IIS vs NGINX Controller comparison

Microsoft and F5 are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.6, while F5 is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 10.5% mindshare in AIS, compared to F5’s 0.6% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

IIS

Read 59 IIS reviews

2,965 Views
1,927 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

NGINX Controller

Read 1 NGINX Controller review

118 Views
118 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IIS

NGINX Controller

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IIS and NGINX Controller 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: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

September 2025

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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:

Categories and Ranking

IIS

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (4th)

NGINX Controller

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

20th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 10.5%, down from 12.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Controller is 0.6%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IIS	10.5%
NGINX Controller	0.6%
Other	88.9%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

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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Satheesh Papisetty

Digital Services & Engagement Senior Manager at AXA

Load balancing and security strengthen operations while error handling needs improvement

We use NGINX Controller for load balancing purposes. Our use case involves integrating it with a three-tier architecture, where it serves as a critical component for application routing, handling index pages, and enhancing security The most valuable features of NGINX Controller include its…

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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

"IIS is stable."

"The solution is very simple to use and easy to deploy."

"The solution is the easiest way to publish applications which have been designed by older development tools."

"The product is easy to use."

"The tool is very easy to use and efficient."

"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."

"The solution is easy to use."

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

More IIS pros

"NGINX Controller is cheap compared to other solutions, and it offers significant cost and time savings."

Cons

"They need to improve their response time and first level support quality because the escalation process takes too long."

"Occasionally, we encounter performance issues with IIS where it becomes unresponsive and requires a solution restart."

"We've never had any issues with the solution, but it's still nice to have overall improvements on it. It could be easier and faster to use, for example."

"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."

"IIS could improve by having some features related to ASR and HTTPS certificate generation."

"The solution should improve the cluster environment and load balancing."

"The initial setup could be made easier."

"The documentation is not very detailed. They need to improve it and add to it. They should ensure there are lots of visuals to help users better understand the solution."

More IIS cons

"The technical support from NGINX Controller is not good. They do not offer quick responses or 24/7 support, which is lacking when immediate assistance is needed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is licensed with your Windows installation which makes it relatively cheap if you already have a Windows Server sitting around."

"The price is good."

"IIS is expensive."

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

"I didn't need to get an additional license for the solution since it was included in my server."

"IIS comes along with an OS license from Microsoft. Others can opt for a perpetual-based licensing model to be able to use the system."

"The cost for IIS is already included in Windows services. We don't have to pay anything extra."

"The tool is included with Windows."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Government

University

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	28
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	21

No data available

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,...

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What do you like most about IIS?

The product is flexible.

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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 purchasing an IIS product as it is part of Microsoft Windows. We bought a developmen...

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

NGINX Controller is cheap compared to other solutions, and it offers significant cost and time savings.

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What needs improvement with NGINX Controller?

The error handling in NGINX Controller requires improvement. The handling of misconfigurations is not good enough and needs enhancements.

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What is your primary use case for NGINX Controller?

We use NGINX Controller ( /products/nginx-controller-reviews ) for load balancing purposes. Our use case involves integrating it with a three-tier architecture, where it serves as a critical compon...

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Comparisons

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 30% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 27% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 10% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 9% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

More IIS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IIS

September 2025

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

September 2025

Download NGINX Controller product report

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS

No data available

Overview

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

Built to manage NGINX Plus instances at scale, NGINX Controller provides DevOps and developers a self-service, API driven control plane for their most critical application and security services. Manage and monitor load balancers, API gateways, and web application firewalls across any cloud, all from a single pane of glass.

The NGINX Controller API Management Module is an API management solution, combining NGINX Plus as an API gateway with new control‑plane functionality. NGINX Controller is designed to empower Infrastructure & Operations and DevOps teams to define, publish, secure, monitor, and analyze APIs, without compromising performance.

Sample Customers

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

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

September 2025

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