Nginx Proxy Manager vs Traefik

Quick Verdict

Nginx Proxy Manager is the better choice for most self-hosters. Its web UI makes adding proxy hosts and SSL certificates trivial, with zero config file editing. Traefik is better if you manage infrastructure as code, run Docker Swarm or Kubernetes, or want automatic service discovery without manual proxy host creation.

Overview

Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) wraps Nginx in a web UI for managing reverse proxy hosts, SSL certificates, and access control. It targets self-hosters who want point-and-click simplicity over config files.

Traefik is a cloud-native edge router that automatically discovers services via Docker labels, Kubernetes ingress, or other providers. Configuration lives in files and labels — there is no built-in web UI for managing routes (the dashboard is read-only).

Both handle reverse proxying and automatic Let’s Encrypt SSL. They differ fundamentally in how you manage them: NPM through a GUI, Traefik through code.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Nginx Proxy Manager	Traefik
Web UI for management	Yes — full CRUD for proxy hosts	Read-only dashboard
Configuration method	Web UI (point and click)	Docker labels, YAML files, CLI flags
Auto service discovery	No — manual proxy host creation	Yes — watches Docker, K8s, Consul, etc.
Let’s Encrypt SSL	Yes — HTTP and DNS challenge	Yes — HTTP, TLS-ALPN, DNS challenge
Wildcard certificates	Yes — via DNS challenge	Yes — via DNS challenge
HTTP/2	Yes	Yes
HTTP/3 (QUIC)	No	Yes
WebSocket support	Yes — toggle per host	Yes — automatic
Middleware (auth, headers, rate limiting)	Basic — access lists, custom Nginx config	Extensive — 30+ built-in middleware
Load balancing	Limited	Yes — multiple strategies (round robin, weighted, sticky)
Docker Swarm support	No	Yes — native
Kubernetes support	No	Yes — native IngressRoute CRD
TCP/UDP forwarding	Yes — stream hosts	Yes — native TCP/UDP routers
Health checks	No	Yes — automatic backend health checks
Metrics/tracing	No	Yes — Prometheus, OpenTelemetry, Datadog
License	MIT	MIT
Underlying engine	Nginx	Custom Go HTTP server

Installation Complexity

NPM is easier to set up. A single Docker Compose service with three port mappings and two volumes. No config files needed — everything is done through the web UI after startup. You can go from zero to proxying services in under 5 minutes.

Traefik requires more upfront work. You need to understand entrypoints, providers, routers, services, and middleware. The Docker Compose file needs the socket mounted, a static configuration file (or CLI flags), and each proxied service needs Docker labels. First-time setup takes 15-30 minutes if you’ve never used Traefik before.

The trade-off: NPM’s simplicity means you configure each service manually. Traefik’s complexity means new containers with the right labels are discovered and proxied automatically — no manual step needed.

Performance and Resource Usage

Both are lightweight and handle typical homelab traffic without breaking a sweat.

Metric	NPM	Traefik
Idle RAM	~50 MB	~30-40 MB
CPU usage	Minimal	Minimal
Request throughput	High (Nginx underneath)	High (native Go)
Startup time	~5 seconds	~2 seconds
HTTP/3 support	No	Yes

NPM uses Nginx under the hood, which is battle-tested for raw throughput. Traefik’s native Go implementation is also fast but adds marginally more latency due to its middleware pipeline. For self-hosting workloads (dozens of services, not thousands of requests per second), you will never notice a difference.

Community and Support

Metric	NPM	Traefik
GitHub stars	~23K	~53K
Docker Hub pulls	1B+	3B+
Last release	Regular updates	Very active (monthly releases)
Documentation	Good — covers basics well	Excellent — comprehensive reference
Community	Active GitHub issues, Reddit	Large community, forums, commercial support available

Traefik has a larger community and more extensive documentation. NPM’s documentation is sufficient but less detailed for advanced use cases. Both have active GitHub repositories and community support.

Use Cases

Choose Nginx Proxy Manager If…

• You want a web UI for managing proxy hosts
• You prefer point-and-click over editing config files
• You’re new to reverse proxies and want the simplest path
• You run a small to medium homelab (5-50 services)
• You don’t use Docker Swarm or Kubernetes
• You want to delegate proxy management to less technical household members

Choose Traefik If…

• You want automatic service discovery — add a container, it’s proxied
• You manage infrastructure as code (GitOps workflow)
• You run Docker Swarm or Kubernetes
• You need advanced middleware (rate limiting, circuit breakers, retries)
• You want built-in metrics and tracing for observability
• You need HTTP/3 support
• You need load balancing across multiple backends

Final Verdict

For most self-hosters, Nginx Proxy Manager is the right choice. It does one thing — reverse proxying with SSL — and makes it dead simple. You don’t need to learn a new configuration language. You don’t need to add labels to every container. You click a few buttons and your service is live with HTTPS.

Traefik wins for infrastructure-as-code users. If you define your entire stack in Docker Compose files and want new services automatically proxied when you docker compose up, Traefik’s label-based discovery is a genuine workflow improvement. It also wins decisively for Swarm and Kubernetes deployments, where NPM simply doesn’t work.

The bottom line: start with NPM unless you have a specific reason to use Traefik. You can always migrate later — the proxy layer is one of the easier things to swap out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I migrate from NPM to Traefik without downtime?

Yes. Set up Traefik on different ports, configure all your services with Traefik labels, test internally, then swap port 80/443 from NPM to Traefik. The switchover itself takes seconds.

Does Traefik have a UI like NPM?

Traefik has a dashboard, but it’s read-only — you can view routes, services, and middleware, but you can’t create or edit them through the UI. All configuration happens via files, Docker labels, or API.

Which is more secure?

Both are secure when configured properly. NPM exposes an admin UI (port 81) that must be firewalled. Traefik’s dashboard should be protected with middleware authentication. Traefik has a smaller attack surface since it doesn’t run a separate admin web application.

Can I use both together?

Technically yes — you could put Traefik in front of NPM or vice versa — but there’s no practical reason to do so. Pick one.

Related

• How to Self-Host Nginx Proxy Manager
• How to Self-Host Traefik
• How to Self-Host Caddy
• Traefik vs Caddy
• NPM vs Caddy
• Best Self-Hosted Reverse Proxy
• Reverse Proxy Explained
• Docker Compose Basics