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IIS vs Microsoft .NET Framework comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.9
IIS offers positive ROI with authentication benefits, affordability, and security, though user-friendly improvements are suggested for accessibility.
Sentiment score
7.8
Microsoft .NET Framework delivers significant ROI and efficiency, with companies saving 30%-40% annually by reducing outsourcing costs.
It should be more user-friendly overall, because unless you know how IIS works as a Microsoft product, a system admin cannot just manage it.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft support gets mixed reviews; praised for efficiency and resources, but criticized for slow response and entry-level understanding.
Sentiment score
6.4
Customer service excels, but technical support is inconsistent; users often use self-help resources due to inefficiencies.
Microsoft provides a lot of online documentation to consult before speaking to an expert.
There are typically no significant issues.
I would rate the support from Microsoft very high because I definitely got all the help during the testing time of the development kit while we were configuring features on our on-premises server.
Microsoft is better in backward compatibility compared to others.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
IIS is scalable for varied applications, though dependent on hardware, with improvements in clustering and flexible service management.
Sentiment score
7.1
Microsoft .NET Framework excels in scalability, influenced by architecture and deployment, with improved capabilities in .NET Core for diverse projects.
It depends on the server environment and the presence of a UPS for power backup.
I would rate the scalability of IIS as a six, mainly due to integration issues since it cannot integrate with other environments.
I have not encountered any significant issues with scalability.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
IIS is stable, reliable, and highly rated by users, with occasional compatibility issues with non-Microsoft technologies.
Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft .NET Framework is highly stable, with few bugs, reliable updates, stable private cloud, and high ratings for reliability.
I would give it a nine out of ten for stability.
It was secured for us, as we launched the product, and people were accessing it from India and Virginia, and we had no problem.
I would rate IIS's stability as an eight out of ten.
When systems need updates, they require proper long-term support (LTS) versions.
It is stable overall.
 

Room For Improvement

IIS struggles with compatibility, user-friendliness, integration, performance, security, and documentation challenges, posing significant user and scalability issues.
The .NET Framework needs enhanced cross-platform compatibility, integration, security, performance, user-friendliness, AI features, automation, and affordability.
It should be more user-friendly because unless you know how IIS works as a Microsoft product, a system admin cannot just manage it.
If I compare IIS to other web servers such as Apache, which can be deployed in other environments like Linux, I find IIS is mostly used for simple things.
It's influenced by the server's service performance.
Since it is now open source, it could be easier to progress further.
It's still possible with Microsoft .NET Framework, which isn't the case with many other products. That's a positive aspect.
 

Setup Cost

IIS licensing is bundled with Windows Server, offering flexible options but may incur extra costs for services and fees.
Microsoft .NET Framework offers free and paid options, with costs varying based on usage, additional tools, and deployment needs.
If you have a Windows license, there is no additional cost for IIS.
We never had any pricing issue, but I don't know if it is competitive or not.
There is a free version available for the old version and also for the new version.
 

Valuable Features

IIS is user-friendly, efficient, secure, and integrates well with Microsoft, offering scalability and control for IT administrators.
Microsoft .NET Framework is valued for integration, tools, libraries, enterprise capabilities, multi-language support, security, scalability, and performance.
It is easy to publish websites with SSL, and it integrates well within the local environment and cloud.
The configurations are simple, making it very easy to use and to set up everything.
The best features of IIS are that you can design your own website and manage it yourself, creating as many websites as you want.
The new Microsoft .NET Framework runs perfectly in the cloud without problems.
The structure that can be created is beneficial because once you have the structure, you can be more productive and faster to create and interact with different clouds and implementations.
 

Categories and Ranking

IIS
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
55
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 10.5%, down from 13.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 5.8%, down from 6.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
IIS10.5%
Microsoft .NET Framework5.8%
Other83.7%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Krishnakumar Natarajan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
David Shlingbaum - PeerSpot reviewer
Old version maintains functionality but lacks current cloud support
Since the version I'm using is many years old, they have been continuously improving. They are always adding features to the language and framework, but I cannot comment from a very old version on what needs to be improved as I'm not completely up to date. There is a challenge and complexity in supporting a very old version of a product that is no longer supported. It's still possible with Microsoft .NET Framework, which isn't the case with many other products. That's a positive aspect. It has limitations when trying to develop new things with Microsoft .NET Framework. But whatever works, continues to work. It always needs improvement, but again, it does not improve when discussing an old version of Microsoft .NET Framework. I think they're always improving, but it's a never-ending process.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Construction Company
14%
Real Estate/Law Firm
12%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise11
Large Enterprise20
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business28
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

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 architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?
If you have a Windows license, there is no additional cost for IIS. However, you may need to pay for SSL publishing at times.
What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
I don't know about pricing. I'm paying for Visual Studio, even though I'm not using the new version yet. Prices can always be better, but I think for the environment provided, the prices are accept...
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
Since the version I'm using is many years old, they have been continuously improving. They are always adding features to the language and framework, but I cannot comment from a very old version on ...
 

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS
MS .NET Framework
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Find out what your peers are saying about IIS vs. Microsoft .NET Framework and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,370 professionals have used our research since 2012.