Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

acme.sh VS Caddy

Compare acme.sh VS Caddy and see what are their differences

acme.sh logo acme.sh

A pure Unix shell script implementing ACME client protocol and deploying SSL certificates.

Caddy logo Caddy

The HTTP/2 Web Server with Automatic HTTPS
  • acme.sh Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-24
  • Caddy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-22

acme.sh features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    acme.sh is simple to install and use because it is written in shell script. It does not require any external dependencies, which makes it lightweight and easy to set up.
  • Wide Platform Support
    The script is compatible with multiple operating systems, including Linux, macOS, and Windows (via WSL), which makes it versatile for different environments.
  • Supports Various DNS Providers
    acme.sh supports many DNS APIs out of the box, allowing users to automate DNS challenges with their preferred provider easily.
  • Automatic Renewal
    acme.sh can automatically renew certificates and deploy them, ensuring uninterrupted HTTPS service without manual intervention.
  • Customizable and Extendable
    Because it is a simple script, users can easily customize and extend its functionality to suit their specific needs.
  • No Root Necessary
    acme.sh does not require root access for installation and operation, improving security since it can be run without elevated privileges.

Possible disadvantages of acme.sh

  • Limited GUI
    Since acme.sh is a command-line tool, those accustomed to graphical interfaces might find it less intuitive to manage, compared to web-based interfaces.
  • Learning Curve
    Though it is easy to use for those familiar with the command line, users new to the terminal may face a learning curve when first using acme.sh.
  • Community Support
    While there is a community that supports acme.sh, the support might not be as extensive or swift as commercial solutions, potentially leading to delays in troubleshooting.
  • Misconfiguration Risks
    Because the installation and configuration are done manually, there is a risk of errors or misconfiguration, especially for users unfamiliar with SSL/TLS certificates.

Caddy features and specs

  • Automatic HTTPS
    Caddy automatically handles HTTPS by obtaining and renewing certificates from Let's Encrypt, simplifying the process of securing web applications.
  • Ease of Configuration
    Caddy uses a straightforward configuration file (Caddyfile) that is easier to write and understand compared to other web servers like Nginx or Apache.
  • Cross-Platform
    Caddy is designed to run efficiently on virtually any platform, including Windows, macOS, Linux, and Docker, giving it great flexibility for deployment.
  • Built-in Reverse Proxy
    Caddy includes built-in support for reverse proxy functionality, which can easily be configured to distribute load among multiple servers.
  • Extensible
    Caddy supports plugins for additional features, allowing users to extend its functionality without compromising its core simplicity.
  • Integrated Logging and Metrics
    Caddy includes integrated logging and monitoring capabilities, which make it easier to maintain and debug the server without additional tools.
  • Active Community and Support
    Caddy has an active community and is well-supported with extensive documentation, which helps new users get up to speed quickly and troubleshoot issues effectively.

Possible disadvantages of Caddy

  • Memory Usage
    Caddy can have higher memory usage compared to other web servers like Nginx, which might be a concern for resource-constrained environments.
  • TLS Configuration Complexity
    While Caddy handles basic HTTPS automatically, advanced TLS configurations can be more complicated to manage and may require a deeper understanding.
  • Learning Curve for New Features
    As Caddy rapidly evolves and adds new features, there can be a learning curve associated with keeping up to date on the latest changes and functionalities.
  • Performance
    Although Caddy performs adequately for many use cases, it may not match the high performance of optimized setups with other web servers like Nginx in highly demanding environments.
  • Licensing Costs
    While Caddy is open source, certain features are available under a commercial license. Organizations may incur additional costs for enterprise-grade functionality.

Analysis of Caddy

Overall verdict

  • Caddy is generally considered a good choice for developers looking for a hassle-free, secure, and modern web server. Its automatic HTTPS and easy configuration make it particularly appealing for small teams and developers who need to deploy web services quickly without diving deep into server setup complexities.

Why this product is good

  • Caddy, available at caddyserver.com, is praised for its ease of use, automatic HTTPS configuration, and modern design. It features an intuitive configuration system and comes with a built-in SSL/TLS to automatically manage HTTPS certificates using Let's Encrypt. Caddy is highly regarded for its simple deployment, minimal configuration, and the ability to serve static and dynamic content efficiently. It also supports HTTP/2 and QUIC protocols, making it a future-proof choice for web servers.

