Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Caddy VS LiteSpeed Web Server

Compare Caddy VS LiteSpeed Web Server and see what are their differences

Caddy logo Caddy

The HTTP/2 Web Server with Automatic HTTPS

LiteSpeed Web Server logo LiteSpeed Web Server

LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.
  • Caddy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-22
  • LiteSpeed Web Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-31

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.

LiteSpeed Web Server features and specs

  • Performance
    LiteSpeed is known for its high performance, handling more traffic with fewer resources compared to traditional web servers like Apache.
  • Built-in Caching
    It comes with LSCache, which provides advanced server-side caching, significantly boosting loading times for web applications.
  • Security
    LiteSpeed includes built-in anti-DDoS features, application-level distributed defense, and the ability to mitigate different kinds of attacks effectively.
  • Easy Apache Replacement
    LiteSpeed is compatible with Apache's htaccess, mod_rewrite, and mod_security, making it easy to switch from Apache without changing configurations.
  • HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 Support
    LiteSpeed supports modern protocols such as HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, making it suitable for the latest website requirements and performance enhancements.

Possible disadvantages of LiteSpeed Web Server

  • Cost
    LiteSpeed is a commercial solution, and its licensing fees can be a disadvantage for smaller businesses or individual developers.
  • Proprietary Software
    Being a proprietary solution, it doesn’t offer the transparency and community support advantages of open-source web servers like Apache and Nginx.
  • Learning Curve
    Switching to LiteSpeed may involve a learning curve, especially for those accustomed to other web server technologies.
  • Limited Customization
    It may not offer the same level of customization and flexibility as some other web servers, particularly in specialized or highly unique environments.

Caddy videos

Getting started with Caddy the HTTPS Web Server from scratch

LiteSpeed Web Server videos

What Is LiteSpeed Web Server?

More videos:

  • Review - What Is LiteSpeed Web Server?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Caddy and LiteSpeed Web Server)
Web Servers
54 54%
46% 46
Web And Application Servers
HTTP/2 Web Server
100 100%
0% 0
Application Server
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Caddy and LiteSpeed Web Server

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

LiteSpeed Web Server Reviews

Litespeed vs Nginx vs Apache: Web Server Showdown
LiteSpeed Web Server, abbreviated as LSWS, is almost a newcomer to the webserver ‘scene’. It has gained a huge, perhaps even cult-like following in the last few years among web hosting companies due to its efficiency. With its streamlined architecture, companies running LiteSpeed Web Server could (theoretically) double the maximum capacity of websites their servers, assuming...
Source: chemicloud.com
Top Linux Web Servers: Pros and Cons
LiteSpeed comes in two versions: a free one known as OpenLiteSpeed and a paid enterprise version with extended functionality.
Source: bigstep.com
Alternative web servers compared: Lighttpd, Nginx, LiteSpeed and Zeus
Brief info: LiteSpeed is a commercial web server designed specifically for large websites. One of LiteSpeed’s advantages is that it can read Apache configurations directly which makes it easy to integrate with existing products to replace Apache. The server is lightweight and as the name implies very fast.
Source: www.pingdom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Caddy seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 247 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.

Caddy mentions (247)

  • 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 / 4 days 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 / 21 days 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 / 25 days 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 / about 2 months ago
  • Nginx: Try_files Is Evil Too
    Fortunately Caddy is not evil: https://caddyserver.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
View more

LiteSpeed Web Server mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of LiteSpeed Web Server yet. Tracking of LiteSpeed Web Server recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Caddy and LiteSpeed Web Server, you can also consider the following products

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

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

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

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

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

Traefik - Load Balancer / Reverse Proxy