head to head · open source
nginx vs proxy.py
nginx has 32,122 GitHub stars, 8,396 forks, 468 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. proxy.py has 3,559 stars, 625 forks, 103 open issues and last shipped 13 days ago. nginx leads on adoption by 803% (32,122 vs 3,559 stars). nginx is written in C under BSD-2-Clause; proxy.py is written in Python under BSD-3-Clause. nginx has attracted 26% as many forks as stars, proxy.py 18%. nginx 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.py | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 3.6K |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | BSD-3-Clause |
| Written in | C | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-09 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 8.4K | ⑂ 625 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick nginx if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the BSD-2-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches C
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick proxy.py if
- You want the proxy.py feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the BSD-3-Clause license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and proxy.py fits your workflow better
About nginx
NGINX (pronounced "engine x" or "en jin eks") is the world's most popular Web Server, high performance Load Balancer, Reverse Proxy, API Gateway and Content Cache. NGINX is free and open source software, distributed under the terms of a simplified 2 clause BSD like license. Enterprise distributions, commercial support and training are available from F5, Inc. [!IMPORTANT] The goal of this README is to provide a basic, structured introduction to NGINX for novice users. Please refer to the full NGINX documentation for detailed information on installing, building, configuring, debugging, and more. These…
read the full nginx overview →
About proxy.py
[//]: (DO NOT REMOVE docs badges START) Table of Contents Features Install Using PIP Stable version Development version Using Docker Stable version from Docker Hub Development Version from GHCR Build container locally Using HomeBrew Stable version Development version Start proxy.py From command line when installed using PIP Run it Understanding logs Enable DEBUG logging From command line using repo source Docker Image Customize Startup Flags Plugin Examples HTTP Proxy Plugins ShortLink Plugin Modify Post Data Plugin Mock Api Plugin Redirect To Custom Server Plugin Filter By Upstream Host Plugin Cache Responses…
read the full proxy.py overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is nginx or proxy.py more popular?
nginx has 32,122 GitHub stars and proxy.py has 3,559. nginx has the larger community by that measure.
Are nginx and proxy.py free?
Both are open source. nginx is licensed under BSD-2-Clause and proxy.py under BSD-3-Clause. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between nginx and proxy.py?
nginx is written in C and proxy.py 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, nginx or proxy.py?
Choose nginx if you want the larger community (32,122 stars) or its BSD-2-Clause licence terms. Choose proxy.py if its feature set, stack or BSD-3-Clause licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.