head to head · open source
caddy vs DnsServer
caddy has 75,847 GitHub stars, 4,970 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. DnsServer has 9,921 stars, 785 forks, 187 open issues and last shipped 7 days ago. caddy leads on adoption by 665% (75,847 vs 9,921 stars). caddy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; DnsServer is written in C# under GPL-3.0. caddy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, DnsServer 8%. caddy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (privacy), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| caddy | DnsServer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 76K | ★ 9.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | C# |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 785 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick caddy if
- You weight community size — 76K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick DnsServer if
- You want the DnsServer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C#
- You evaluated both and DnsServer fits your workflow better
About caddy
Caddy is a Go based, Apache 2.0 licensed HTTP/1.1, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 web server and reverse proxy that obtains and renews TLS certificates automatically by default, built for operators and teams who want every site on HTTPS without maintaining a separate certificate workflow.
read the full caddy overview →
About DnsServer
Technitium DNS Server is an open source, cross platform authoritative and recursive DNS server written in C under GPL 3.0, aimed at anyone who wants to self host DNS resolution for privacy and security — a home network on a Raspberry Pi, or an organisation that needs encrypted DNS, network wide block lists, and centralised management.
read the full DnsServer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is caddy or DnsServer more popular?
caddy has 75,847 GitHub stars and DnsServer has 9,921. caddy has the larger community by that measure.
Are caddy and DnsServer free?
Both are open source. caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and DnsServer under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between caddy and DnsServer?
caddy is written in Go and DnsServer in C#. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, caddy or DnsServer?
Choose caddy if you want the larger community (75,847 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose DnsServer if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.