Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Caddy VS OpenSSL

Compare Caddy VS OpenSSL and see what are their differences

Caddy logo Caddy

The HTTP/2 Web Server with Automatic HTTPS

OpenSSL logo OpenSSL

OpenSSL is a free and open source software cryptography library that implements both the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols, which are primarily used to provide secure communications between web browsers and …
  • Caddy Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-07-22
  • OpenSSL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-14

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.

OpenSSL features and specs

  • Open Source
    OpenSSL is open-source software, which means it is freely available and can be reviewed, modified, and improved by anyone.
  • Widely Used
    OpenSSL is one of the most widely used libraries for SSL and TLS protocols, ensuring high compatibility and support across different platforms and applications.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    OpenSSL provides extensive documentation and resources that can help users understand and implement its features effectively.
  • Regular Updates
    The OpenSSL project is actively maintained, receiving regular updates and patches to address security vulnerabilities and improve functionality.
  • Community Support
    A large community of developers and users contribute to forums, mailing lists, and other discussion platforms, providing support and sharing knowledge.
  • Flexible and Powerful
    OpenSSL offers a wide range of cryptographic functions and protocols, making it a versatile tool for various security requirements.

Possible disadvantages of OpenSSL

  • Complexity
    OpenSSL can be complex to configure and use, particularly for beginners or those without a deep understanding of cryptographic principles.
  • Security Vulnerabilities
    Despite regular updates, OpenSSL has had several high-profile security vulnerabilities in the past, such as Heartbleed, which can have broad implications.
  • Performance Overhead
    Depending on the implementation and configuration, using OpenSSL can introduce performance overhead, impacting the speed and efficiency of applications.
  • Limited User-Friendly Tools
    While OpenSSL is powerful, it lacks user-friendly tools and interfaces, making it harder for less technical users to operate.
  • Documentation Quality
    Though comprehensive, some users find the OpenSSL documentation to be dense and difficult to navigate, which can make troubleshooting and implementation challenging.

Caddy videos

Getting started with Caddy the HTTPS Web Server from scratch

OpenSSL videos

Das Kommando "enc" in OpenSSL

More videos:

  • Review - OpenSSL and FIPS... They Are Back Together!
  • Review - OpenSSL After Heartbleed by Rich Salz & Tim Hudson, OpenSSL

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Caddy and OpenSSL)
Web Servers
100 100%
0% 0
Development Tools
15 15%
85% 85
Web And Application Servers
Javascript UI Libraries
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 OpenSSL

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

OpenSSL Reviews

We have no reviews of OpenSSL yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Caddy seems to be a lot more popular than OpenSSL. While we know about 247 links to Caddy, we've tracked only 2 mentions of OpenSSL. 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 / 7 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 / 24 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 / 28 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 / 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

OpenSSL mentions (2)

  • Why does Baserow need my personal data so I can run open source?
    Baserow uses open source like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSSL and can use it without handing over data to openssl.org. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Creating private key help
    Noob here; I'm looking at openssl.org Two commands are listed; "openssl-genrsa" and "openssl genrsa" (No hyphen). Source: about 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Caddy and OpenSSL, you can also consider the following products

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

jQuery - The Write Less, Do More, JavaScript Library.

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

React Native - A framework for building native apps with React

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

Babel - Babel is a compiler for writing next generation JavaScript.