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 8.5, while F5 is ranked #19 with an average rating of 7.0. Microsoft holds a 9.9% mindshare in AIS, compared to F5’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

IIS

Read 61 IIS reviews

3,651 Views
2,373 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

NGINX Controller

Read 1 NGINX Controller review

198 Views
198 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: March 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

March 2026

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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

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (4th)

NGINX Controller

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

19th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 9.9%, down from 12.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Controller is 0.9%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
IIS	9.9%
NGINX Controller	0.9%
Other	89.2%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

Krishnakumar Natarajan

Systems Engineer at Atos

Designs and manages multiple websites while ensuring data backup and disaster recovery

I have experience with AWS, and I am most familiar with the server environment, as we just use the server environment and then use Microsoft products on an AWS environment. I have experience with Windows Server IIS, which I ran on my own on-premise data center. The website was developed and then hosted, and through IIS, we managed the servers. The manageability within the IIS environment is not very difficult. For server management, you need to ensure data backup, data restore, and you have a DR configured to keep the database intact. It was done on-premises, so I had no problem doing that. If you have to go to the cloud, then you should have the storage connected to the IIS server and also have a DR set up for that. I didn't use Microsoft Azure tools, but since it is a Microsoft product, Azure has all the portability, so you don't have to worry about compatibility on the cloud. On a scale of 1-10, I would rate this solution a 10.

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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

"The product is scalable."

"The most valuable feature of IIS is it does not consume a lot of resources. It does not consume a lot of resources, such as memory."

"The initial setup of IIS is easy. The process takes only five minutes."

"The most valuable feature of IIS is that it's free, and it works."

"IIS's most valuable feature is user-friendliness."

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

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

"The solution integrates well with most Microsoft products."

More IIS pros

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

Cons

"In the next release, the tool should be more easily integrated and configured with other provisions. The pricing should also be made cheaper since it's very expensive now."

"The solution's black box is not fast."

"I would like to see NLB features in IIS."

"IIS has some stability issues and needs restarting."

"I see that IIS has maintained the same interface for a long time, so they could potentially use more automation or integrate Copilot into it to make it easier to use."

"Microsoft products can only work within the Windows environment, which limits their versatility."

"Sometimes if you are using IIS in large-scale scenarios, meaning that if you are deploying an application within IIS service and you are expecting a large number of users to use this application, you can sometimes find some problems, meaning that the service can shut down by itself unexpectedly if you don't configure your IIS with the correct configuration that can handle this number of users."

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

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

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

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

"The price of Windows Server IIS is expensive. They have a large user base, and they charge a little bit too much."

"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."

"There is a license needed for the solution."

"I didn't need to get an additional license for the solution since it was included in my server."

"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."

More IIS pricing and cost advice

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

12%

Computer Software Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Government

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	29
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	22

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 is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IIS?

For the pricing, setup cost, and licensing for IIS, as a Microsoft product, I didn't think much about separately purchasing an IIS product as it is part of Microsoft Windows. We bought a developmen...

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What needs improvement with IIS?

I see that IIS has maintained the same interface for a long time, so they could potentially use more automation or integrate Copilot into it to make it easier to use. I have not accessed or checked...

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.

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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...

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Comparisons

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 19% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 18% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 7% of the time

Red Hat JBoss Enterprise Application Platform (EAP) vs IIS

Compared 6% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 5% of the time

More IIS Competitors

NGINX Plus vs NGINX Controller

Compared 38% of the time

More NGINX Controller Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IIS

March 2026

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

March 2026

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

March 2026

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