Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

IIS vs Zend PHP Engine 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

IIS
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (5th)
Zend PHP Engine
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 11.1%, down from 12.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

VikramSingh6 - PeerSpot reviewer
A simple and easy-to-use solution but not recommended for public apps
I would rate the overall solution a six out of ten. We have around five to six developers and engineers for the solution’s deployment and maintenance. You can use the solution if your website is not too big or complicated. However, if it is big and complicated, then you need to use Apache or Red Hat. This tool can be used for internal purposes. But if you plan to host a public app, then I wouldn’t recommend the tool.
SatyendraGupta - PeerSpot reviewer
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.  A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it. I have been Zend PHP Engine for nine years.  Multiple people are using the solution.  Overall, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is the easiest way to publish applications which have been designed by older development tools."
"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."
"The initial setup is simple."
"It is a lightweight web host that is easy to configure for simple webpages."
"All the features of Microsoft IIS are valuable."
"IIS is quite easy to set up as it comes pre-configured, so I don't have to install anything."
"The tool shows us the operating systems where our servers and applications are running."
"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."
"​Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."
"Zend PHP Engine is more secure than any other framework, and I usually prefer Zend PHP Engine for big applications."
"Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."
"Scaling up is an important factor for large projects, and with PHP 7 and its performance improvements, this becomes even easier.​"
"It offers good support for various types of classes, along with many open source libraries that we can readily utilize in our application development process. This gives us a lot of options when it comes to custom development solutions, without having to worry about licensing or other programming-related issues."
"The cache modules that Zend provides have been able to optimize and accelerate the loading of the pages when there was exponential growth in data volume and quantity of requests. At the same time, the monitoring console allowed us to have a real-time understanding of the resources and to make decisions when they were at the limit."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"Faster web app implementation, when PHP dev is required by customers."
 

Cons

"The initial setup could be made easier."
"IIS has some stability issues and needs restarting."
"I am using an older version of Windows Server IIS and the general management and navigation to get something done is not as straightforward as I hope it to be. The interface could be improved."
"The solution's scalability needs improvement."
"It would be beneficial if you could automate security certificate monitoring with IIS."
"The areas of this solution that need improvement are monitoring, debugging, and troubleshooting."
"It lacks a few performance improvement tools."
"I would like to see NLB features in IIS."
"Its object oriented programming language needs improvement."
"The process of installing and configuring the product is a bit complex and could be improved."
"The solution can be quicker."
"Integration of MVC with ORM tools for PHP is okay, but lacking a short list of decent ORM tools for PHP to choose from; there is ample room for improvement in both areas."
"Zend PHP Engine needs to improve the loading time of its libraries and make it faster."
"SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer.​"
"In terms of improvement, it doesn't support concurrent processing. When we want to process anything on a concurrent basis, we have to divide it into a number of things, like a queue, or we have to run it using Cron jobs. We would like to have the capability to run any thread or process in parallel."
"The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM.​​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution provides multiple licensing options."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
"The price is good."
"The tool is included with Windows."
"They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support."
"The licensing cost is dependent on the usage."
"The product's price is not high."
"It is licensed with your Windows installation which makes it relatively cheap if you already have a Windows Server sitting around."
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"No problem with pricing and licensing, as tools are open source. You have to consider training cost, mindset setup cost, as part of the TCO."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Infrastructure solutions are best for your needs.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 Zend PHP Engine?
The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.
What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?
Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.
 

Comparisons

 

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS
PHP Engine
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
Cisco
Find out what your peers are saying about IIS vs. Zend PHP Engine and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.