BIG-IP | HAProxy |
What are relayd and sslh?
relayd
relayd is OpenBSD's daemon for relaying and load-balancing TCP connections, supporting application-layer filtering and SSL/TLS acceleration. It integrates closely with the pf packet filter.
- TCP load balancing
- Application-layer filtering
- TLS acceleration
- pf integration
sslh
sslh is an applicative protocol multiplexer that lets HTTPS, SSH, OpenVPN, and other services share the same TCP port. It inspects the first bytes of a connection and forwards it to the right server.
- Share one port across protocols
- SSH and HTTPS on port 443
- Tiny resource footprint
- Probe-based routing
relayd vs sslh: key differences
Both projects are written in C. Licensing differs — ISC for relayd versus GPL-2.0 for sslh. Relayd is the more established project (first released 2006), while sslh arrived in 2008. Sslh lists first-class Docker deployment; relayd does not.
Why pick each one
Choose relayd if…
- Tightly integrated with OpenBSD
- Very lightweight
Watch out for
- OpenBSD focused
- Terse configuration
Choose sslh if…
- Released under the GPL-2.0 license
- Easy to set up — beginner-friendly
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Mature project with 5.1k GitHub stars
Frequently asked questions
Is relayd or sslh better?
sslh is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider relayd if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are relayd and sslh free and open-source?
Yes. relayd is licensed under ISC and sslh under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run relayd and sslh with Docker?
relayd: check the project docs for container support. sslh: yes.