Alternatives to HAProxy
High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer and proxy. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
HAProxy
High-performance TCP and HTTP load balancer and proxy.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as HAProxy.
Nginx
Web server, reverse proxy, cache and load balancer.
Nginx combines web serving, reverse proxying, caching and load balancing in one binary, though several load-balancing and monitoring features are exclusive to the paid Nginx Plus.
Traefik
Reverse proxy that discovers services automatically from Docker, Kubernetes and more.
Traefik discovers routes automatically from Docker labels or Kubernetes and issues Let's Encrypt certificates itself, with verbose, version-sensitive middleware configuration.
Caddy
A web server that obtains and renews HTTPS certificates automatically, with a config file short enough to fit on a postcard.
Caddy handles HTTPS certificates automatically and needs only two lines for a TLS reverse proxy, but has fewer modules and less high-traffic tuning knowledge than HAProxy-style setups.
Also worth comparing
These listings name HAProxy as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Nginx Proxy Manager
Browser interface for Nginx reverse proxy hosts with automatic Let's Encrypt certificates.
HAProxy is a high-performance load balancer and proxy with its own configuration language and no native automatic certificate issuance, so ACME runs alongside it.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Pomerium
An identity-aware reverse proxy that gives secure access to internal applications without a VPN.
Apache HTTP Server
The long-running modular web server behind a large share of the web.
oha
Measure web application performance with a terminal load generator.
