head to head · open source
nginx-proxy vs SoftEtherVPN
nginx-proxy has 19,915 GitHub stars, 3,044 forks, 327 open issues and last shipped 5 days ago. SoftEtherVPN has 13,571 stars, 2,781 forks, 296 open issues and last shipped 8 days ago. nginx-proxy leads on adoption by 47% (19,915 vs 13,571 stars). nginx-proxy is written in Python under MIT; SoftEtherVPN is written in C under Apache-2.0. nginx-proxy has attracted 15% as many forks as stars, SoftEtherVPN 20%. 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
| nginx-proxy | SoftEtherVPN | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 20K | ★ 14K |
| License | MIT | Apache-2.0 |
| Written in | Python | C |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.0K | ⑂ 2.8K |
| 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 SoftEtherVPN if
- You want the SoftEtherVPN feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You evaluated both and SoftEtherVPN 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 SoftEtherVPN
SoftEther VPN is an open source, cross platform, multi protocol VPN server and client, written in C and licensed under Apache 2.0, intended for administrators and self hosters who need one program to serve many VPN protocols instead of running several separate daemons.
read the full SoftEtherVPN overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nginx-proxy or SoftEtherVPN more popular?
nginx-proxy has 19,915 GitHub stars and SoftEtherVPN has 13,571. nginx-proxy has the larger community by that measure.
Are nginx-proxy and SoftEtherVPN free?
Both are open source. nginx-proxy is licensed under MIT and SoftEtherVPN under Apache-2.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nginx-proxy and SoftEtherVPN?
nginx-proxy is written in Python and SoftEtherVPN in C. 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 SoftEtherVPN?
Choose nginx-proxy if you want the larger community (19,915 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose SoftEtherVPN if its feature set, stack or Apache-2.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.