head to head · open source
caddy vs OpenSurge-for-Mac
caddy has 75,840 GitHub stars, 4,970 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. OpenSurge-for-Mac has 2,367 stars, 166 forks, 9 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. caddy leads on adoption by 3,104% (75,840 vs 2,367 stars). caddy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; OpenSurge-for-Mac is written in Go under GPL-3.0. caddy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, OpenSurge-for-Mac 7%. 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 | OpenSurge-for-Mac | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 76K | ★ 2.4K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Go |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.0K | ⑂ 166 |
| 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac if
- You want the OpenSurge-for-Mac feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Go
- You evaluated both and OpenSurge-for-Mac 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac
OpenSurge for Mac is an open source, GPL 3.0 macOS gateway and control plane that turns a Mac into a Surge style whole home transparent proxy gateway with IPv4 and IPv6 support, built for home network operators and small labs that want per device routing without swapping out their main router.
read the full OpenSurge-for-Mac overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is caddy or OpenSurge-for-Mac more popular?
caddy has 75,840 GitHub stars and OpenSurge-for-Mac has 2,367. caddy has the larger community by that measure.
Are caddy and OpenSurge-for-Mac free?
Both are open source. caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and OpenSurge-for-Mac under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between caddy and OpenSurge-for-Mac?
caddy is written in Go and OpenSurge-for-Mac 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 OpenSurge-for-Mac?
Choose caddy if you want the larger community (75,840 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose OpenSurge-for-Mac if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.