head to head · open source
caddy vs MasterDnsVPN
caddy has 75,868 GitHub stars, 4,976 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped yesterday. MasterDnsVPN has 7,036 stars, 799 forks, 23 open issues and last shipped 22 days ago. caddy leads on adoption by 978% (75,868 vs 7,036 stars). caddy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; MasterDnsVPN is written in Go under MIT. caddy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, MasterDnsVPN 11%. caddy was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | MasterDnsVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 76K | ★ 7.0K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-08-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 799 |
| 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 MasterDnsVPN if
- You want the MasterDnsVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and MasterDnsVPN 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 MasterDnsVPN
MasterDnsVPN is a Go based DNS tunneling VPN that carries TCP traffic inside DNS queries and responses, built for censorship bypass in networks where normal VPN transports are blocked, and aimed at self hosters, researchers and users in heavily filtered environments.
read the full MasterDnsVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is caddy or MasterDnsVPN more popular?
caddy has 75,868 GitHub stars and MasterDnsVPN has 7,036. caddy has the larger community by that measure.
Are caddy and MasterDnsVPN free?
Both are open source. caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and MasterDnsVPN under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between caddy and MasterDnsVPN?
caddy is written in Go and MasterDnsVPN in Go. 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 MasterDnsVPN?
Choose caddy if you want the larger community (75,868 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose MasterDnsVPN if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.