**Pros:**

- True auto-discovery - add labels to a container and Traefik proxies it automatically

- Config is entirely in Docker Compose labels - everything is version-controlled

- Extensive middleware ecosystem: rate limiting, basic auth, headers, circuit breakers

- Scales beautifully to Docker Swarm and Kubernetes

- Built-in dashboard shows live routes, health, and metrics

**Cons:**

- Steep learning curve - entrypoints, routers, middlewares, services, providers

- Requires mounting the Docker socket, which creates a security surface

- Labels are verbose - 5 to 8 lines per service makes Compose files noisy

- Higher memory usage than Caddy (~55 MB idle)

**Official docs:** [doc.traefik.io/traefik/](https://doc.traefik.io/traefik/)

The Benchmarks

I tested all three on a single Proxmox VM (4 vCPU, 8 GB RAM, NVMe storage) running Ubuntu 24.04 with Docker. I proxied the same 12 services through each proxy and measured performance under identical conditions.

Memory Usage (Idle, After 24 Hours)

|---|---|---|---|

Caddy uses about 25 MB at idle versus NPM's 85 MB and Traefik's 55 MB. On a typical homelab host with 8-32 GB of RAM, this difference is negligible. But if you are running on a Raspberry Pi 4 with 4 GB, that 60 MB difference between Caddy and NPM matters more.

CPU Overhead (7-Day Average)

|---|---|---|---|

All three handle homelab traffic easily. You will not see a practical performance difference unless you are serving thousands of concurrent requests.

Response Time (HTTP Request, P95)

|---|---|---|---|

The differences here are within measurement margin of error. For a homelab, performance is a non-factor in this decision.

Setup Time (Measured)

|---|---|---|---|

This is where the real differences live. NPM is fastest for the first service. Caddy catches up fast because you can add services by adding lines to a text file. Traefik takes the longest upfront because you need to understand its routing model before it makes sense.

Who Should Pick Which

Pick Nginx Proxy Manager if...

You are new to homelabs or self-hosting. You want something working today, not after reading documentation. You have 10 or fewer services, and you do not change them often. You prefer web interfaces over text editors. The tradeoff - configuration that cannot be version-controlled and manual setup for each service - is worth it for the 5-minute time to first proxy.

NPM is the training wheels option. There is nothing wrong with that. I ran NPM for two years before I outgrew it.

Pick Caddy if...

You want the best balance of simplicity and power. You are comfortable with a text-based config file (which is literally one line per service). You want automatic HTTPS that requires zero configuration. You have 10 to 30 services and add new ones regularly. You want something lightweight that just works.

Caddy is the answer for most homelabbers in 2026. It is what I currently run. The Caddyfile format is so clean that I find myself reaching for it even for services that do not strictly need a reverse proxy.

**Official docs:** [caddyserver.com/docs/](https://caddyserver.com/docs/)

Pick Traefik if...

You have 15 or more services and you add or remove containers frequently enough that manual configuration would drive you crazy. You want infrastructure-as-code where everything lives in Docker Compose files and a new server can be rebuilt identical to the old one by running `docker compose up -d`. You are comfortable navigating documentation and debugging label syntax.

Traefik rewards the upfront learning investment with the lowest ongoing maintenance of any option. If your homelab is Docker-heavy and you are comfortable with YAML, Traefik is a joy once it clicks.

For monitoring your chosen reverse proxy, check out our [Docker Monitoring Tools Comparison](https://homelabaddiction.com/docker-monitoring-tools-comparison) - it covers exactly how to keep an eye on these services.

How to Migrate Between Reverse Proxies

Switching reverse proxies sounds intimidating, but it is surprisingly simple if you follow this approach:

Step 1: Document Your Current Routes

List every service, its internal URL, and its external hostname. This takes 10 minutes and is worth doing regardless.

Step 2: Set Up the New Proxy Alongside the Old One

Run the new proxy on different ports temporarily (e.g., 8080 and 8443). Configure all your services in the new proxy. Test each one.

