What Apache HTTP Server Project does

Apache HTTP Server (httpd) is an open-source web server originally derived from the NCSA HTTPd project in 1995 and maintained since 1999 by The Apache Software Foundation, a Delaware-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The software is released under the Apache License 2.0 at no cost and is distributed via direct downloads, source repositories, and pre-packaged inclusion in major Linux distributions (Fedora/CentOS/RHEL, Ubuntu/Debian). The current stable branch, 2.4.x, was introduced in February 2012 and remains the active development line, with version 2.4.68 released in June 2026.

The product is built in C, uses the Apache Portable Runtime (APR) for cross-platform portability, and runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Unix-like systems. Its core architecture centers on Multi-Processing Modules (MPMs) — prefork, worker, and event — that govern concurrent connection handling, combined with a Dynamic Shared Object (DSO) module loader that enables loading and unloading of 100+ functional modules at runtime. The module ecosystem covers HTTP/2 transport (mod_http2), TLS/SSL encryption (mod_ssl with OCSP stapling), multi-protocol proxying and load balancing (mod_proxy, mod_proxy_balancer), URL rewriting (mod_rewrite), content caching (mod_cache), enterprise authentication (mod_ldap, mod_authnz_fcgi), automated certificate management (mod_md/ACME), Brotli compression (mod_brotli), Redis shared caching (mod_socache_redis), systemd integration (mod_systemd), and scripting (mod_lua).

The project generates no commercial revenue. Development is funded through donations, corporate sponsorship of the Apache Software Foundation, and volunteer contributions. Adoption is community-led, driven by brand reputation, inclusion in Linux distributions, comprehensive documentation, mailing-list support, and word-of-mouth within the system administration and web operations community. End users are web server operators — individuals and organizations hosting websites, web applications, APIs, and reverse-proxy or load-balancing infrastructure — across global geographies.

Name

Apache HTTP Server Project

Legal name

The Apache Software Foundation

Website

https://httpd.apache.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Apache HTTP Server Project develops and maintains Apache httpd, a free, open-source web server distributed under the Apache License 2.0 by The Apache Software Foundation. It serves web operators worldwide with a modular C-based architecture supporting HTTP/2, TLS, proxying, and load balancing across Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Web Server Software

NAICS

Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Cloud Networking Core Services (VPC/VNet, Load Balancing, DNS, NAT) (HDABAAAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Resilient DNS, Traffic Management & Global Load Balancing (HDABAIAI)

Keywords

• Open-source web server
• HTTP server software
• Web server modules
• Reverse proxy
• Load balancing

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Open-source software (no revenue): Apache HTTP Server is free, open-source software released under the Apache License 2.0. The project is a non-profit initiative of The Apache Software Foundation and does not generate commercial revenue. Development is funded by donations and sponsored by member companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Apache HTTP Server (httpd) is an open-source, cross-platform web server released by The Apache Software Foundation under the Apache License 2.0. It provides reliable, extensible HTTP request handling with 100+ modules supporting TLS/SSL, HTTP/2, reverse proxy, load balancing, URL rewriting, content caching, and authentication. The software runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Unix-like systems and is used to host websites, web applications, and APIs from personal sites to mission-critical production infrastructure.

Product overview

Apache HTTP Server is a single, unified open-source web server product with a modular architecture featuring 100+ built-in and third-party modules. The core server (httpd) provides foundational HTTP functionality, extended by modules including: mod_http2 for HTTP/2 support, mod_ssl for TLS/SSL encryption, mod_proxy/mod_proxy_balancer for proxying and load balancing, mod_cache for content caching, mod_rewrite for URL manipulation, mod_ldap/mod_authnz_ldap for enterprise authentication, mod_md for automated certificate management, and specialized modules for FastCGI, Python (UWSGI), WebSockets, Redis caching, and systemd integration. The product is released as source code and runs on Linux, Windows, macOS, and Unix-like systems. Version 2.4.x is the current stable branch, with 2.4.68 being the latest release addressing security vulnerabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Apache HTTP Server (httpd) A fast, reliable, and extensible open-source web server for modern operating systems (Linux, Windows, macOS, Unix-like systems). Powers everything from personal sites to mission-critical production infrastructure with 100+ modules for flexible configuration, security, performance, and extensibility. Distributed under the Apache License 2.0 at no cost.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100+ modules available for extending functionality
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Cloudflare: A broad incumbent in CDN, edge security, and managed reverse-proxy/WAF. Offers overlapping traffic-management and TLS capabilities above the layer where Apache httpd typically operates, absorbing workloads that would otherwise run on a customer-managed httpd.

Emerging players

• Traefik Proxy: A cloud-native reverse proxy and Kubernetes ingress controller with automatic service discovery. Increasingly displaces traditional web servers like httpd in containerized environments where infrastructure is declarative and dynamic.
• Envoy Proxy: A cloud-native L7 proxy that serves as the data plane for service-mesh and ingress use cases (Istio, etc.). Competes with httpd in modern container and microservices architectures where traditional monolithic web servers are less common.
• Caddy: A modern Go-based web server with automatic HTTPS via ACME by default. Targets the same developer and small-to-mid-deployment use cases as httpd, with significantly simpler configuration; positioned as the next-generation replacement in greenfield environments.
• OpenResty: An nginx-based web platform bundling Lua scripting and a large module ecosystem (similar in spirit to Apache httpd's 100+ module architecture). Competes with httpd for API gateway and dynamic web serving use cases where in-request scripting is required.

Direct peers

• nginx (F5 NGINX): The most direct open-source web-server competitor to Apache httpd. nginx serves the same HTTP/reverse-proxy/load-balancing use cases and overtook Apache in high-traffic deployments during the 2010s. F5 acquired NGINX in 2019, making it both a direct product peer and a key commercial competitor.
• Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS): Microsoft's Windows-native web server competes head-on with Apache httpd in enterprise on-premise and ASP.NET hosting. Overlapping capabilities include HTTP/2, TLS termination, URL rewriting, and load balancing, with primary commercial appeal in Windows-centric environments.
• HAProxy: An open-source L4/L7 load balancer and reverse proxy that competes directly with Apache httpd's mod_proxy and mod_proxy_balancer for traffic-management workloads. Often deployed alongside or instead of httpd to terminate and distribute inbound traffic.
• LiteSpeed Web Server: A drop-in Apache-compatible web server that reads httpd .htaccess and mod_rewrite configurations and offers event-driven performance. Targets performance-conscious shared-hosting and high-traffic workloads where httpd is currently used, positioning itself as a direct replacement rather than an alternative.

Others

• Apache Tomcat: A sibling Apache Software Foundation project providing a Java servlet container. Often paired with Apache httpd in a reverse-proxy-to-backend configuration rather than competing directly, but both are core ASF infrastructure projects with overlapping contributor communities and governance.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/apache_httpd
• GitHubsvn.apache.org/viewvc/httpd/httpd/trunk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Apache HTTP Server Project