Alternatives to NGINX

Caddy

65,805

Apache-2.0

Caddy is a modern web server that prioritizes security and ease of use. With automatic HTTPS as a core feature, it eliminates the complexity of SSL certificate management while providing powerful reverse proxy capabilities and a simple configuration syntax that makes web server administration accessible to developers and system administrators alike.

Key Features

Automatic HTTPS:
- Automatic SSL certificate provisioning
- Let's Encrypt integration out of the box
- Automatic certificate renewal
- ACME protocol support for various CAs
- Custom certificate authority support
- Zero-configuration SSL for most use cases
Modern Protocol Support:
- Full HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 support
- HTTP/3 (QUIC) protocol implementation
- WebSocket proxying and handling
- gRPC service proxying
- Server-Sent Events (SSE) support
- Protocol upgrade handling
Powerful Reverse Proxy:
- Intelligent load balancing algorithms
- Active and passive health checks
- Circuit breaker pattern implementation
- Automatic retry with backoff
- Request routing and rewriting
- Upstream failover handling
Simple Configuration:
- Human-readable Caddyfile format
- JSON configuration support
- RESTful admin API
- Hot configuration reloading
- Zero-downtime configuration updates
- Environment variable integration
Performance Optimization:
- HTTP/2 server push capabilities
- Built-in compression (gzip, zstd, brotli)
- Efficient static file serving
- Automatic cache headers
- Connection pooling and reuse
- Memory-efficient request handling
Security Features:
- Security headers by default
- Rate limiting and throttling
- IP-based access control
- Basic and JWT authentication
- Authorization middleware
- Request sanitization
Plugin Ecosystem:
- Modular plugin architecture
- Community-contributed plugins
- Custom plugin development
- Runtime plugin loading
- Plugin marketplace
- Enterprise plugin support

Technical Specifications

Language: Go
Protocols: HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, WebSocket
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS, FreeBSD
License: Apache-2.0
Package Formats: Binary, deb, rpm, Docker
Configuration: Caddyfile, JSON, API

Use Cases

Static Websites: Simple static site hosting with automatic HTTPS
Reverse Proxy: Load balancing and proxying to backend services
API Gateway: API routing and management
Development Servers: Local development with HTTPS
Microservices: Service mesh and inter-service communication
Content Delivery: Fast static content serving

Unique Advantages

Zero-Config HTTPS: Automatic SSL certificates without manual intervention
Simple Configuration: Human-readable configuration format
Modern Architecture: Built with Go for performance and reliability
Security by Default: Secure defaults and automatic security features
Single Binary: Easy deployment with no external dependencies
Active Development: Regular updates and feature additions

Based on the Caddy GitHub repository, this tool revolutionizes web server administration by making HTTPS automatic and configuration simple, making it ideal for developers and organizations who want a modern, secure web server without the complexity of traditional solutions.

HAProxy

5,807

NOASSERTION

HAProxy is the world's fastest and most widely used software load balancer, trusted by organizations like GitHub, Reddit, Twitter, and Stack Overflow to handle billions of requests per day. It provides unmatched performance, reliability, and observability for modern applications.

Key Features

Advanced Load Balancing:
- Multiple load balancing algorithms (round-robin, least connections, source IP hash)
- Weighted server distribution
- Dynamic server weight adjustment
- Consistent hashing for session affinity
- Geographic load balancing
- Custom load balancing logic
High Availability & Reliability:
- Active and passive health checks
- Automatic failover and recovery
- Session persistence and sticky sessions
- Backup server configuration
- Zero-downtime configuration reloads
- Circuit breaker patterns
Protocol Support:
- HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 support
- TCP and UDP proxying
- SSL/TLS termination and passthrough
- WebSocket proxying
- gRPC load balancing
- Custom protocol handling
Performance Excellence:
- Industry-leading throughput and latency
- Efficient connection pooling
- Keep-alive connection management
- Memory-efficient architecture
- Multi-threading support
- Hardware acceleration support
Security Features:
- SSL/TLS encryption and certificate management
- Rate limiting and traffic shaping
- Access control lists (ACLs)
- DDoS protection mechanisms
- Security header injection
- Request/response filtering
Observability & Monitoring:
- Comprehensive statistics interface
- Real-time metrics and dashboards
- Detailed health monitoring
- Custom logging and analytics
- Performance profiling
- Integration with monitoring tools
Advanced Features:
- Content-based routing
- Request/response modification
- Compression and caching
- Traffic mirroring and splitting
- Blue-green deployments
- Canary releases

