# Best open source web servers and reverse proxies > The best open source reverse proxy is Traefik, with 65,081 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager are strong alternatives. This page also breaks the picks down by team size and use: Traefik leads for solo developers. The overall ranking weighs GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits across the 15 apps in the web servers & reverse proxies category of the appsgit catalog. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Question | What is the best open source reverse proxy? | | Picks | 15 | | Top pick | Traefik (65,081 stars) | | Data as of | Oct 7, 2026 | | Canonical URL | https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-reverse-proxies | ## Top picks 10 of the 15 apps in the web servers & reverse proxies category, ranked on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Traefik](https://appsgit.com/apps/traefik) (65,081 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Traefik has 65,081 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 846 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok. - [Caddy](https://appsgit.com/apps/caddy) (77,243 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Caddy has 77,243 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 331 commits in the last year; it replaces Netlify. - [Nginx Proxy Manager](https://appsgit.com/apps/nginx-proxy-manager) (34,325 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Nginx Proxy Manager has 34,325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 798 commits in the last year. - [Pangolin](https://appsgit.com/apps/pangolin) (23,015 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Pangolin has 23,015 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 5,364 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok and Tailscale. - [NGINX](https://appsgit.com/apps/nginx) (31,800 stars, BSD-2-Clause, C, Docker): NGINX has 31,800 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license, ships a Docker image and had 283 commits in the last year. - [BunkerWeb](https://appsgit.com/apps/bunkerweb) (11,043 stars, AGPL-3.0, Python, Docker): BunkerWeb has 11,043 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 1,931 commits in the last year. - [SafeLine](https://appsgit.com/apps/safeline) (22,706 stars, GPL-3.0, Go, Docker): SafeLine has 22,706 GitHub stars, uses the GPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 43 commits in the last year. - [Zoraxy](https://appsgit.com/apps/zoraxy) (5,510 stars, AGPL-3.0, HTML, Docker): Zoraxy has 5,510 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 505 commits in the last year. - [Pomerium](https://appsgit.com/apps/pomerium) (5,026 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Pomerium has 5,026 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image and had 602 commits in the last year. - [go-doxy](https://appsgit.com/apps/go-doxy) (4,160 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): go-doxy has 4,160 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image and had 771 commits in the last year. ## Best for solo developers Ranked for solo developers on GitHub stars, commits in the last year, Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits. - [Traefik](https://appsgit.com/apps/traefik) (65,081 stars, MIT, Go, Docker): Traefik has 65,081 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 846 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Caddy](https://appsgit.com/apps/caddy) (77,243 stars, Apache-2.0, Go, Docker): Caddy has 77,243 GitHub stars, uses the Apache-2.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in Go and had 331 commits in the last year; it replaces Netlify. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Nginx Proxy Manager](https://appsgit.com/apps/nginx-proxy-manager) (34,325 stars, MIT, TypeScript, Docker): Nginx Proxy Manager has 34,325 GitHub stars, uses the MIT license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 798 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [Pangolin](https://appsgit.com/apps/pangolin) (23,015 stars, AGPL-3.0, TypeScript, Docker): Pangolin has 23,015 GitHub stars, uses the AGPL-3.0 license, ships a Docker image, is written in TypeScript and had 5,364 commits in the last year; it replaces ngrok and Tailscale. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - [NGINX](https://appsgit.com/apps/nginx) (31,800 stars, BSD-2-Clause, C, Docker): NGINX has 31,800 GitHub stars, uses the BSD-2-Clause license, ships a Docker image, is written in C and had 283 commits in the last year. For solo developers it also scores on a Docker image, an open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. ## How this list was made - Candidates: the 15 apps in the web servers & reverse proxies category. Archived projects and projects with no commit in the last two years are left out. - Base score: GitHub stars on a log scale plus commits in the last 12 months (log scale, capped at 1,000). - Bonus points for a published Docker image, an OSI-approved open-source license and a commit in the last 90 days. - Each "Best for" section re-ranks the same apps with that audience's profile (for example startups add points for permissive licenses, project websites and recent commits; small business for Docker images and deploy guides). - Source-available apps can rank, but they are labelled and never described as open source. ## FAQ ### Is Traefik free? Yes. Traefik is open-source software released under the MIT license, so you can self-host it at no cost. You only pay for the server it runs on, and some projects also offer an optional paid cloud plan. ### Which open source reverse proxy is best for a solo developer? Traefik ranks first for solo developers, with 65,081 GitHub stars, the MIT license and a Docker image; Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager follow. The solo developers ranking adds points for Docker images, open-source licenses and recent commits on top of stars and activity. ### Can I self-host these web servers and reverse proxies with Docker? Yes, all of them. Traefik, Caddy and Nginx Proxy Manager publish Docker images, so you can run them on a VPS or home server with Docker Compose. ### Are all of these web servers and reverse proxies open source? All 10 apps on this list are open source. You can self-host and modify each one under its license. ### Which of these web servers and reverse proxies is the most actively developed? Pangolin, with 5,364 commits in the last 12 months and a latest release, 1.24.0, from September 2026. Activity is a good sign that bugs and security issues get fixed. ## Related questions - [What is the best open source budgeting app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-budgeting-software) - [What is the best open source CMS?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-cms) - [What is the best open source team chat app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-team-chat) - [What is the best open source file sharing app?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-file-sharing) - [What is the best open source analytics tool?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-analytics) - [What is the best open source self-hosted dashboard?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-dashboards) - [What is the best open source self-hosting platform?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-self-hosting-platforms) - [What is the best open source media server?](https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-media-servers) ## See also - [All web servers & reverse proxies apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/web-servers) - [All proxy & VPN apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/proxy-vpn) - [All remote access apps](https://appsgit.com/categories/remote-access) - [Open-source alternatives to ngrok](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/ngrok) - [Open-source alternatives to Netlify](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/netlify) - [Open-source alternatives to Tailscale](https://appsgit.com/alternatives/tailscale) - [Traefik vs Nginx Proxy Manager](https://appsgit.com/compare/traefik-vs-nginx-proxy-manager) - [Caddy vs Traefik](https://appsgit.com/compare/caddy-vs-traefik) - [Caddy vs NGINX](https://appsgit.com/compare/caddy-vs-nginx) - [How to self-host Traefik with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/traefik) - [How to self-host Caddy with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/caddy) - [How to self-host Nginx Proxy Manager with Docker Compose](https://appsgit.com/guides/nginx-proxy-manager) --- Canonical page: https://appsgit.com/best/open-source-reverse-proxies Source: appsgit (https://appsgit.com), the app store for github. 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