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Magic xpa Application Platform vs Microsoft .NET Framework vs NGINX Plus comparison

 

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:
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Magic xpa Application Platform is 1.3%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 6.0%, down from 6.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 9.9%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Mylsamy T. - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables us to develop more than 90 applications in-house, which are used across our organization
It's a bit difficult to work with purely web-based applications to get the data and display it. There have been a few times when the connection was disconnected between the server and your browser. The connectivity on browser-built applications needs to be improved. The mobile application development could be easier. They could include different external applications, like finger sensors. I'm not sure whether it's in version 3.8 or not.
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.
Michael Olayemi - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables public access and secure configurations through reverse proxy
The primary valuable feature of NGINX for me is its ability to provide a reverse proxy. I have found that this feature supports our local server, and I am able to connect through our DNS system, making it accessible publicly. Additionally, the integration with SSL certificates and the configuration capabilities make it a valuable solution for my use case. Without NGINX, users would not be able to access our application, which means there is positive ROI from using NGINX as it is crucial for the functioning of my organization.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Without the need to compile code, the time spent in the development cycle is greatly reduced, allowing the programmer to test modifications to a program immediately after they have been saved."
"The speed of development is the quickest for any tool on the market."
"The best feature of Magic is the development time. The time it takes to develop something is incredibly fast if you compare Magic with, for example, Java."
"What I found most valuable in the Magic xpa Application Platform is that it has a client-server and web browser technology that's perfect for company users."
"xpa gives us a fast development speed."
"The Magic xpa Application Platform is very suitable for production since it is easy to update. The program is simple to upgrade and deploy. The solution is convenient in production. You need to adjust the data, then adjust the program which is not difficult."
"Speed of development and database connectivity (MS SQL, Oracle, DB2, Btrieve/Pervasive PSQL, ODBC, MySql, and SQLite)."
"Being able to make changes to existing programs to comply with last minute changes in requirements, and/or being able to fix, test, review, and deploy new code in a manner of hours instead of days, definitely gives us a huge advantage over our competitors and this is only possible thanks to Magic’s speed of programming."
"As we are a software company, we find that accessing resources using this technology is easier compared to the others."
"Pre-programmed functions for .NET Framework are widely available."
"A great solution for creating program solutions in a framework for Microsoft Windows quickly and easily."
"It facilitates running Windows business applications and leveraging enterprise application development."
"Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality."
"When we talk about .NET development, we use Visual Studio IDE to create these things. In recent years, there have been a lot of improvements in Visual Studio 2022. It would be a daunting task to list all of the features that have benefited us, as it would require a lot of time and effort. However, there are definitely many improvements year after year in .NET development."
"The most valuable feature is customization."
"The .NET Framework is a very good framework. It does what I need it to do."
"Valuable features include authentication, caching, reverse proxy routing, and load balancing."
"​The flexibility of its modules allow it to be scalable.​"
"The product is lightweight and fast."
"NGINX provides a cost advantage, value addition, and effective support."
"With NGINX, I appreciate its ability to route traffic geographically."
"The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
"I think installation only took a couple of minutes — no more than 10 minutes."
"Application Gateway with application-level firewall tool and load distributor and balancer (also serves for A/B testing)."
 

