Caddy vs go-doxy
| Tagline | Automatic HTTPS web server and reverse proxy with zero config TLS | Lightweight Go reverse proxy with WebUI, Docker integration, and auto container sleep |
| Category | Self-Hosting Platforms & PaaS | Self-Hosting Platforms & PaaS |
| Replaces | Heroku, Netlify, Render | Netlify, Vercel, Render |
| GitHub stars | 73k | 3.3k |
| Language | Go | Docker |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Self-host difficulty | 3/5 Moderate | 2/5 Easy |
| Deploy options | Docker Docker Compose Manual | Docker Docker Compose Manual |
| Managed hosting | ||
| Last updated | today | today |
| View repo | View repo |
Where each falls short
The honest trade-offs — what you give up with each, versus the proprietary tools they replace.
Caddy
- Not a full PaaS; no git push deploy, build pipelines, or app lifecycle management
- No built-in CI/CD integration; needs to be combined with other tools for deployments
- Dashboard and metrics require third-party tools (Prometheus, Grafana) — none built-in
- No managed database provisioning or environment variable secrets management
go-doxy
- No CI/CD or git integration; purely a runtime reverse proxy, not a deployment platform.
- No build pipeline, static site hosting, or serverless function support.
- Ecosystem maturity and documentation are much thinner than Traefik or managed alternatives.
- No global CDN or multi-region routing.
Bottom line
Choose go-doxy if you want the lower-effort setup; choose Caddy for the larger community and ecosystem. Open each guide below for deploy steps and the full feature gap.
go-doxy
Lightweight Go reverse proxy with WebUI, Docker integration, and auto container sleep