NGINX Plus vs Zend PHP Engine comparison

F5 and Zend are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. F5 is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.0, while Zend is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.0. F5 holds a 9.6% mindshare in AIS, compared to Zend’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Zend users who would recommend it.

NGINX Plus

Read 31 NGINX Plus reviews

3,981 Views
1,473 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

Zend PHP Engine

Read 11 Zend PHP Engine reviews

440 Views
440 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NGINX Plus

Zend PHP Engine

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

Zend PHP Engine and NGINX Plus compete in web development and server management. NGINX Plus emerges superior with its performance optimization and scalability.

Features: Zend PHP Engine offers robust debugging tools, seamless PHP execution, and code protection. NGINX Plus provides load balancing, advanced security, and high-performance content delivery.

Room for Improvement: Zend PHP Engine could enhance its scalability, expand support for diverse programming environments, and improve integration with modern frameworks. NGINX Plus might simplify initial setup processes, offer more affordable pricing options, and enhance its documentation for better usability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Zend PHP Engine is known for its easy deployment and PHP-focused support. NGINX Plus may require more initial configuration but offers comprehensive setup guides and responsive support for complex environments.

Pricing and ROI: Zend PHP Engine features competitive pricing, enhancing PHP developer productivity. NGINX Plus, despite higher setup costs, offers substantial ROI through performance optimization and server management cost savings.

To learn more, read our detailed NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine

September 2025

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Helped 868,759 peers since 2012

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

NGINX Plus

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

4th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (7th)

Zend PHP Engine

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

15th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.6

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 NGINX Plus is 9.6%, down from 11.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 1.4%, up from 1.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NGINX Plus	9.6%
Zend PHP Engine	1.4%
Other	89.0%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

Michael Olayemi

Senior Software Engineer at Checkit

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.

Read full review

SatyendraGupta

External Consultant (Digital Tool Developer and Intervention Specialist) at IQVIA

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.…

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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

"When you use NGINX, you have more options and power."

"The overall product rating is ten out of ten."

"The product is lightweight and fast."

"Its most valuable features are load balancing and application delivery. This is the most efficient application for these features because of stability and its efficiency."

"Nginx is simple to configure, very stable in a highly utilized environment and very modular, allowing DevOps to create it's own modules for interactive use with Nginx."

"Nginx is extremely efficient in terms of the connection rate to the CPU cycles ratio, and in terms of the bandwidth to CPU cycles."

"This solution has everything."

"I need to highlight that the number one thing about NGINX is that it is free."

More NGINX Plus pros

"This solution is really easy for me to use."

"We have not encountered issues with scalability as long as we effectively use caching to optimize performance of our web applications as well as a proper use of database connectivity."

"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."

"The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers."

"Faster web app implementation, when PHP dev is required by customers."

"Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."

"Zend Engine is the core of PHP. It makes PHP fast, efficient, and basically, the language of choice for web applications."

More Zend PHP Engine pros

Cons

"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application. As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified."

"I would like it to have a more user-friendly graphical interface."

"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 KPI should be more focused on load balancing and the latency in application calling from the end system."

"It would be great if there was even more automation to make it even easier to maintain."

"NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5."

"Lack of a feature to print data on the terminal for verification of network traffic during debugging and testing."

"The center management system could be improved."

More NGINX Plus cons

"The process of installing and configuring the product is a bit complex and could be improved."

"Zend PHP Engine needs to improve the loading time of its libraries and make it faster."

"Its object oriented programming language needs improvement."

"SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer."

"A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it."

"The solution can be quicker."

"The biggest problem with PHP is you have to write lot of conditions or have to use a framework."

"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."

More Zend PHP Engine cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours."

"It's an open source solution, so it's free."

"Nginx is free. I don't have experience with the Plus version."

"You pay for each feature that you want."

"I am not so happy with their pricing policy, but this is not the worse thing in my life. I can tolerate it."

"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."

"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."

"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."

More NGINX Plus pricing and cost advice

"Its pricing depends on the number of users."

"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."

"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."

"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."

"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

17%

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Comms Service Provider

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	10

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Large Enterprise	2

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,...

See all answers

What do you like most about NGINX Plus?

It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.

See all answers

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 any costs.

See all answers

What do you like most about Zend PHP Engine?

The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Zend PHP Engine?

PHP is an open-source solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?

Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.

See all answers

Comparisons

IIS vs NGINX Plus

Compared 16% of the time

Apache Web Server vs NGINX Plus

Compared 14% of the time

HAProxy vs NGINX Plus

Compared 10% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NGINX Plus

Compared 10% of the time

NetScaler vs NGINX Plus

Compared 10% of the time

More NGINX Plus Competitors

Apache Web Server vs Zend PHP Engine

Compared 100% of the time

More Zend PHP Engine Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus

September 2025

Download NGINX Plus product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

September 2025

Download Zend PHP Engine product report

Also Known As

NGINX

PHP Engine

Overview

NGINX Plus is a versatile solution that offers load balancing, caching, proxying, and API deployment capabilities. It can be deployed on private or public clouds and is ideal for building CDN solutions. The solution can also be used to secure web applications and replace web services like Apache.

NGINX has helped organizations improve functioning, reduce downtimes, and offer a DevOps-friendly solution. Its community support and documentation are highly regarded, and its configuration is more straightforward, making it a recommended choice over HAProxy.

The Zend PHP Engine is designed to optimize PHP code and improve performance, making it a popular choice for web developers. It is easy to use, stable, does not require a lot of code, is open source, and only requires payment for server costs. The initial setup is straightforward, and there is no real need to set up the solution because it's built into the deployment.

Zend

Sample Customers

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA

Cisco

Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine

September 2025

Free Report: NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine

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