Cons

"Magic has a tradition, when it adds new technologies/features to the Magic development tool, to provide either no documentation or documentation that does not provide an organized approach for bringing this new technology/feature to experienced Magic programmers."
"Throughout my career, I've encountered difficulties when integrating new technologies with Magic xpa Application Platform. In particular, when attempting to incorporate features from other development languages into earlier versions of the solution called uniPaaS. I struggled to integrate .NET components due to the limited options available. This made the process more challenging and complicated. I find it challenging to create a more user-friendly experience for users who may be comparing the system to other systems they have used outside or within the company on different platforms."
"In the next version of the Magic xpa Application Platform, I want tables or small programs where I can directly add expressions. I can do it on SQL, but it would make life much easier if that specification were added to the platform."
"I would like to see a spell checker included with optional language support. Currently, this has to be purchased from a third-party."
"The ability to display page up, page down, top and bottom buttons along the scroll bar would make my mouse-reliant customers happy."
"Support is very bad."
"The Android environment is missing a number of functions for file/folder manipulation, sending receiving text messages (SMS) and the menuing options are limited. For now, it is left to the developer to write his/her own Java functions to include in the APK."
"There is room for improvement in Magic's marketing and licensing. I would like to see more integration of web functionality."
"They could enhance support for Python within Visual Studio, as integrating Microsoft products with other frameworks can present a steep learning curve."
"It is of great concern to us that the solution is not very powerful on cross platform, at it impedes the ability to build and scale with it."
"I would want the product to be integrated with the different AI tools in the future since it is one of the areas where the product has certain shortcomings."
"Microsoft .NET Framework has a steep learning curve, which could be improved."
"The learning curve could be improved."
"If AI could be incorporated in Microsoft .NET Framework it would be helpful."
"The solution is difficult to learn if someone is learning it for the first time."
"The product is nearing its sunset, and we think that by 2028, we won't get support anymore"
"The scaling should be built into the software rather than configured from an outside source."
"NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5."
"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. For beginners or non-very technical aspirant(s) going for NGINX, they have to learn how to compile the modules.​"
"The solution needs to be easier to setup and deploy."
"If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better. ​"
"The user interface could be improved."
"Lack of a feature to print data on the terminal for verification of network traffic during debugging and testing."
"I would like to see the Grafana integration in NGINX which is already present in HAProxy. Grafana integration will help the solution visualize all the data analytics on the dashboard which is currently not present."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Magic is not the cheapest IDE out there. If you are considering Magic xpa, you should do a cost-benefit analysis to feel comfortable with your decision. The Magic sales staff is very helpful in providing pricing."
"The licensing cost varies because nowadays Magic has tailor-made offerings for clients. I think the solution is worth the money."
"The licensing is too costly."
"My clients have to purchase additional licenses in order to use what I built. It's not a fair approach."
"There are different licenses, we have the application and the online application. There are two different licenses for two different program sites for the Magic xpa Application Platform."
"The main problem with the Magic xpa Application Platform is pricing. You have to pay a lot of money for development, and you also have to pay a lot for the deployments and runtime, while in most competitors, you have to pay a lot for one of the two and not both."
"The cost for developers is high because you have to pay for licenses as well as runtime."
"It's not cheap. The licenses are not cheap. Not at all. They cost much money. There are other tools with free licenses but Magic asks for a lot of money."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is free of cost."
"There is a Community Edition that can be used free of charge, but the licensing cost for the Enterprise version is quite high."
"The product’s pricing is a bit high."
"We have an annual license, and we pay extra for extended support."
"The Microsoft .NET Framework is free of charge, without licensing cost."
"Microsoft .NET Framework is a free, open-source solution."
"The solution is a bit costly when compared to open source products or open gear licenses."
"I rate the solution's pricing a two out of ten because .NET is an open-source framework. You don't have to pay for a license."
"NGINX Plus is an open-source solution with limited additional features. When you try to get additional features in the solution, then you need to pay an extra amount to NGINX Plus."
"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."
"​NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it.​"
"There's an open-source version of NGINX that is free."
"It's an open source solution, so it's free."
"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."
"I am not so happy with their pricing policy, but this is not the worse thing in my life. I can tolerate it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
8%
Real Estate/Law Firm
13%
Construction Company
12%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
17%
Government
7%
Comms Service Provider
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
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What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, ...
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 a...
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...
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...
What do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred ...
 

Also Known As

uniPaaS
MS .NET Framework
NGINX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

ADD, Cape plc, Adecco, Kuno Kinzoku Industry Co., GE Capital, Dove Tree, CBS Outdoor, Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, Allstate Life Insurance Company, Titan Software Systems
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
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, F5 and others in Application Infrastructure. Updated: July 2025.
862,514 professionals have used our research since 2012.