I am not aware of a vulnerability in popular web server software that affected a basic auth login screen for over a decade. Assuming you use a proper password and don't typo the domain and end up on someone who wants to specifically phish you through typo squatting, it's about as solid as SSH or Wireguard

They serve different use-cases but I wouldn't say that VPN is strictly better than HTTP auth or vice versa. Recommending to double up for a self-hosted little something, not a big target like 4chan or Gmail, is overkill