Technical Specifications

Language: C
Protocols: HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, TCP, UDP, SSL/TLS
Platforms: Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, AIX
License: GPL-2.0
Package Formats: deb, rpm, Docker
Configuration: Text-based configuration files

Use Cases

High-Traffic Websites: Load balancing for millions of concurrent users
Microservices: Service mesh and inter-service communication
API Gateways: API load balancing and traffic management
Database Load Balancing: Distributing database connections
CDN Origins: Origin server load balancing for CDNs
Enterprise Applications: Mission-critical application delivery

Unique Advantages

Proven Performance: Handles millions of concurrent connections
Battle-Tested: Used by the world's largest websites
Zero-Downtime: Configuration changes without service interruption
Comprehensive Features: Complete load balancing and proxy solution
Open Source: Free with commercial support available
Active Development: Continuous improvements and new features

Based on the HAProxy repository, this tool represents the gold standard in load balancing and reverse proxy technology, providing organizations with enterprise-grade performance and reliability for their most demanding applications.

Apache HTTP Server

3,740

Apache-2.0

Apache HTTP Server is the world's most widely used web server software, powering millions of websites globally. With over 25 years of development, it provides a stable, secure, and highly configurable platform for serving web content, from simple static sites to complex enterprise applications.

Key Features

Modular Architecture:
- Dynamic module loading system
- Extensive library of core and third-party modules
- Custom module development support
- Flexible module configuration
- Runtime module management
- Backward compatibility
Virtual Hosting:
- Name-based virtual hosting
- IP-based virtual hosting
- Mass virtual hosting for ISPs
- SSL/TLS virtual hosts
- Dynamic virtual host configuration
- Per-virtual-host configuration
Security Features:
- SSL/TLS encryption support
- Multiple authentication mechanisms
- Access control by IP, domain, or user
- Security headers configuration
- Rate limiting and DoS protection
- Secure file permissions
Performance Optimization:
- Multiple Multi-Processing Modules (MPMs)
- Built-in caching mechanisms
- Content compression (gzip, brotli)
- Load balancing capabilities
- Connection pooling
- Keep-alive connections
Protocol Support:
- Full HTTP/1.1 compliance
- HTTP/2 support with mod_http2
- HTTPS with SSL/TLS
- WebSocket proxying
- FastCGI and CGI support
- Reverse proxy capabilities
Administration & Monitoring:
- Comprehensive configuration system
- Detailed logging and log rotation
- Real-time status monitoring
- Graceful restart and reload
- Process management
- Performance metrics
Content Management:
- Static file serving
- Directory indexing
- Content negotiation
- URL rewriting and redirection
- Server-side includes (SSI)
- Custom error pages

Technical Specifications

Language: C
Protocols: HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, HTTPS
Platforms: Linux, Windows, macOS, Unix
License: Apache-2.0
Package Formats: deb, rpm, Docker
Configuration: Text-based configuration files

Use Cases

Enterprise Websites: Large-scale corporate websites and portals
Web Applications: Dynamic web applications with various backends
Content Management: CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal
E-commerce: Online stores and shopping platforms
Intranet Services: Internal company web services
API Hosting: RESTful API and web service hosting

Unique Advantages

Industry Standard: Most widely deployed web server globally
Mature Ecosystem: Decades of development and community support
Extensive Documentation: Comprehensive official and community documentation
Module Ecosystem: Vast library of available modules
Enterprise Support: Commercial support available from multiple vendors
Proven Reliability: Battle-tested in production environments worldwide

Based on the Apache HTTP Server repository, this tool represents the gold standard in web server technology, providing organizations with a robust, secure, and highly configurable platform that can handle everything from simple websites to complex enterprise applications with millions of users.