Is Caddy or Semgrep better?

Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Caddy or Semgrep?

Caddy starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.

Does Caddy or Semgrep run on more platforms?

Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, 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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.

What can Caddy do that Semgrep cannot?

Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Cloud · head to head

Caddy vs Semgrep

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Semgrep

Cybersecurity

Open-source static analysis tool for finding security bugs and enforcing code standards.

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer; Semgrep free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
They diverge on capability: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Semgrep covers Static code scanning.
Prices and features above were last checked on 29 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Caddy and Semgrep actually diverge.

Attributes where Caddy and Semgrep differ
Attribute	Caddy	Semgrep
Pricing model	Open source, no licence fee	freemium
Platforms	Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker	web, api, linux, mac, windows
Category	Cloud	Cybersecurity

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 Semgrep

Static code scanning
Supply chain scanning
Secrets detection
Cross-file analysis
AI-powered triage and remediation
CI/CD 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 Semgrep
Small deployments where Nginx configuration is more effort than the problem warrantsnot Semgrep
Reverse proxying internal services with TLS without a certificate workflownot Semgrep

Semgrep

Scanning code for security vulnerabilities in CI/CDnot Caddy
Detecting vulnerable open-source dependenciesnot Caddy
Finding hardcoded secrets before code shipsnot Caddy
Enforcing custom code standards with rule setsnot Caddy
Prioritizing findings with AI-assisted triagenot 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

Semgrep

Free tier caps out at 10 contributors and 10 repositories.
Secrets scanning is priced as a separate module ($15/contributor) from Code and Supply Chain.
Self-managed repositories and custom CI/CD require the Enterprise tier.
AI credits are limited per tier and additional usage requires upgrading.

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Free

CaddyFree
- Full functionality
- Commercial use permitted
- Community support

Semgrep

Free

FreeFree
- Up to 10 contributors
- Code and Supply Chain scanning
- 60 AI credits total
Teams$30/month
- Code, Supply Chain, or Secrets scanning per contributor
- Pro rules
- AI-powered triage and remediation
Enterprise$undefined/month
- On-prem support
- Custom CI/CD
- 50 AI credits per developer/month

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 Semgrep if

You need static code scanning.
You want to start without paying.
You work on web, api, linux, mac, windows.
You also want supply chain scanning.

Semgrep review

Questions people ask

Is Caddy or Semgrep better?: Neither clearly leads. Caddy starts at Free and Semgrep at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Caddy or Semgrep?: Caddy starts at Free and Semgrep at Free.
Does Caddy or Semgrep run on more platforms?: Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker. Semgrep runs on web, api, linux, mac, 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 Semgrep is typically brought in for.
What can Caddy do that Semgrep cannot?: Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary. Semgrep covers Static code scanning, Supply chain scanning, Secrets detection, Cross-file analysis.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Caddy: Is Caddy free?

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

Semgrep: What does Semgrep cost?

The Free edition covers up to 10 contributors; Teams starts at $30/contributor/month for Code scanning (Supply Chain also $30, Secrets $15); Enterprise is custom-priced.

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.

Semgrep: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?

Yes, the Free edition supports up to 10 contributors and 10 repositories with Code and Supply Chain scanning plus 60 AI credits total.

Source

Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

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

Semgrep: How is usage metered?

Pricing is per contributor, defined as someone who made at least one commit to a scanned private repository in the past 90 days.

Source

Semgrep: Is there special pricing for startups?

Yes, Semgrep offers special startup pricing upon request for early-stage companies.

Source

Caddy vs Semgrep

Caddy

Semgrep

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Caddy

Only in Semgrep

What people use each for

Caddy

Semgrep

Where each one falls short

Caddy

Semgrep

Pricing, plan by plan

Caddy

Semgrep

Which should you pick?

Choose Caddy if

Choose Semgrep if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Caddy

More on Semgrep

Keep looking

Other head to heads