Caddy vs Nginx vs Apache — Which Web Server Should You Use?

TL;DR: Legacy & shared hosting → Apache • High-traffic & reverse proxy → Nginx • Fast setup & automatic HTTPS → Caddy

Quick Overview

All three are excellent, production-ready web servers with different strengths:

Apache: mature, module-rich, great for PHP/WordPress, supports .htaccess per-directory overrides.
Nginx: event-driven speed, superb reverse proxy/load balancer, low memory footprint.
Caddy: simplest DX, automatic HTTPS (Let’s Encrypt built-in), modern defaults (HTTP/2 & HTTP/3).

Battle-tested & ubiquitous: huge community and docs.
Module ecosystem: authentication, rewrite, compression, cache, and more.
.htaccess support: per-directory rules—ideal for shared hosting and CMS workflows.
Excellent PHP integration: via mod_php or PHP-FPM.

Process/thread model: can use more memory at high concurrency vs event-driven servers.
Performance tuning: requires careful MPM (event/prefork/worker) selection and config.
Config sprawl: powerful but verbose.

Best for: legacy stacks, shared hosting, CMS (WordPress/Drupal), environments needing .htaccess.

High concurrency: event-driven architecture excels under load.
Reverse proxy & LB: resilient upstreams, health checks, caching.
Fast static delivery: sendfile, caching, gzip/brotli (with module), range requests.
Resource-efficient: handles thousands of connections with modest RAM/CPU.

Learning curve: declarative config is concise but less discoverable.
No .htaccess: central config only (good for performance, less flexible for shared hosting).
Extensibility: dynamic module story is improving, but fewer “batteries-included” vs Apache.

Best for: APIs, microservices, CDNs, high-traffic sites, container/k8s ingress, modern app gateways.

Automatic HTTPS: built-in ACME provisioning & renewal—zero Certbot scripting.
Great DX: human-readable Caddyfile; sane defaults (H2/H3, TLS, redirect HTTP→HTTPS).
Versatile: reverse proxy, static server, basic auth, file server, and plugins.
Minimal ops: perfect for small teams and quick, secure deployments.

Smaller ecosystem: fewer third-party guides/integrations than Apache/Nginx.
Org adoption: rising fast, but some enterprises standardize on Nginx/Apache.
Advanced edge cases: may need plugins or fallback to Nginx features for exotic setups.

Best for: startups, prototypes to prod with minimal SSL hassle, modern static & app backends.

Feature	Apache	Nginx	Caddy
Architecture	Process/Thread (MPM: prefork/worker/event)	Event-driven, async	Event-driven, async (Go)
Performance @ High Concurrency	Good (with event MPM)	Excellent	Very good
Config Simplicity	Powerful but verbose	Concise, steeper learning curve	Simplest (Caddyfile)
Automatic HTTPS	No (use Certbot/ACME client)	No (use Certbot/ACME client)	Yes (built-in ACME)
`.htaccess` Support	Yes	No	No
Reverse Proxy / Load Balancing	Good	Excellent	Good (plugins/features improving)
Static Files	Good	Excellent	Excellent
Ecosystem & Docs	Largest, longest history	Large, very active	Smaller but growing
Best Fit	Legacy/CMS/shared hosting	APIs, high-traffic, gateways	Startups, quick secure deploys

Need per-directory overrides or classic shared hosting? Pick Apache.
Expecting heavy traffic, acting as reverse proxy/LB for microservices? Pick Nginx.
Want “it just works” TLS with minimal ops? Pick Caddy.
Primarily PHP CMS (WordPress/Drupal) on shared hosting? Apache is the path of least resistance.
Kubernetes ingress/controller, edge caching, or API gateway? Nginx.
Small team/startup, rapid iteration, modern static+SPA hosting? Caddy.