Nginx Proxy Manager 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.
Not the right match-up?
Nginx Proxy Manager
Easy reverse proxy management with a web UI and free SSL
VS
sslh
Protocol multiplexer that shares one port between services
| Feature | Nginx Proxy Manager | sslh |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 32 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, bare-metal, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33,804 | ★ 5,098 |
| First released | 2019 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare | HAProxy |
Why pick each one
Choose Nginx Proxy Manager if…
- Beginner-friendly
- Free certificates built in
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 Nginx Proxy Manager or sslh better?
Neither is universally better. Nginx Proxy Manager has the larger community; both share a easy setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.
Are Nginx Proxy Manager and sslh free and open-source?
Yes. Nginx Proxy Manager is licensed under MIT and sslh under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nginx Proxy Manager and sslh with Docker?
Nginx Proxy Manager: yes. sslh: yes.