Nginx vs Caddy: Manual TLS or Automatic?
Nginx is a fast, battle-tested server with manual TLS setup; Caddy is a modern server that provisions and renews HTTPS certificates automatically.
Nginx offers proven performance, a vast knowledge base, and fine-grained control, but you configure TLS and renewals yourself (often via certbot). Caddy is written in Go, ships HTTPS-by-default with automatic Let's Encrypt provisioning and renewal, and uses a simpler Caddyfile. Nginx favors maturity and control; Caddy favors zero-effort TLS and simplicity.
| Nginx | Caddy | |
|---|---|---|
| HTTPS | Manual (certbot) | Automatic |
| Config | nginx.conf | Caddyfile (simple) |
| Maturity | Very mature | Modern, growing |
| Performance | Excellent | Very good |
| Best for | Control, scale, ecosystem | Fast setup, auto TLS |
Use case and config
Nginx suits teams wanting maximum control, the largest ecosystem, and proven scale, accepting more TLS setup. Caddy suits small teams and sites that want HTTPS handled automatically with minimal config, ideal for quick deployments and internal tools.
In CI and deploy
Both containerize easily; validate config in CI (nginx -t / caddy validate). Caddy reduces deploy steps by handling certificates itself. Either deploys from managed runners, where faster runners shorten image builds and config validation.
The verdict
Maximum control, ecosystem, and proven large-scale performance: Nginx. Automatic HTTPS and the simplest possible config for quick deploys: Caddy. Caddy is a great default for small sites and internal services; Nginx remains the choice for high-scale, finely tuned setups.