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IIS vs Windows Server AppFabric comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 5, 2025

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
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
61
Ranking in other categories
Application Server (4th)
Windows Server AppFabric
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
13th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of IIS is 6.4%, down from 10.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Windows Server AppFabric is 2.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
IIS6.4%
Windows Server AppFabric2.7%
Other90.9%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Krishnakumar Natarajan - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
DN
Senior System Administrator at Kentainers
Improved on-premise performance has supported faster, secure apps and clearer server monitoring
One thing I appreciate most about Windows Server AppFabric is because it's widely used; it's easier to get solutions online from other communities when I am stuck. Because it is widely used, it's easier to get solutions and also easier to work with. Especially after I found 2019, I have worked with 2019 and I appreciate it. It's easier to get solutions. After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed. The functionality and speed are good. Earlier, when they added more people, I could see some lagging. But now, I have no issue even if I double the users, even if I add 30% of users or any applications, it will still be fast. It increased the speed and also security. I've noticed the new one I have is good and secure. I love the security. The monitoring capabilities of Windows Server AppFabric help me improve service visibility and troubleshooting. In a day, I have to go through a lot of the logs and also the utilization. There, I see the CPU. I have to do the utilization, and I can see what is utilizing the most. By doing this, I can be able to tell what, in case I need to do an upgrade, what I might need to provide the upgrade or maybe increase in users that will not affect the operations.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The best features of IIS are that you can design your own website and manage it yourself, creating as many websites as you want."
"The solution is very easy to use and offers a quick deployment."
"The interface, simplicity, and ease of management are all good features that make this user-friendly."
"The product is scalable."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten...Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of IIS is that it's free, and it works."
"My experience with the technical support by Microsoft at large is satisfactory."
"I have tried other tools (such as Apache), and found that IIS is more stable and easier on the memory for low resource systems."
"The product's deployment phase was very easy."
"After implementing Windows Server AppFabric, I can say I love the speed."
"It is very usable and easy to understand, and antivirus and VPN are the main features being used now, allowing my clients to access the network from home, which was very crucial because of the pandemic."
"The most valuable feature is AppFabric's hosting solution, which is what we need for running workflows."
"The ability to seamlessly deploy, image, and patch without causing downtime is extremely helpful and user-friendly."
"This product works great for us and it's unfortunate that they're not going to support it anymore."
 

Cons

"Sometimes, we encounter difficult issues, and getting support from Microsoft to resolve those issues is not easy."
"Finding different settings can be difficult if you don't know where to look."
"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."
"IIS's memory management could be improved."
"If Microsoft IIS could work well with AppOptics or things like PHP, Python, and other custom languages that run on the webserver, it would be ideal. I think there are cases where people need to use Apache instead of IIS when IIS doesn't work well with other web languages."
"Having no support for other than a Microsoft environment and programming languages limits the usage of IIS in many cases."
"The solution could offer better pricing."
"The graphical user interface has room for improvement and can be more user-friendly."
"Its price and licensing policy can be improved. It could be a little cheaper. Licensing is sometimes confusing. There are so many different options. It is difficult to find out what to buy or what to choose for my necessity."
"Microsoft will stop supporting the product next year, and we can't run unsupported programs in our systems."
"The product is unable to connect with different cloud services."
"The most important issue I've found is the blue screen errors, particularly when customers use external displays with a P-type cable."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost for IIS is already included in Windows services. We don't have to pay anything extra."
"The price of the cloud system is a bit high."
"IIS comes along with an OS license from Microsoft. Others can opt for a perpetual-based licensing model to be able to use the system."
"This solution comes included with Windows Server."
"I give the price of the solution a five out of ten."
"I was using the trial version of IIS inside my virtual machines."
"The price is good."
"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 product is affordable, in my opinion."
"It is expensive, and its licensing is a bit confusing."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Construction Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Manufacturing Company
13%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business30
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise22
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,...
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...
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...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Windows Server AppFabric?
I am overall satisfied with the licensing cost of Windows Server AppFabric. It's a reasonable price because I run multiple servers, so we bought the bulk one. I can say the price was fair.
What needs improvement with Windows Server AppFabric?
I do not utilize Windows Server AppFabric's workflow management for now because that's a project that we might be looking at in the coming year, in the first or second quarter.
What is your primary use case for Windows Server AppFabric?
All of our major applications are on-premise, so I think 90% of my software used by the employees is on-premise. We have the telephony, we have the ERP, we have some mobile apps. We run a mobile ap...
 

Also Known As

Windows Server IIS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Erste Bank Group, NJVC, Samsung Electronics, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts, Tata Steel Europe, Urban Software Institute
OSIsoft
Find out what your peers are saying about IIS vs. Windows Server AppFabric and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.