Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Redis

Caddy logo

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

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; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Redis covers In-memory data store.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Redis actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Redis differ
AttributeCaddyRedis
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeUnknown
PlatformsLinux, macOS, Windows, DockerLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryCloudTechnology
FoundedUnknown2009

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

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 Redis

  • In-memory data store
  • Data structures
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Lua scripting
  • Transactions
  • Persistence options
  • Replication
  • Clustering

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 Redis
  • Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Redis
  • Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Redis

Redis

  • Cachingnot Caddy
  • Session managementnot Caddy
  • Real-time analyticsnot Caddy
  • Message queuingnot Caddy
  • Leaderboardsnot 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

Redis

  • Licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • All data must fit in memory, limiting scalability to available RAM
  • No built-in support for multi-tenancy
  • Limited transaction support compared to traditional databases

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

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

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.

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 Redis if

  • You need in-memory data store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want data structures.
Redis review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Redis better?
Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Redis at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Redis?
Caddy starts at Free and Redis at Free.
Does Caddy or Redis run on more platforms?
Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
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 Redis is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Redis cannot?
Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

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

Redis: Is Redis open source?

Redis was open source under the BSD license since its inception in 2009 and has remained open source. However, in 2024-2025, Redis Labs changed licensing to source-available and AGPL, prompting the creation of Valkey, a BSD-licensed open-source fork.

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.

Redis: What is Redis used for?

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used primarily as a cache, database, and message broker. It provides high-speed data access for real-time applications, sessions, leaderboards, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring fast data retrieval.

Source
Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

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

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