Apache Web Server vs IIS vs NGINX Plus comparison

Apache and Microsoft are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. Apache is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.5, while Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.5. Apache holds a 10.5% mindshare in AIS, compared to Microsoft’s 9.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Apache users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Microsoft users who would recommend it.

Apache Web Server

Read 24 Apache Web Server reviews

1,705 Views
1,688 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IIS

Read 61 IIS reviews

3,651 Views
2,373 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

NGINX Plus

Read 32 NGINX Plus reviews

4,092 Views
1,637 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Apache Web Server

IIS

NGINX Plus

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Apache Web Server, IIS, and NGINX Plus based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, F5 and others in Application Infrastructure.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Infrastructure Report (Updated: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

March 2026

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Apache Web Server is 10.5%, up from 10.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of IIS is 9.9%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 8.9%, down from 11.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IIS	9.9%
NGINX Plus	8.9%
Apache Web Server	10.5%
Other	70.7%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

Dimitrios Zigkos

Enterprise Architect at Smals vzw

Faced limitations with integration and long-term adaptability but benefited from a lightweight architecture for standalone applications

I find valuable and beneficial the independence that comes with Apache Web Server. You can build a small project using a simple application server without bothering too much about how to manage it. The compatibility with multiple operating systems has helped my operations since most of the time we use Linux. Some systems rely on Windows, but they are few; in the past, Windows was the dominant operating system for mainstream PCs and infrastructure, but not for business. All the companies I worked for had 90% Linux and maybe up to 10% Windows. The initial setup of Apache Web Server was straightforward and okay.

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Krishnakumar Natarajan

Systems Engineer at Atos

Designs and manages multiple websites while ensuring data backup and disaster recovery

I have experience with AWS, and I am most familiar with the server environment, as we just use the server environment and then use Microsoft products on an AWS environment. I have experience with Windows Server IIS, which I ran on my own on-premise data center. The website was developed and then hosted, and through IIS, we managed the servers. The manageability within the IIS environment is not very difficult. For server management, you need to ensure data backup, data restore, and you have a DR configured to keep the database intact. It was done on-premises, so I had no problem doing that. If you have to go to the cloud, then you should have the storage connected to the IIS server and also have a DR set up for that. I didn't use Microsoft Azure tools, but since it is a Microsoft product, Azure has all the portability, so you don't have to worry about compatibility on the cloud. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this solution a 10.

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Nadeem-Inamdar

Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees

Advanced policies and web firewall have strengthened application protection and reduced attack traffic

There were some vulnerabilities in F5. They tried to fix it, but the fixes were not available at the time because they were zero days, so they attempted to fix it, but their support was not proper. Their support should be improved because sometimes features which we need for customization take time, and they are sometimes feasible and sometimes not feasible by the team, so their support and the engineering team should improve their product. I would like to see more features regarding customization which should be built into the application, and the tool optimization should be good, and the dashboard should be more crisp and clear.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"I find valuable and beneficial the independence that comes with Apache Web Server; you can build a small project using a simple application server without bothering too much about how to manage it."

"The control panel is very easy to navigate. It's similar to most hosting platforms, so it's user-friendly. Once you get used to it, managing your hosting becomes easy, too."

"It's very stable, and it hosts one of the biggest of many biggest web applications in the world."

"Its community is its most valuable feature. Solving problems is easier on Apache because so many people know this product."

"Apache Web Server can be used as a proxy server"

"The Apache Web Server is our software of choice for running our web servers for the past seven (7) years."

"In my experience, Apache Web Server has been a good and stable solution."

"Apache is a powerful tool with which you can make it do just about anything you need."

More Apache Web Server pros

"The solution is easy to use and connects with Microsoft."

"The product is easy to use."

"IIS has a very simple and user-friendly interface, which helps a lot in effective and efficient management."

"The most valuable parts of IIS are the interface, simplicity, and ease of management."

"The product is scalable."

"It is an easy-to-use and secure program."

"IIS is the best option on Microsoft Windows Server for hosting and deployment of .NET applications, either in a local environment or on the web."

"Windows Server IIS is stable."

More IIS pros

"I utilize NGINX for its capability to provide visibility and discovery options, helping discover and identify networks, which is crucial for ensuring application performance, managing latency, and checking server reachability."

"The most valuable features are the gateway and the ability to publish to sites."

"It is a great product, it serves us well and is the best solution."

"The web proxy and the database proxy are excellent."

"I receive very good support."

"The product is resilient."

"Application Gateway with application-level firewall tool and load distributor and balancer (also serves for A/B testing)."

"This solution has everything."

More NGINX Plus pros

Cons

"I want the user interface to be more user-friendly."

"The GUI for the less experienced users needs some improvement. For some companies, it is hard to configure it if they have not had any experience."

"It would be great if technical support for Apache were available in Iran. It is a very important need."

"Things change very fast. We're always on the lookout for better approaches and tools. If the solution falls behind, we may have to switch."

"Its stability could be better."

"The interface has room for improvement."

"No support is available from Apache software foundation."

"In future releases, I would like to see better server optimization."

More Apache Web Server cons

"IIS could improve by having some features related to URL rewrite, ARR (Application Request Routing) and HTTPS certificate generation."

"IIS could improve by Microsoft Windows improving the update services. We would like to be able to update all systems that are connected. The WSA service has to be in good order to accomplish this."

