No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

IIS vs NGINX Controller comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
61
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
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 6.1%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Controller is 1.2%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IIS6.1%
NGINX Controller1.2%
Other92.7%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Frederic Hautecoeur - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior System Integrations Architect at bs-team
Integrated web hosting has simplified secure services and has supported long-term growth
To be honest, I do not see any major areas for improvement. Perhaps something simple and minor. It should not go more complex than it is at the moment. The only disadvantage I see is that the documentation is a bit difficult to find. There is a lot of configuration that is very hard to get information about.
SP
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…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The graphical user interface makes it easy for users to configure the sites."
"IIS's most valuable feature is user-friendliness."
"The solution is very simple to use and easy to deploy."
"IIS is scalable."
"The solution is highly reliable."
"It's very easy to publish."
"IIS's best features are its management console and stability."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"NGINX Controller is cheap compared to other solutions, and it offers significant cost and time savings."
 

Cons

"The user interface could be improved."
"The price of the solution could be less to improve."
"Occasionally, we encounter performance issues with IIS where it becomes unresponsive and requires a solution restart."
"I would like to see NLB features in IIS."
"Finding different settings can be difficult if you don't know where to look."
"The initial setup was somewhere in the middle. It wasn't complicated but it wasn't easy either. The documentation isn't very good and the options are very complex."
"The solution should improve the cluster environment and load balancing."
"In the next release, I would like to see better integration between the cloud environment and the on-premises environment."
"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

"I was using the trial version of IIS inside my virtual machines."
"They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
"There is an annual license to use this solution and the price could be better."
"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."
"The solution provides multiple licensing options."
"There is a license needed for the solution."
"Users can get a subscription-based license or a perpetual license for IIS."
Information not available
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Infrastructure solutions are best for your needs.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
9%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
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,...
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...
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 integrate Copilot into it to make it easier to use. I have not accessed or checked...
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.
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.
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...
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, F5, Red Hat and others in Application Infrastructure. Updated: October 2026.
920,929 professionals have used our research since 2012.