head to head · open source
algo vs nginx-proxy
algo has 30,448 GitHub stars, 2,373 forks, 77 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. nginx-proxy has 19,933 stars, 3,038 forks, 327 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. algo leads on adoption by 53% (30,448 vs 19,933 stars). algo is written in Python under AGPL-3.0; nginx-proxy is written in Python under MIT. algo has attracted 8% as many forks as stars, nginx-proxy 15%. nginx-proxy 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
| algo | nginx-proxy | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 20K |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-10-28 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.4K | ⑂ 3.0K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick algo if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick nginx-proxy if
- You want the nginx-proxy feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and nginx-proxy fits your workflow better
About algo
Algo VPN Algo VPN is a set of Ansible scripts that simplify the setup of a personal WireGuard and IPsec VPN. It uses the most secure defaults available and works with common cloud providers. See our release announcement for more information. Features Supports only IKEv2 with strong crypto (AES GCM, SHA2, and P 256) for iOS, MacOS, and Linux Supports WireGuard for all of the above, in addition to Android and Windows 11 Generates .conf files and QR codes for iOS, macOS, Android, and Windows WireGuard clients Generates Apple profiles to auto configure iOS and macOS devices for IPsec no client software required…
About nginx-proxy
nginx proxy nginx proxy sets up a container running nginx and docker gen. docker gen generates reverse proxy configs for nginx and reloads nginx when containers are started and stopped. See Automated Nginx Reverse Proxy for Docker for why you might want to use this. Usage To run it: Then start any containers (here an nginx container) you want proxied with an env var VIRTUAL HOST=subdomain.yourdomain.com Provided your DNS is setup to resolve foo.bar.com to the host running nginx proxy, a request to will then be routed to a container with the VIRTUAL HOST env var set to foo.bar.com (in this case, the your proxied…
read the full nginx-proxy overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is algo or nginx-proxy more popular?
algo has 30,448 GitHub stars and nginx-proxy has 19,933. algo has the larger community by that measure.
Are algo and nginx-proxy free?
Both are open source. algo is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and nginx-proxy under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between algo and nginx-proxy?
algo is written in Python and nginx-proxy in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, algo or nginx-proxy?
Choose algo if you want the larger community (30,448 stars) or its AGPL-3.0 licence terms. Choose nginx-proxy if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.