Step 3: Flip the Switch

Stop the old proxy, restart the new one on ports 80 and 443. Services will be down for about 30 seconds while Docker reconfigures networking.

Step 4: Keep the Old Config for a Week

Leave the old proxy container stopped but not removed. If something breaks, revert by stopping the new proxy and starting the old one.

Step 5: Clean Up

After a week with no issues, remove the old proxy container and volumes.

Comparison With Raw Nginx

You may wonder why I did not include raw Nginx in this comparison. Here is the honest answer: raw Nginx requires manually writing .conf files, integrating Certbot for SSL, and reloading the server for every change. For a homelab, it makes sense only if you are already extremely familiar with Nginx syntax and you value raw performance over convenience. All three options here wrap Nginx or use their own engine (Caddy and Traefik are both Go-based) to eliminate that manual overhead.

If you are already running Nginx with Certbot and it works for you, stick with it. But if you are starting fresh in 2026, Caddy or NPM will save you time.

FAQ

**Q: Which reverse proxy uses the least memory?**

A: Caddy, by a wide margin. It uses roughly 25 MB at idle compared to NPM's 85 MB and Traefik's 55 MB. On a Raspberry Pi or resource-constrained host, this matters. On a typical homelab server with 16 GB or more, it is a rounding error.

**Q: Can I run two reverse proxies at the same time?**

A: Not on ports 80 and 443 - only one service can bind to each port. You can run additional proxies on different ports for testing, but in production you pick one for the standard ports.

**Q: Does Caddy support WebSocket connections?**

A: Yes, and it requires no special configuration. Caddy detects WebSocket upgrades automatically and handles them transparently. The same is true for Traefik and NPM.

**Q: Is it safe to mount the Docker socket for Traefik?**

A: Mounting `/var/run/docker.sock` gives the container root-level access to the Docker daemon. This is a known security risk. Mitigate it by using a Docker socket proxy like `docker-socket-proxy` that restricts which API calls are allowed. Traefik works fine through a socket proxy.

**Q: Do I need a reverse proxy if I use Cloudflare Tunnel?**

A: Cloudflare Tunnel can replace a reverse proxy for external access, but you still benefit from having one internally. A reverse proxy handles local DNS, internal certificates, and service routing on your LAN without depending on Cloudflare. Many homelabbers use both - Cloudflare Tunnel for external access and a reverse proxy for internal traffic. See our [Proxmox vs ESXi vs Hyper-V](https://homelabaddiction.com/proxmox-vs-esxi-vs-hyper-v) comparison for how reverse proxies fit into a broader homelab infrastructure.

My Verdict

After two weeks of side-by-side testing and years of running all three in production, here is my answer:

**For most homelabbers in 2026, the answer is Caddy.**

It hits the sweet spot. The Caddyfile is simple enough that you can set it up in 10 minutes, but powerful enough that you will not outgrow it. The automatic HTTPS is genuinely zero-config. The memory footprint is the lowest of the three. And the config is a plain text file that you can version-control, back up, and restore in seconds.

|---|---|

If you are setting up a reverse proxy for the first time, start with Caddy. If you outgrow it (you probably will not), you can migrate to Traefik in an afternoon. The important thing is to get a reverse proxy running today. The perfect is the enemy of the good, and any of these three is better than no reverse proxy at all.

For the hardware to run your reverse proxy, I recommend a mini PC like the Beelink SER5 or a dedicated VM on your Proxmox host - these proxies are lightweight enough that they will never be your bottleneck.

Recommended Hardware

If you are building a homelab from scratch or upgrading to run your reverse proxy alongside other services, here is the hardware I recommend based on my testing:

|---|---|---|

*Prices may vary. Amazon affiliate links with tag homelabaddiction-20.*

*This comparison was conducted over 14 days on a Beelink SER5 MAX (Ryzen 7 5800H, 32GB DDR5, 2TB Samsung 990 Pro NVMe) running Proxmox VE 8.3 with Ubuntu 24.04 containers. Your results may vary based on your specific hardware and workload.*