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 8.5, while Windows Process Activation Services is ranked #26. IIS holds a 10.2% mindshare in AIS, compared to Windows Process Activation Services’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of IIS users are willing to recommend the solution.

IIS

Read 61 IIS reviews

3,165 Views
2,121 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Windows Process Activation ...

Read 1 Windows Process Activation Services review

214 Views
212 Comparison Views

0% willing to recommend

IIS

Windows Process Activation ...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

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: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

January 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 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

IIS

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

1st

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Server (4th)

Windows Process Activation ...

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

26th

Average Rating

4.0

Reviews Sentiment

2.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 10.2%, down from 12.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Process Activation Services is 0.9%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
IIS	10.2%
Windows Process Activation Services	0.9%
Other	88.9%

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.

Read full review

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.

Read full review

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 easy to configure."

"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."

"Windows Server IIS is stable."

"IIS works natively with Windows Server without any issues in publishing certificates."

"The initial setup is simple."

"The solution is the easiest way to publish applications which have been designed by older development tools."

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

"All the features of Microsoft IIS are valuable."

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

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

"This solution needs to be easier for cases where you want to have an IIS cluster."

"The solution should improve the cluster environment and load balancing."

"The graphical user interface has room for improvement and can be more user-friendly."

"The documentation is not very detailed. They need to improve it and add to it. They should ensure there are lots of visuals to help users better understand the solution."

"At the moment, we have big problems with stability, and I'm not very happy at the moment. So, the stability could be improved."

"The solution's pricing and stability need improvement."

"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."

More IIS cons

"The stability of the solution needs improvement."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is licensed with your Windows installation which makes it relatively cheap if you already have a Windows Server sitting around."

"The solution provides multiple licensing options."

"The tool's pricing is on a yearly basis."

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

"IIS is expensive."

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

"There is no license needed to use the solution."

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

More IIS pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Infrastructure solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Comms Service Provider

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,...

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?

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...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Apache Web Server vs IIS

Compared 23% of the time

NGINX Plus vs IIS

Compared 22% of the time

Tomcat vs IIS

Compared 8% of the time

Oracle WebLogic Server vs IIS

Compared 6% 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

January 2026

Download IIS product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

January 2026

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

January 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, IBM, F5 and others in Application Infrastructure. Updated: January 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Application Infrastructure vendors.

We monitor all Application Infrastructure reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.