FastCGI vs local server with reverse proxy

[Mayuresh <mayuresh%acm.org@localhost>]

I am considering developing a web application. It's a user interface to a
system of records. No fancy widgets. In fact no javascript. It is expected
to work with elinks as a client.

While I'd usually choose Python for such application, I am deliberately
choosing C++ this time, to get a first hand experience of the current C++
ecosystem to build web applications.

Nearly half of its usage will be on localhost and rest half over the web.

For localhost usage I can reduce the overheads of TLS and in fact a full
web server, too. For example, I can use a local web server like
cpp-httplib.

For web usage I am considering lighttpd. Now I have two options:

1. Use FastCGI with lighttpd (no cpp-httplib).

2. Use reverse proxy with cpp-httplib server, and use the same cpp-httplib
server for localhost interactions without lighttpd in picture.

Intuitively I feel cpp-httplib would perform better on localhost (No TLS,
No IPC) than lighttpd + FastCGI.

I did some quick trials and find the results that are a bit
counter-intuitive to me.

lighttpd + FastCGI + TLS with elinks as client gives a much snappier feel
than cpp-httplib standalone server + no TLS with elinks.

Is this something to be expected? Are there any other choices for above
mix of requirements?

These are on NetBSD 10.1 amd64.

-- 
Mayuresh