Recommended for

  • Small to medium-sized web developers who require quick and secure web server deployments.
  • Developers who prefer automatic HTTPS setups.
  • Projects that benefit from modern protocols like HTTP/2 and QUIC.
  • Users looking for a straightforward configuration process with minimal overhead.

acme.sh videos

Free SSL Let's Encrypt - Acme.sh - Wordpress - Openlitespeed

Caddy videos

Getting started with Caddy the HTTPS Web Server from scratch

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to acme.sh and Caddy)
Security & Privacy
100 100%
0% 0
Web Servers
6 6%
94% 94
Software Development
100 100%
0% 0
Web And Application Servers

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare acme.sh and Caddy

acme.sh Reviews

We have no reviews of acme.sh yet.
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Caddy Reviews

Self Hosting Like Its 2025
If you’re looking to forego fancy web interfaces and prefer editing a straightforward file while having the server manage everything from proxying to HTTPS via Let’s Encrypt, then this is the option for you. However, due to the absence of a web interface, I wouldn’t recommend it for complete beginners. But if you appreciate simple UNIX-based tooling, Caddy is an excellent...
Source: kiranet.org
Top Linux Web Servers: Pros and Cons
Now that we know their advantages and disadvantages, which web server is the best? The answer depends on your use case. Nginx is a very fast and powerful option, Apache is a great general-purpose web server, while LiteSpeed represents a premium alternative. Caddy works great if you need simplicity, while Lighthttpd works best when resources are low.
Source: bigstep.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Caddy should be more popular than acme.sh. It has been mentiond 248 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

acme.sh mentions (41)

  • I no longer have an old-school cert on my HTTPS site
    I was amazed by them having so much distrust of the various clients. Certbot is typically in the repositories for things like Debian/Ubuntu. My favourite client is probably https://github.com/acmesh-official/acme.sh If you use a DNS service provider that supports it, you can use the DNS-01 challenge to get a certificate - that means that you can have the... - Source: Hacker News / 11 days ago
  • Bunster: Compile bash scripts to self contained executables
    Thank you for using the project! On the concern of it would be harder to setup, I think it would be easier in fact, you would simply curl the Go or C statically generated binary to your path and would alleviate the need for jq or curl to be installed alongside. I think the reason I haven’t made the switch yet is I like Bash (even though my script is getting pretty big), and in a way it’s a testament to what’s... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Just want simple TLS for your .internal network?
    I use Dynu.com as my DNS provider (they're cheap, provide APIs and very fast to update which is great for home IP addresses that may change). Then, to get the certificates, I use https://github.com/acmesh-official/acme.sh which is a shell script. Copying the certificates to the relevant machines is done by a BASH script that runs the relevant acme.sh commands. - Source: Hacker News / 8 months ago
  • Setting up a Homelab: Part 1 Proxmox and LetsEncrypt
    A self-signed certificate was generated and used by Proxmox which will always generate a warning on the browser. I did not like seeing this when trying to work on my home lab. So, I started looking for ways to put a valid SSL certificate in Proxmox. During my research, I found that Proxmox could be made to integrate with acme.sh; a free SSL certificate generator powered by ACME(Let's Encrypt). - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • Dehydrated: Letsencrypt/acme client implemented as a shell-script
    Dehydrated and acme.sh seems different. Is one of them fork? https://github.com/acmesh-official/acme.sh. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
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Caddy mentions (248)

  • I no longer have an old-school cert on my HTTPS site
    The Caddy[1] webserver also has built-in ACME. It has all the problems Rachel mentioned, of course, because now it's an ACME client embedded in an even bigger piece of software, but it's handy for sure! I don't know much about Caddy scalability but it's worked great for my personal sites. [1] https://caddyserver.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 days ago
  • How I made my Home Server accessible outside my home
    This single record will suffice as we will be using a reverse proxy to map each of our application. For the reverse proxy solution, we will be using Caddy, particularly xcaddy. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Simple Web Server
    It looks nice and friendly, but for developers I can recommend exploring caddy[1] or nginx[2]. It's a useful technology to have worked with, even if they're ultimately only used for proxying analytics. [1] https://caddyserver.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Adventures in Homelabbing: From Cloud Obsession to Self-Hosted Shenanigans
    I began to self-host a Minecraft server using Crafty Controller, an Excalidraw instance, Docmost to replace Notion, Plane to replace Jira, and Penpot to replace Figma. To be able to access them from the internet, I used Nginx Proxy Manager to set up reverse proxies with SSL. You can use Traefik or Caddy instead, but I enjoyed the ease-of-use of NPM. For a dashboard solution, I started with Homarr, but later... - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • Self-hosting with Caddy Server And Souin (Caching Module)
    Caddy is the ultimate web server anyone should be using. This is true for production as well as for local development. It is very fast, and by default obtains and renews SSL certificates automatically. This is useful for when you want to test certain website feature that is only allowed when they're accessed with HTTPS. You get free TLS for all your subdomains, and it does that in a scalable way. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing acme.sh and Caddy, you can also consider the following products

Certbot - Automatically enable HTTPS on your website with EFF's Certbot, deploying Let's Encrypt certificates.

nginx - A high performance free open source web server powering busiest sites on the Internet.

Let's Encrypt - Let’s Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority brought to you by the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG).

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

MEO File Encryption Software - Encrypt and Decrypt files and folders quickly with MEO Free Encryption Software. This free encryption program, available for Windows and Mac, will keep your files secure.

Nginx Proxy Manager - Docker container and built in Web Application for managing Nginx proxy hosts with a simple, powerful interface, providing free SSL support via Let's Encrypt