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NGINX Plus vs Zend PHP Engine comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (10th)
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 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of NGINX Plus is 8.0%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 2.5%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NGINX Plus8.0%
Zend PHP Engine2.5%
Other89.5%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Nadeem-Inamdar - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
Advanced policies and web firewall have strengthened application protection and reduced attack traffic
There were some vulnerabilities in F5. They tried to fix it, but the fixes were not available at the time because they were zero days, so they attempted to fix it, but their support was not proper. Their support should be improved because sometimes features which we need for customization take time, and they are sometimes feasible and sometimes not feasible by the team, so their support and the engineering team should improve their product. I would like to see more features regarding customization which should be built into the application, and the tool optimization should be good, and the dashboard should be more crisp and clear.
MW
CEO at VonatelNetworks
Effective network data analysis with customization capabilities and an open-source model
We use Zend PHP Engine in a government project to develop a tool for network monitoring analysis. We utilize the tool to collect all the network data for a platform PHP allows us to personalize a solution if the customer desires. This flexibility is beneficial. Zend PHP Engine is a good tool for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
"This is a great product, it has everything."
"NGINX Plus also has NGINX App Protect. It's a separate module, which is inspired by the F5 apps."
"The load balancing module, which is equivalent to LTM, is the focus of the PSE, and so far, the features of both are identical, and I believe NGINX has more features for securing these services, but in terms of load balancing, both are massive solutions."
"Recently, we’ve needed to deploy sites over a number of servers to balance the load, which was not only painless but also super valuable."
"Zero Downtime has always been a strength in recommending infrastructure web services, and NGINX allows me to execute such infrastructure with less complications and the ability to switch from server to server easily."
"Valuable features include authentication, caching, reverse proxy routing, and load balancing."
"I would recommend this solution."
"Essentially, we get the best performance at very affordable costing."
"Zend PHP Engine is a good tool for developing and collecting data, offering strong performance."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."
"The solution's initial setup process is easy."
"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."
"Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."
"No issues with stability encountered."
"The Zend Framework provides an easy, open source way to produce coding based on the needs of our customers.​"
 

Cons

"Our most challenging part was to run an older PHP website reverse-proxied through NGINX. That was not fun."
"They should do in the open source version of what they did to Advanced HTTP, TCP, and UDP load balancing."
"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 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."
"The solution needs to be easier to setup and deploy."
"The solution must improve its performance."
"The user interface could be improved."
"The solution's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features."
"The platform is not satisfying to me -- it is just not up to standards performance wise."
"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."
"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."
"A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it."
"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.​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's an open source solution, so it's free."
"The cost is reasonable."
"​NGINX Plus is worth it, if you need it. If you do not need the features or support, the free and open source package is more than capable. ​"
"You pay for each feature that you want."
"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."
"​NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it.​"
"Nginx is free. I don't have experience with the Plus version."
"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
"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."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Construction Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Manufacturing Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Large Enterprise2
 

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 needs improvement with NGINX Plus?
There were some vulnerabilities in F5. They tried to fix it, but the fixes were not available at the time because they were zero days, so they attempted to fix it, but their support was not proper....
What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?
Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.
What is your primary use case for Zend PHP Engine?
We use Zend PHP Engine in a government project to develop a tool for network monitoring analysis. We utilize the tool to collect all the network data for a platform.
 

Also Known As

NGINX, F5 NGINX Plus
PHP Engine
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Cisco
Find out what your peers are saying about NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.