Softwr

Cloud · head to head

Terragrunt vs Caddy

Terragrunt logo

Terragrunt

Cloud

The Open Source IaC Orchestrator Platform Teams Trust

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Caddy logo

Caddy

Cloud

Web server with automatic HTTPS by default

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Terragrunt additional complexity layer on top of Terraform; Caddy smaller ecosystem than Nginx, so third-party guides and modules are fewer
  • They diverge on capability: Terragrunt covers Infrastructure orchestration, Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Terragrunt and Caddy actually diverge.

Attributes where Terragrunt and Caddy differ
AttributeTerragruntCaddy
Pricing modelUnknownOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsAWS, Azure, GCPLinux, macOS, Windows, 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 Terragrunt

  • Infrastructure orchestration
  • Run Queue
  • DRY configuration
  • Automated hooks
  • Infrastructure catalog
  • Least-privilege access

Only in Caddy

  • Automatic HTTPS
  • Caddyfile
  • Reverse proxy
  • Single binary

What people use each for

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

Terragrunt

  • Organizing Terraform code across multiple environmentsnot Caddy
  • Automating infrastructure deployment workflowsnot Caddy
  • Implementing infrastructure as code templates for developer self-servicenot Caddy

Caddy

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

Where each one falls short

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

Terragrunt

  • Additional complexity layer on top of Terraform
  • Requires understanding of Terraform concepts
  • Paid tier pricing not clearly published

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

Pricing, plan by plan

Terragrunt

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Terragrunt CLI - completely free
    • Community support
  • Terragrunt Scale FreeFree
    • Free CI/CD pipeline
    • Unlimited runs and resources
    • For up to 25 infrastructure units
  • Terragrunt Scale Paid$undefined/custom
    • Volume pricing for more than 25 infrastructure units
    • Enterprise support

Caddy

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Terragrunt if

  • You need infrastructure orchestration.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on AWS, Azure, GCP.
  • You also want run queue.
Terragrunt review

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

Questions people ask

Is Terragrunt or Caddy better?
Neither clearly leads. Terragrunt starts at Free and Caddy at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Terragrunt or Caddy?
Terragrunt starts at Free and Caddy at Free.
Does Terragrunt or Caddy run on more platforms?
Terragrunt runs on AWS, Azure, GCP. Caddy runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Terragrunt for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Terragrunt best used for?
Terragrunt is most often used for organizing terraform code across multiple environments, automating infrastructure deployment workflows, implementing infrastructure as code templates for developer self-service. Of those, organizing terraform code across multiple environments and automating infrastructure deployment workflows are not what Caddy is typically brought in for.
What can Terragrunt do that Caddy cannot?
Terragrunt covers Infrastructure orchestration, Run Queue, DRY configuration, Automated hooks. Caddy covers Automatic HTTPS, Caddyfile, Reverse proxy, Single binary.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Terragrunt: Is Terragrunt free?

Yes, the Terragrunt CLI is completely free and open source. Terragrunt Scale offers a free tier for up to 25 infrastructure units.

Source
Caddy: Is Caddy free?

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

Terragrunt: What is the difference between Terragrunt and Terraform?

Terragrunt is an orchestration layer on top of Terraform that handles state management, DRY principles, and deployment automation without replacing Terraform itself.

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.

Caddy: Caddy or Nginx?

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

Share

Related pages

More on Terragrunt

More on Caddy

Keep looking

Other head to heads