head to head · open source
nginx-proxy vs openvpn-install
nginx-proxy has 19,915 GitHub stars, 3,044 forks, 327 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. openvpn-install has 16,135 stars, 3,337 forks, 24 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. nginx-proxy leads on adoption by 23% (19,915 vs 16,135 stars). nginx-proxy is written in Python under MIT; openvpn-install is written in Shell under MIT. nginx-proxy has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, openvpn-install 21%. openvpn-install 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
| nginx-proxy | openvpn-install | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 16K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-19 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 3.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nginx-proxy if
- You weight community size — 20K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick openvpn-install if
- You want the openvpn-install feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and openvpn-install fits your workflow better
About nginx-proxy
nginx proxy is an automated Nginx reverse proxy for Docker that watches containers start and stop and rewrites its own proxy configuration in response, and it is for anyone running containerised services who needs hostname based routing without hand editing nginx configuration files.
read the full nginx-proxy overview →
About openvpn-install
openvpn install is an MIT licensed Bash script that installs and manages a self hosted OpenVPN server on Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE, CentOS, Amazon Linux, Arch Linux, Oracle Linux, Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux, aimed at anyone who runs their own VPS, dedicated server or home machine and wants to generate VPN client configuration files per device.
read the full openvpn-install overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nginx-proxy or openvpn-install more popular?
nginx-proxy has 19,915 GitHub stars and openvpn-install has 16,135. nginx-proxy has the larger community by that measure.
Are nginx-proxy and openvpn-install free?
Both are open source. nginx-proxy is licensed under MIT and openvpn-install under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nginx-proxy and openvpn-install?
nginx-proxy is written in Python and openvpn-install in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, nginx-proxy or openvpn-install?
Choose nginx-proxy if you want the larger community (19,915 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose openvpn-install if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.