NGINXvsZed Attack Proxy (ZAP)
Two self-hosted projects, compared on the numbers selfhost.directory tracks live: score, popularity, release cadence and setup effort.
| NGINX | Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 84/100 | 80/100 |
| Rank in category | #2 of 12 in Web Servers | #4 of 78 in Security |
| GitHub stars | 31 993 | 16 059 |
| Stars, last 30 days | +272 | +244 |
| Stable releases, 12 months | 21 | 31 |
| Latest release | release-1.31.8 · 21 Oct 2026 | w2026-10-23 · 23 Oct 2026 |
| Setup | Moderate | Easy |
| Official Docker image | Yes | Yes |
| License | BSD-2-Clause | Apache-2.0 |
| Main language | C | Java |
Which one should you pick?
NGINX scores 84/100 against 80/100 for Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), so it is the safer default.
Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) ships more often: 31 stable releases in the past year, against 21 for NGINX.
If you want the quickest setup, Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) is easier to run; NGINX needs more configuration.
NGINX details →Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP) details →
Swap a project
Keep NGINX, compare it with
Keep Zed Attack Proxy (ZAP), compare it with