IIS vs Windows Process Activation Services comparison

IIS and Windows Process Activation Services are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. IIS is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.2, while Windows Process Activation Services is ranked #22. IIS holds a 11.1% mindshare in AIS, compared to Windows Process Activation Services’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of IIS users are willing to recommend the solution.

IIS

Read 57 IIS reviews

3,221 Views
2,061 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Windows Process Activation ...

Read 1 Windows Process Activation Services review

203 Views
201 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

IIS

Windows Process Activation ...

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between IIS and Windows Process Activation Services 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)

Windows Process Activation ...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

22nd

Average Rating

4.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.8

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 Windows Process Activation Services is 0.9%, down from 1.0% 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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it_user1226547

Senior IT Systems Administrator at a energy/utilities company with 501-1,000 employees

Central console enables us to see all of the activated and deactivated computers but it has poor alerts and frustrating technical support

The solution needs to allow for other company product licenses to be included if possible. The solution needs to include other Microsoft products, like Exchange, SharePoint, etc. Right now, it's only for Windows and Office. The solution needs to be made web-based. Right now, we have to install some tools and to use these tools we have to log into a specific server. If that server has an issue we cannot manage it. The solution needs to be able to be managed from any machine. Alerting capabilities should be improved. If a license expires or there is a breach, or something is non-compliant, the solution should send out alerts.

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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

"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."

"All the features of Microsoft IIS are valuable."

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

"The solution is easy to use, easy to maintain and isn't too technical."

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

"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to use and easy to understand."

"It's good and offers good usability."

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

More IIS pros

"The most valuable aspect of the solution is the central console, that allows you to see all of the activated and deactivated computers."

Cons

"The solution's stability needs improvement."

"The user interface could be improved."

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

"Sometimes, we encounter difficult issues, and getting support from Microsoft to resolve those issues is not easy."

"The scalability depends on how you have set it up. If you're running IIS on a single server, it might not be as capable as if you are on many in a cluster or with load balancing and so on."

"IIS needs to improve its security. Its support needs to be faster and clear. The tool's licensing could be cheaper as well."

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

"IIS could improve by Microsoft Windows improving the update services. We would like to be able to update all systems that are connected. The WSA service has to be in good order to accomplish this."

More IIS cons

"The stability of the solution needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They offer a one-time payment model for the product license, and we pay annually for support."

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

"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."

"IIS's pricing is not expensive."

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

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

"The price is good."

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

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,...

See all answers

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

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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

Oracle Application Server vs IIS

Compared 2% of the time

More IIS Competitors

Microsoft .NET Framework vs Windows Process Activation Services

Compared 51% of the time

More Windows Process Activation Services Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

IIS

August 2025

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

August 2025

Windows Process Activation Services report

Download Windows Process Activation Services 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

Windows Process Activation Service generalizes the Internet Information Services (IIS) process model, removing the dependency on HTTP. All the features of IIS that were previously available only to HTTP applications are now available to applications hosting Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) services, by using non-HTTP protocols. IIS 7.0 also uses Windows Process Activation Service for message-based activation over HTTP.

Microsoft

Sample Customers

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

Bank Alfalah Ltd., Harris Farm Markets, The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, John Keells Holdings, Green Prefab, 343 Industries, SM Prime, Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd.

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

August 2025

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