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Microsoft .NET Framework vs NGINX Plus comparison

 

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

Microsoft .NET Framework
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
3rd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
53
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX Plus
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
2nd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of Microsoft .NET Framework is 6.0%, down from 6.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 10.8%, down from 11.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Pavan Kodur - PeerSpot reviewer
Intuitive, easier to develop, maintain, and migrate from the old framework to newer versions
There are a few areas where they could compete better with products like React or Angular – the popular SPA (Single Page Application) frameworks. Microsoft has its own product called Blazor, but I don't think it's quite as powerful yet as React or Angular. I think that's an area for improvement. For example, HR asked me to build something that worked offline and online. Microsoft products don't really support that well, as I'd have to rely on browser databases. React and Angular are better for that. If I need something faster, I'd definitely use React. So, I see Microsoft lagging a bit in that area.
Ritesh-Bakhru - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick installation and very easy to manage while doing orchestration or automation
NGINX cannot be a replacement for your traditional load balancer with what we use in the network today. However, with applications going toward microservices, NGINX is definitely a way forward. F5 has many traditional load balancing features, so they still need to bring some of those features to NGINX. NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5. I think F5 is trying to implement those features in NGINX so they can improve the balancing on NGINX, but I think that will take some time. With the traditional F5 set up, the same OS can do load balancing, firewalls, and even policy enforcement. If we are able to bring some of those capabilities to NGINX, I think it would become a versatile solution and usage would definitely increase.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"When we talk about .NET development, we use Visual Studio IDE to create these things. In recent years, there have been a lot of improvements in Visual Studio 2022. It would be a daunting task to list all of the features that have benefited us, as it would require a lot of time and effort. However, there are definitely many improvements year after year in .NET development."
"Firstly, I appreciate the decision to use Microsoft .NET Framework. I find it to be an excellent language, with a history rooted in providing an alternative to Java, albeit with initial challenges. It is gaining popularity and may be voted the most desirable programming language. What I particularly like about .NET is its language efficiency. While C# is the primary language, the platform also supports others, catering to those inclined towards functional programming. Although I started with Shell, I'm still grasping the concept of functional programming. Despite initial reservations about object-oriented programming, I acknowledge its advantages. .NET is a safer option, and despite criticisms, it has evolved over the years. One notable aspect is .NET's transition to an open platform in recent years, distancing itself from being exclusive to Microsoft engineers. I appreciate the versatility of .NET, enabling code production for a wide range of platforms, presenting a strong competition to Java. It allows targeting practically any physical platform, showcasing its flexibility. These qualities contribute to my positive view of .NET, totaling thirteen aspects that I find appealing."
"The new .NET Core has those middlewares, which are awesome from a security standpoint. With the old Framework or the newer Framework, middleware is basically an event pipeline. You configure and register it, and it handles things centrally. A simple example is logging. With the old Framework, you needed to try/catch blocks everywhere. Here, you configure the logging handler once, and it captures exceptions across the application. I really like the middleware pattern."
"Pre-programmed functions for .NET Framework are widely available."
"The most valuable thing about Microsoft .NET Framework is that it is an enterprise-grade language and platform."
"The product has a good interface and easy-to-use programming language."
"The Windows Communication Foundation is the biggest advantage we get from the .NET Framework."
"As we are a software company, we find that accessing resources using this technology is easier compared to the others."
"The product is resilient."
"I think installation only took a couple of minutes — no more than 10 minutes."
"NGINX provides a cost advantage, value addition, and effective support."
"-"
"The best solution, by far, for web traffic control for things in production and just around the house."
"I need to highlight that the number one thing about NGINX is that it is free."
"I receive very good support."
"Application Gateway with application-level firewall tool and load distributor and balancer (also serves for A/B testing)."
 

Cons

"Difficult to scale this product for large organizations."
"The solution needs to update its security periodically because there are many security concerns."
"The learning curve could be improved."
"This solution is best used with some training."
"The product’s reliability needs improvement."
"There is room for Microsoft .NET Framework to improve cloud platform capabilities."
"The cloud features must be improved."
"Microsoft could improve .NET Framework by providing more resources to help users understand the solution."
"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application."
"If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better. ​"
"The scalability could be improved."
"Make modules easier to enable or disable. The beauty and ugly side of the NGINX modules is you have to know how to compile the module. For beginners or non-very technical aspirant(s) going for NGINX, they have to learn how to compile the modules.​"
"It would be good if NGINX provided a graphical user interface."
"I would like it to have a more user-friendly graphical interface."
"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."
"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application. As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Microsoft .NET Framework is very cost-effective for corporate users."
"If you want to develop an enterprise-level application, you have to purchase the enterprise-level development license."
"The product is not expensive."
"The pricing could be cheaper."
"The solution is a bit costly when compared to open source products or open gear licenses."
"In the interim, there's no need to purchase videos for viewing. Microsoft has made significant moves in the .NET space, starting with their response in Visual Studio Code and now providing Visual Studio entirely for free. This is a notable shift from the past when we used to pay substantial amounts for technical subscriptions. Previously, a group of ten developers could cost several thousand dollars annually for licensing. However, the current trend is to offer these tools for free to maintain their dominance in the developer market. The market dynamics have changed, and now developers can freely download Visual Studio, making it a preferred choice over other paid options."
"There is a Community Edition that can be used free of charge, but the licensing cost for the Enterprise version is quite high."
"We have an annual license, and we pay extra for extended support."
"The cost is reasonable."
"Nginx is free. I don't have experience with the Plus version."
"It's an open source solution, so it's free."
"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."
"I use the solution's community edition which is free of cost."
"The solution is free, but you can spend a lot of money with a complex solution."
"You pay for each feature that you want."
"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Real Estate/Law Firm
11%
Construction Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft .NET Framework?
Microsoft .NET Framework continually innovates, particularly in Visual Studio, which focuses on improving languages, debugging, and .NET functionality.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft .NET Framework?
The company is not paying anything for the license. I am not familiar with this area. For us, it's free.
What needs improvement with Microsoft .NET Framework?
There may be some topics regarding connectivity and management of certificates that require attention. We are currently facing some issues.
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 do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.
 

Also Known As

MS .NET Framework
NGINX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Curtin University, Rockwell Automation, Aruba Networks, Insurity Inc., City of Barcelona, Pennsylvania DCNR, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, A1 Telekom Austria AG, Eastman Chemical Company
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft .NET Framework vs. NGINX Plus and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
852,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.