Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

lighttpd VS mini_httpd

Compare lighttpd VS mini_httpd and see what are their differences

lighttpd logo lighttpd

A secure, fast, compliant, and very flexible web-server that has been optimized for high-performance environments

mini_httpd logo mini_httpd

mini_httpd is a small HTTP server for low or medium traffic sites.
  • lighttpd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28
  • mini_httpd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-12-06

lighttpd features and specs

  • Low Memory Footprint
    Lighttpd is known for its low memory usage, making it ideal for environments where memory resources are limited.
  • High Performance
    It is designed to handle large numbers of parallel connections efficiently, making it suitable for high-traffic websites.
  • Easy to Configure
    Lighttpd offers straightforward configuration files that are easy to understand and modify.
  • Supports FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI
    It has built-in support for various interfaces like FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI, allowing it to interact with different types of applications.
  • Event-Driven Architecture
    The event-driven design allows for non-blocking and asynchronous operations, contributing to its speed and efficiency.

Possible disadvantages of lighttpd

  • Limited Module Support
    Lighttpd has fewer third-party modules and plugins compared to more popular web servers like Apache and Nginx.
  • Community Support
    The community around Lighttpd is smaller, which might result in slower updates and fewer tutorials or examples.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the initial setup and configuration challenging compared to more widely-used web servers.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some applications or tools that are designed with Apache or Nginx in mind might not work seamlessly with Lighttpd.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release cycle for Lighttpd updates may not be as frequent as for more popular web servers.

mini_httpd features and specs

  • Lightweight
    mini_httpd is designed to be a minimal and lightweight HTTP server, which makes it consume very little system resources. This can be beneficial for systems with limited resources or for specific use-cases requiring simple functionalities.
  • Easy to configure
    With its minimalistic approach, mini_httpd is straightforward to configure and set up. This simplicity can be advantageous for users who need a basic server setup quickly.
  • Security focus
    mini_httpd offers certain security features like basic authentication and stringent simplicities which might result in fewer vulnerabilities compared to more complex servers.
  • Good for static content
    It is particularly well-suited for serving static content efficiently due to its simple architecture, which can be handy for websites that do not require dynamic content rendering.

Possible disadvantages of mini_httpd

  • Limited functionality
    Due to its minimalistic design, mini_httpd lacks many of the advanced features found in more comprehensive web servers, such as dynamic content handling and extensive configurability.
  • Lack of updates
    The development and update frequency of mini_httpd may not be as active as other popular web servers, potentially leading to security and compatibility concerns over time.
  • Not suitable for high traffic
    mini_httpd may not be ideal for handling high traffic loads or complex server-side operations, as it is not optimized for high performance under such conditions.
  • Limited community and support
    The user community and support options for mini_httpd are smaller compared to larger, more popular web servers, which can make troubleshooting and obtaining help more challenging.

Analysis of lighttpd

Overall verdict

  • Overall, lighttpd is a highly recommended choice for those needing a lightweight and efficient web server, especially where system resources are constrained.

Why this product is good

  • Lighttpd is often considered a good web server because it is designed to be fast, secure, and very lightweight. It effectively handles large volumes of traffic, supports important features like FastCGI, SCGI, Auth, Output Compression, URL Rewriting, and is highly configurable. Its asynchronous architecture allows it to serve multiple requests simultaneously, making it suitable for environments with high concurrency.

Recommended for

    Lighttpd is especially suited for situations where low resource usage is a priority, such as on embedded systems or servers with limited hardware capabilities. It is also useful for hosting static content, serving as a reverse proxy, or when hosting web applications with specific performance requirements.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to lighttpd and mini_httpd)
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
89 89%
11% 11
Application Server
91 91%
9% 9
Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using lighttpd and mini_httpd. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare lighttpd and mini_httpd

lighttpd Reviews

13 Best XAMPP Alternatives
Lighttpd is a simple and lightweight web server that allows you to do very fast static file serving. It can also be used as a content cache, a reverse proxy, or an HTTP accelerator. Lighttpd is not only lightning-fast but also straightforward to set up; in many cases, you only need one configuration file to work. Lighttpd has been around for some time now, so there are...
Source: thetechtian.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Great article Robin. Most of my experience is with Apache. I first started using it on Windows about 1998 or 1999. When I got into using Linux in 2001 I switched my previous install to that OS and have since deployed it many times. I have tried NGINX and lighttpd but never in production.
Source: opensource.com
Alternative web servers compared: Lighttpd, Nginx, LiteSpeed and Zeus
The huge leap for Lighttpd in January-March of 2007 is most likely due to one or more web hosting or domain registration companies switching over to Lighttpd either for their regular pages, or for parked pages, or both. If anyone knows what happened there in more detail, please feel free to let us know in the comments.
Source: www.pingdom.com

mini_httpd Reviews

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

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, mini_httpd seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time 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.

lighttpd mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of lighttpd yet. Tracking of lighttpd recommendations started around Mar 2021.

mini_httpd mentions (1)

  • Making a microservice from a shell script
    The Web server needs to be lightweight and able to execute code. Mini_httpd is the perfect choice for this! - Source: dev.to / almost 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing lighttpd and mini_httpd, you can also consider the following products

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

thttpd - thttpd is a simple, small, portable, fast, and secure HTTP server.

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

SimpleServer:WWW - One of the easiest to use and most versatile webservers out there.

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

micro_httpd - micro_httpd is a very small Unix-based HTTP server.