Envoy vs Nginx: Which Proxy to Self-Host?

Quick Verdict

Nginx is the better choice for self-hosters. It is lighter, simpler to configure, handles static files natively, and has the largest ecosystem of any web server. Choose Envoy if you specifically need native gRPC proxying, advanced load balancing algorithms, or built-in distributed tracing — otherwise Nginx covers everything you need with less complexity.

Overview

Both are high-performance C/C++ and Go-based proxies used at internet scale, but they come from different eras and design philosophies.

Nginx (v1.28.2) has been the most widely deployed web server since 2004. It handles reverse proxying, static file serving, caching, rate limiting, and load balancing. Its event-driven architecture and mature ecosystem make it the default choice for web infrastructure.

Envoy (v1.37.0) is a cloud-native proxy built in 2016 for modern microservice architectures. It provides L3/L4/L7 proxying with gRPC-native support, circuit breaking, automatic retries, and built-in observability via Prometheus and distributed tracing.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Envoy	Nginx
Static file serving	No	Yes (native, excellent)
HTTP/2	Native	Yes
HTTP/3 (QUIC)	Yes	Experimental (via module)
gRPC proxying	Native (first-class)	Basic (pass-through)
gRPC-JSON transcoding	Yes	No
Caching	No	Yes (built-in, powerful)
Rate limiting	Yes (local + global)	Yes (built-in, flexible)
Load balancing	5+ algorithms	Upstream module (3-4 methods)
Circuit breaking	Yes (detailed)	No
Automatic retries	Yes	No (manual via proxy_next_upstream)
Health checks	HTTP, TCP, gRPC	Basic (upstream checks in Plus)
Prometheus metrics	Built-in (detailed)	Via stub_status + exporter
Distributed tracing	Built-in (Zipkin, Jaeger, OTEL)	Via module (OpenTelemetry)
Automatic HTTPS	No	No (use Certbot)
Config format	YAML (verbose)	nginx.conf (custom DSL)
Dynamic config	xDS APIs	Reload (SIGHUP)
Lua scripting	No	Yes (via OpenResty/njs)
TCP/UDP proxying	Yes	Yes (stream module)
WebSocket	Yes	Yes (manual config)
CGI/FastCGI	No	Yes
Config complexity	High	Medium
Written in	C++	C
License	Apache 2.0	BSD 2-Clause

Installation Complexity

Nginx: One container, one config file (nginx.conf). The config syntax is custom but well-documented with 20 years of community examples. Basic proxy setup takes 10-20 minutes.

Envoy: One container, one config file (envoy.yaml). The YAML uses fully-qualified type annotations and nested filter chains. A simple proxy requires 30+ lines vs Nginx’s 10-15 lines for equivalent functionality.

Winner: Nginx. Simpler config, more examples available.

Performance and Resource Usage

Metric	Envoy	Nginx
Idle RAM	50-100 MB	10-30 MB
Under load RAM	200-500 MB	30-100 MB
Static file serving	Not supported	Extremely fast
Reverse proxy throughput	Very high	Very high
Connection handling	Multi-threaded	Event-driven (epoll/kqueue)

Nginx is lighter and faster for HTTP reverse proxying and static file serving. Its event-driven architecture and C implementation give it the lowest memory footprint of any major proxy. Envoy uses more memory for its observability subsystems, connection pools, and stats tracking.

Winner: Nginx for resource efficiency. Comparable for raw throughput.

Community and Support

Metric	Envoy	Nginx
GitHub stars	26K+	25K+
First release	2016	2004
Market share	Growing (cloud-native)	34% of all web servers
Backed by	CNCF	F5 Networks
Documentation	Comprehensive (infra-focused)	Extensive (20 years)
Self-hosting guides	Few	Countless
Enterprise version	No	Nginx Plus

Nginx has 20 years of community knowledge. Any configuration question has been answered in hundreds of blog posts, Stack Overflow threads, and tutorials.

Winner: Nginx for community. Both are well-documented.

Use Cases

Choose Envoy If…

• You run gRPC services and need native proxying with JSON transcoding
• Built-in Prometheus metrics and distributed tracing are requirements
• Circuit breaking and automatic retries are needed for resilience
• You are integrating with Istio or a service mesh
• Dynamic configuration via xDS APIs is required
• Advanced load balancing (Maglev, ring hash) matters

Choose Nginx If…

• You need static file serving alongside reverse proxying
• Caching for upstream responses is important
• You want the lightest resource usage
• Lua scripting for custom logic is needed (via njs or OpenResty)
• FastCGI for PHP applications matters
• You want the largest community and most documentation
• Simple, well-understood configuration is preferred

Final Verdict

Nginx wins for self-hosting. It does everything a self-hoster needs — reverse proxying, static files, caching, rate limiting, SSL — with the lowest resource usage and the largest community. If you need automatic HTTPS, pair it with Certbot or use Caddy instead.

Envoy wins for cloud-native infrastructure. If you are running microservices with gRPC, need built-in observability, or are integrating with a service mesh, Envoy is the modern standard. It solves problems Nginx was not designed for.

For a typical self-hosting setup: use Nginx (or Caddy for simpler HTTPS). Envoy is the right choice only when you have specific requirements that justify its complexity.

FAQ

Can Envoy serve static files?

No. Envoy is a proxy, not a web server. It does not serve files from disk. Use Nginx, Caddy, or a dedicated static file server if you need to serve websites.

Which is better for WordPress hosting?

Nginx, without question. It supports FastCGI for PHP, serves static assets natively, and has built-in caching optimized for WordPress. Envoy has no PHP support and cannot serve static files.

Does Nginx support gRPC?

Nginx can proxy gRPC traffic, but as a pass-through. It does not understand the gRPC protocol natively — no transcoding, no per-method routing, no gRPC health checks. Envoy understands gRPC at the protocol level.

Related

• How to Self-Host Envoy with Docker
• How to Self-Host Nginx with Docker
• How to Self-Host Caddy with Docker
• Caddy vs Nginx
• Envoy vs Traefik
• Best Self-Hosted Reverse Proxy
• Docker Compose Basics