Nginx Proxy Manager vs Varnish Cache
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
Varnish Cache
High-performance HTTP accelerator and caching proxy
| Feature | Nginx Proxy Manager | Varnish Cache |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Reverse Proxy & Gateways | Reverse Proxy & Gateways |
| License | MIT | BSD-2-Clause |
| Language | TypeScript | C |
| Setup difficulty | Easy | Hard |
| Min. RAM | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Deployment | docker | docker, binary, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 33,804 | ★ 4,050 |
| First released | 2019 | 2006 |
| Replaces | Cloudflare | Cloudflare, Squid |
Why pick each one
Choose Nginx Proxy Manager if…
- Beginner-friendly
- Free certificates built in
Choose Varnish Cache if…
- Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
- First-class Docker support for quick deployment
- Active community (4k GitHub stars)
- Written in C
Frequently asked questions
Is Nginx Proxy Manager or Varnish Cache better?
Nginx Proxy Manager is the stronger all-round pick: it has both the larger community and the simpler easy setup. Consider Varnish Cache if its specific feature set fits your needs better.
Are Nginx Proxy Manager and Varnish Cache free and open-source?
Yes. Nginx Proxy Manager is licensed under MIT and Varnish Cache under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Nginx Proxy Manager and Varnish Cache with Docker?
Nginx Proxy Manager: yes. Varnish Cache: yes.