Do you use a reverse proxy for your Docker Containers? You should. I really like Nginx Proxy Manager (NPM) for beginners. However, recently I have made the switch to Traefik and it has changed the game in terms of infrastructure as code and getting my home lab to a point where I can automate everything with my containers. In this video, I take a look at the differences between the two, and why I am making the switch to Traefik at this point in my home lab journey.
Take a look at the written post for this comparison here: https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2025/09/i-replaced-nginx-proxy-manager-with-traefik-in-my-home-lab-and-it-changed-everything/
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Introduction – 0:00
NPM is still great! 0:50
Looking at Nginx Proxy Manager – 1:24
IaC and why Traefik makes sense – 3:46
Looking at Docker Compose file with Traefik labels – 5:11
All your configuration in the same code – 6:51
I like the development lifecycle of Traefik better han NPM – 7:23
Automation between the two – 8:02
Traefik includes Docker and Docker Swarm support – 8:38
Advanced routing capabilities in Traefik – 9:20
Traefik plugins – 9:35
Observability and Traefik dashboard – 9:45
NPM web UI – 10:05
Traefik is built for multiple hosts – 10:12
Community and ecosystem around Traefik – 10:44
Traefik has fewer moving parts with single container – 11:14
Wrapping up – 11:45
