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Apache Traffic Server vs Nginx: catalog facts
Apache Traffic Server	Nginx
Free Apache Traffic Server is open source under Apache-2.0.	Free Nginx open source is free. Nginx Plus is a paid subscription.
Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
Caches HTTP requests to reduce origin load Can act as a proxy and load balancer	Event-driven model handles large numbers of idle connections cheaply One binary covers static serving, reverse proxying, caching and load balancing
Requires server installation and administration	Dynamic modules must usually be compiled in Several load-balancing and monitoring features are exclusive to the paid Nginx Plus
Downloadable app, Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: BSD-2-Clause
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 8, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.