head to head · open source
caddy vs oxidns
caddy has 77,794 GitHub stars, 5,120 forks, 286 open issues and last shipped today. oxidns has 554 stars, 45 forks, 15 open issues and last shipped today. caddy leads on adoption by 13,942% (77,794 vs 554 stars). caddy is written in Go under Apache-2.0; oxidns is written in Rust under GPL-3.0. caddy has attracted 7% as many forks as stars, oxidns 8%. oxidns 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 | oxidns | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 78K | ★ 554 |
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Go | Rust |
| Last push | 2026-10-12 | 2026-10-12 |
| Forks | ⑂ 5.1K | ⑂ 45 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick caddy if
- You weight community size — 78K 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 oxidns if
- You want the oxidns feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Rust
- You evaluated both and oxidns 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 oxidns
OxiDNS is a programmable, policy orchestration DNS engine written in Rust, aimed at operators of soft routers, OpenWrt boxes, homelabs and advanced self hosted networks who need explainable, configurable query routing.
read the full oxidns overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is caddy or oxidns more popular?
caddy has 77,794 GitHub stars and oxidns has 554. caddy has the larger community by that measure.
Are caddy and oxidns free?
Both are open source. caddy is licensed under Apache-2.0 and oxidns under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between caddy and oxidns?
caddy is written in Go and oxidns in Rust. 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 oxidns?
Choose caddy if you want the larger community (77,794 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose oxidns if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.