"The areas of this solution that need improvement are monitoring, debugging, and troubleshooting."

"IIS has some stability issues and needs restarting."

"The product could be more compatible with Linux and macOS, particularly when applying user configuration policies."

"Finding the correct options are not more intuitive, and it should be."

"This solution needs to be easier for cases where you want to have an IIS cluster."

"At the moment, we have big problems with stability, and I'm not very happy at the moment. So, the stability could be improved."

More IIS cons

"It would be great if there was even more automation to make it even easier to maintain."

"Make modules easier to enable or disable. The beauty and ugly side of the NGINX modules is you have to know how to compile the module."

"The biggest room for improvement would be to allow NGINX Core machines to cluster for memory zones in some way with a plug and play module. "

"The scalability could be improved."

"They should do in the open source version of what they did to Advanced HTTP, TCP, and UDP load balancing."

"Only improvement needed that I would point to is scalability. With it, I mean clusterized organisation on a low level. At the moment, the best alternative is RHEL HA."

"I would suggest adding GUI-based configuration panels to NGINX Plus to simplify setup and management tasks."

"The drawback is that you must obtain a license for everything."

More NGINX Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is an open-source solution."

"There is no licensing cost for the product."

"The apache software is free, open-source."

"It is a free-of-cost solution."

"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."

"Users can get a subscription-based license or a perpetual license for IIS."

"The yearly licensing cost is very high. The solution is very expensive."

"The solution’s pricing is yearly. The pricing is affordable and not high."

"I was using the trial version of IIS inside my virtual machines."

"IIS is expensive."

"We pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."

"There is no license needed to use the solution."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."

"There's an open-source version of NGINX that is free."

"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."

"I use the solution's community edition which is free of cost."

"The cost is reasonable."

"NGINX Plus is worth it, if you need it. If you do not need the features or support, the free and open source package is more than capable. "

"NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it."

"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours."

More NGINX Plus pricing and cost advice

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Comparison Review

it_user240036

Senior IT Architect at a university with 5,001-10,000 employees

Apr 10, 2016

Apache vs. Nginx

Originally posted https://zitseng.com/archives/10435 Apache or Nginx. This is a question that many website administrators have considered. It’s a question that I’ve also considered several times, and again just the past week. Apache is the most popular web server on the Internet. Nginx, on the…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

11%

Outsourcing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

10%

Comms Service Provider

Government

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

11%

Government

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	7
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	11

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Apache Web Server?

The product's initial setup phase is straightforward.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Apache Web Server?

There are no fees associated with the usage of Apache Web Server in my projects. If you want to have support, then th...

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What needs improvement with Apache Web Server?

I would like to see improvements in the functionality and core of Apache Web Server, focusing on building an infrastr...

See all answers

Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?

IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architectur...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?

For the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IIS, as a Microsoft product, I didn't think much about separately purc...

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What needs improvement with IIS?

I see that IIS has maintained the same interface for a long time, so they could potentially use more automation or in...

See all answers

What do you like most about NGINX Plus?

It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?

Pricing is reasonable and that is fine.

See all answers

What needs improvement with NGINX Plus?

There were some vulnerabilities in F5. They tried to fix it, but the fixes were not available at the time because the...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 6% of the time

Windows Server AppFabric vs Apache Web Server

Compared 6% of the time

Microsoft .NET Framework vs Apache Web Server

Compared 5% of the time

InterSystems Ensemble vs Apache Web Server

Compared 5% of the time

JBoss Enterprise Application Platform vs Apache Web Server

Compared 4% of the time

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Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 5% of the time

Windows Server AppFabric vs IIS

Compared 5% of the time

Oracle Application Server vs IIS

Compared 4% of the time

More IIS Competitors

HAProxy vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

NetScaler vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

Fortinet FortiADC vs NGINX Plus

Compared 4% of the time

IBM WebSphere Application Server vs NGINX Plus

Compared 4% of the time

More NGINX Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Apache Web Server

April 2026

Download Apache Web Server product report

Buyer's Guide

IIS

March 2026

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus

March 2026

Download NGINX Plus product report

Also Known As

Apache HTTP Server

Windows Server IIS

NGINX

Overview

The Apache HTTP Server Project was founded in 1995 by a group of webmasters, known as The Apache Group, with the aim of developing robust, richly-featured, freely-available and commercial-standard Web (HTTP) server source code. The result was Apache Web Server or Apache HTTP Server, which is an open-source public-domain web server.

This collaborative project has been enhanced ever since with contributions from the core development team and other volunteers situated all over the globe. Also, hundreds of users of this open-source web server have contributed code, ideas, and documentation. The project falls under The Apache Software Foundation, which manages many open-source projects.

Apache

Internet Information Services (IIS) provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS, you get choice and control without giving up reliability or security.

Microsoft

NGINX Plus is a versatile solution that offers load balancing, caching, proxying, and API deployment capabilities. It can be deployed on private or public clouds and is ideal for building CDN solutions. The solution can also be used to secure web applications and replace web services like Apache.

NGINX has helped organizations improve functioning, reduce downtimes, and offer a DevOps-friendly solution. Its community support and documentation are highly regarded, and its configuration is more straightforward, making it a recommended choice over HAProxy.

Sample Customers

Cisco, Intuit, General Electric, Adobe, VMware, PayPal, HP, EMC, eBay, Apple, SAP, Qualcomm, SanDisk, Allstate, FedEx

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

March 2026

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