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Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Cerebrium

Caddy logo

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cerebrium logo

Cerebrium

Cloud

Serverless GPU infrastructure for real-time AI inference and applications

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer; Cerebrium free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Cerebrium actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Cerebrium differ
AttributeCaddyCerebrium
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeFreemium with monthly plans and per-second compute charges
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, DockerCloud, Docker

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cloud).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Caddy

  • Automatic HTTPS
  • Caddyfile
  • Reverse proxy
  • Single binary

Only in Cerebrium

  • Ultra-fast cold starts
  • Elastic scaling
  • Bring your own code
  • Multi-region failover
  • WebSocket and streaming
  • Asynchronous jobs
  • CI/CD with gradual rollouts
  • OpenTelemetry integration

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Caddy

  • Sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages beforenot Cerebrium
  • Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Cerebrium
  • Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Cerebrium

Cerebrium

  • Deploying voice agents and conversational AI applicationsnot Caddy
  • Video and image model serving with low latencynot Caddy
  • LLM inference and completion endpointsnot Caddy
  • Real-time embeddings and vector database operationsnot Caddy
  • Distributed model training with hyperparameter sweepsnot Caddy

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Caddy

  • Smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer
  • Adding plugins means rebuilding the binary rather than loading a module
  • Under very high throughput Nginx generally still benchmarks ahead
  • Automatic certificate issuance needs outbound internet access, which complicates air-gapped deployments

Cerebrium

  • Free Hobby tier limited to 3 apps and 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard plan at $100/month required for production deployments
  • Per-second compute pricing requires continuous cost monitoring
  • Storage costs add up for large model files

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Free
  • CaddyFree
    • Full functionality
    • Commercial use permitted
    • Community support

Cerebrium

Free
  • HobbyFree
    • 3 user seats
    • Up to 3 deployed apps
    • 5 GPU concurrency
  • Standard$100/month
    • Unlimited seats and apps
    • 30 GPU concurrency
    • Custom domains
  • Enterprise$undefined/custom
    • Unlimited resources
    • Volume discounts
    • Dedicated support
  • GPU Compute$undefined/per-second
    • T4: $0.000164/s
    • H100: $0.00167/s

Which should you pick?

Choose Caddy if

  • You need automatic https.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want caddyfile.
Caddy review

Choose Cerebrium if

  • You need ultra-fast cold starts.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Cloud, Docker.
  • You also want elastic scaling.
Cerebrium review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Cerebrium better?
Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Cerebrium at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Cerebrium?
Caddy starts at Free and Cerebrium at Free.
Does Caddy or Cerebrium run on more platforms?
Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Cerebrium runs on Cloud, Docker.
Can I use Caddy for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Caddy best used for?
Caddy is most often used for sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before, small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants, reverse proxying internal services with tls without a certificate workflow. Of those, sites and services where expired certificates have caused outages before and small deployments where nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrants are not what Cerebrium is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Cerebrium cannot?
Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Cerebrium covers Ultra-fast cold starts, Elastic scaling, Bring your own code, Multi-region failover.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

Yes, open source under the Apache 2.0 licence, free for commercial use.

Cerebrium: Is Cerebrium only for inference or can it train models?

Cerebrium supports both inference serving and model training with hyperparameter sweeps. It enables deployment of voice agents, LLMs, video models, and other AI applications.

Source
Caddy: What does automatic HTTPS mean?

Caddy obtains certificates from Let’s Encrypt or ZeroSSL on first request and renews them before expiry, with no cron job or configuration.

Cerebrium: How do the cold starts compare to other platforms?

Cerebrium achieves 2-4 second cold starts through memory and GPU snapshotting, significantly faster than traditional 30+ second cold boots. This is competitive with platforms like Beam Cloud.

Source
Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

Caddy is dramatically simpler to configure and removes certificate management. Nginx has the larger ecosystem and better peak throughput.

Cerebrium: What compliance certifications does Cerebrium have?

Cerebrium maintains SOC 2 Type II compliance, HIPAA certification, GDPR compliance, and ISO certification. It provides gVisor container isolation and configurable data residency for regulated workloads.

Source
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