Squid vs Tinyproxy
Squid
squid-cache.orgTinyproxy
tinyproxy.github.ioSide by side
| Figure | Squid | Tinyproxy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Forward Proxy Software | 7.4 (#11) | 7.3 (#12) |
| Spec score · Proxy Software | 7.3 (#28) | 7.2 (#30) |
| Access controls | The project describes Squid as having extensive access controls and full request logging. | Administrators can restrict client access by address or subnet and configure HTTP Basic Authentication. |
| Installation | Squid is available through operating-system package systems, source releases and GitHub, and binary packages for a variety of platforms including Windows. | Tinyproxy is distributed as source code that must be compiled, and the project lists packages or ports for Linux distributions, BSD systems, and Mac OS X. |
| Support | The project offers documentation, a wiki, bug tracking, mailing lists, and links to commercial services; direct project contact is not for user support. | The project directs users to GitHub issues for bugs or feature suggestions and identifies #tinyproxy on Libera.Chat as a developer community channel. |
Plans
In their own words
Squid
Squid is a self-hosted caching proxy for web traffic. It keeps commonly requested pages and other supported data available for reuse, helping reduce bandwidth and improve response times. Squid handles HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and gopher data; supported cache engines also include ICP and HTCP. Administrators can apply access controls and use full request logging. Squid can accelerate servers, direct content among web servers, and organize content clusters for load balancing. Multiple caches can be connected as a mesh or hierarchy through parent and sibling links. Proxy authentication options include Basic, NTLM, Digest, and Negotiate, with bundled helpers for LDAP, SQL databases, PAM, RADIUS, and Windows domains. Basic authentication encodes credentials with Base64 rather than encrypting them, so credentials are effectively cleartext between browser and proxy. Squid is free to download, use, and modify, and is distributed under GPL version 2, with some components under compatible open-source licenses. It is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, with installation through operating-system packages, source releases, and binaries. Documentation, a wiki, bug tracking, and mailing lists are available.
Tinyproxy
Tinyproxy is a free, open-source HTTP/HTTPS proxy daemon for POSIX systems, available for Linux, macOS, and self-hosted deployments. It is aimed at embedded installations and small networks where larger proxy servers consume too many resources. The project reports memory use of about 2 MB with glibc, while CPU load rises linearly as simultaneous connections increase. Tinyproxy forwards HTTPS through CONNECT without changing traffic; administrators can limit CONNECT by port or disable it. It can operate as a transparent proxy or reverse-proxy front end. Rules filter websites by URL or domain, although URL filtering works only for plain HTTP. Upstream HTTP, SOCKS4, and SOCKS5 proxies can be selected by site. Client access can be limited by address or subnet, with HTTP Basic Authentication available. Header controls do not affect HTTPS. Source compilation is required, with packages or ports listed for several systems.