IIS vs NGINX Controller comparison

Microsoft and F5 are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while F5 is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 11.1% mindshare in AIS, compared to F5’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

IIS

Read 57 IIS reviews

3,221 Views
2,061 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

NGINX Controller

Read 1 NGINX Controller review

91 Views
91 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

IIS

NGINX Controller

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IIS and NGINX Controller based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, F5 and others in Application Infrastructure.

To learn more, read our detailed Application Infrastructure Report (Updated: August 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

August 2025

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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

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (5th)

NGINX Controller

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

20th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.2

Number of Reviews

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 NGINX Controller is 0.5%, up from 0.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

VikramSingh6

Operations Executive at Quess

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.

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Satheesh Papisetty

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…

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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

"It helps scan and mitigates our vulnerabilities using the best protocols to secure our environment."

"The interface, simplicity, and ease of management are all good features that make this user-friendly."

"The tool is very easy to use and efficient."

"The product is stable."

"Microsoft's technical support has always been very good."

"IIS is easy to configure in terms of websites and other solutions."

"The product is scalable."

"The tool shows us the operating systems where our servers and applications are running."

More IIS pros

"NGINX Controller is cheap compared to other solutions, and it offers significant cost and time savings."

Cons

"The areas of this solution that need improvement are monitoring, debugging, and troubleshooting."

"The documentation isn't very good and the options are very complex."

"IIS could improve the error logging. There are times we are not able to see the errors. More details would be helpful. Additionally, the configuring of the IIS should be allowed through coding instead of the classic view."

"The only issue I've encountered is with certificates not working fine sometimes. It's influenced by the server's service performance."

"The solution must improve the integration between its databases."

"The customer service and support team can be improved."

"The solution's stability needs improvement."

"The visibility feature of the product is an area with certain shortcomings where improvements are required."

More IIS cons

"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

"The price of the cloud system is a bit high."

"There is no license required for the product as it is role-based. Whenever you go for a Windows platform server, the role has to be installed directly from the server manager. There is no additional cost that has to be paid for that. It is free to use."

"The licensing cost is dependent on the usage."

"The solution provides multiple licensing options."

"We purchased a Microsoft Windows license and the license for IIS came in the package."

"The yearly licensing cost is very high. The solution is very expensive."

"Users can get a subscription-based license or a perpetual license for IIS."

"The solution’s pricing is yearly. The pricing is affordable and not high."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

15%

Government

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

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,...

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What do you like most about IIS?

The product is flexible.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 28% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 27% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 11% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 11% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

More IIS Competitors

No data available

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IIS

August 2025

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

August 2025

Download NGINX Controller product report

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS

No data available

Overview

Internet Information Services (IIS) provides a secure, easy-to-manage, modular and extensible platform for reliably hosting websites, services and applications. With IIS, you get choice and control without giving up reliability or security.

Microsoft

Built to manage NGINX Plus instances at scale, NGINX Controller provides DevOps and developers a self-service, API driven control plane for their most critical application and security services. Manage and monitor load balancers, API gateways, and web application firewalls across any cloud, all from a single pane of glass.

The NGINX Controller API Management Module is an API management solution, combining NGINX Plus as an API gateway with new control‑plane functionality. NGINX Controller is designed to empower Infrastructure & Operations and DevOps teams to define, publish, secure, monitor, and analyze APIs, without compromising performance.

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

August 2025

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