LibreSpeed vs Pingora
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?
LibreSpeed
Free and open source speedtest
VS
Pingora
Rust framework to build fast, reliable network services
| Feature | LibreSpeed | Pingora |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | free | Apache-2.0 |
| Language | JavaScript | Rust |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 512 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, one-click | binary, source |
| GitHub stars | ★ 15,025 | ★ 27,153 |
| First released | 2022 | 2024 |
| Replaces | — | Nginx |
Why pick each one
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
Choose Pingora if…
- Released under the Apache-2.0 license
- Mature project with 27.2k GitHub stars
- Written in Rust
- Tiny footprint — runs in 128 MB RAM
Frequently asked questions
Is LibreSpeed or Pingora better?
Neither is universally better. Pingora 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 LibreSpeed and Pingora free and open-source?
Yes. LibreSpeed is licensed under free and Pingora under Apache-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run LibreSpeed and Pingora with Docker?
LibreSpeed: yes. Pingora: check the project docs for container support.