Compare / Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik
Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik
Pick Nginx Proxy Manager if you want click-ops proxy hosts and Let's Encrypt in a Docker UI. Pick Traefik if you want a Go ingress that discovers containers from labels/config.
Facts checked 18 Oct 2026. License, language, and GitHub activity come from the catalog or the project's own repo. "Not in the catalog row" means the public catalog dump does not store that number.
Nginx Proxy Manager in the catalog Traefik in the catalogStart on Railway
How they compare
| Nginx Proxy Manager | Traefik | |
|---|---|---|
| License | MIT (NginxProxyManager/nginx-proxy-manager) source | MIT (traefik/traefik) source |
| Language | TypeScript (catalog) | Go (catalog) |
| GitHub activity | 34,440 stars in the catalog source | 65,273 stars in the catalog source |
| Self-host | Docker UI: hosts, SSL, access lists. | Config/labels. Ingress for containers and K8s. |
| Best for | Click-ops TLS in front of homelab apps. | Dynamic discovery instead of a host form. |
Self-hosting and resource needs
Nginx Proxy Manager is a Docker UI in front of Nginx (NginxProxyManager/nginx-proxy-manager, MIT). Traefik is a Go reverse proxy (traefik/traefik, MIT) with automatic service discovery. Caddy is the other Go HTTPS server — /compare/caddy-vs-traefik. None of these is a PaaS; Coolify can sit in front of apps on /stacks/coolify-paas.
FAQ
- NPM or Caddy?
- NPM is Nginx plus a UI. Caddy is a Go server with automatic HTTPS — /compare/caddy-vs-traefik.
- Do I need Coolify too?
- Coolify is the app PaaS. A reverse proxy is the door in front. Pick one control plane for TLS on day one.
- Are these free?
- Both listed repos are MIT. You pay the VPS. Template users never pay c17.
- Will this replace Cloudflare?
- It terminates TLS on a box you run. It is not Cloudflare's anycast CDN.
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