NGINX Controller vs NGINX Plus comparison

NGINX Controller and NGINX Plus are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. NGINX Controller is ranked #18 with an average rating of 7.0, while NGINX Plus is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.3. NGINX Controller holds a 0.9% mindshare in AIS, compared to NGINX Plus’s 7.9% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of NGINX Controller users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 93% of NGINX Plus users who would recommend it.

NGINX Controller

Read 1 NGINX Controller review

317 Views
317 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NGINX Plus

Read 32 NGINX Plus reviews

6,109 Views
2,505 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

NGINX Controller

NGINX Plus

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between NGINX Controller and NGINX Plus based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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Application Infrastructure

April 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

NGINX Controller

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

18th

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

5.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NGINX Plus

Ranking in Application Infrastructure

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (9th)

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of NGINX Controller is 0.9%, up from 0.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 7.9%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
NGINX Plus	7.9%
NGINX Controller	0.9%
Other	91.2%

Application Infrastructure

Featured Reviews

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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Nadeem-Inamdar

Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees

Advanced policies and web firewall have strengthened application protection and reduced attack traffic

There were some vulnerabilities in F5. They tried to fix it, but the fixes were not available at the time because they were zero days, so they attempted to fix it, but their support was not proper. Their support should be improved because sometimes features which we need for customization take time, and they are sometimes feasible and sometimes not feasible by the team, so their support and the engineering team should improve their product. I would like to see more features regarding customization which should be built into the application, and the tool optimization should be good, and the dashboard should be more crisp and clear.

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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

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

"I utilize NGINX for its capability to provide visibility and discovery options, helping discover and identify networks, which is crucial for ensuring application performance, managing latency, and checking server reachability."

"Zero Downtime has always been a strength in recommending infrastructure web services, and NGINX allows me to execute such infrastructure with less complications and the ability to switch from server to server easily."

"NGINX Plus also has NGINX App Protect. It's a separate module, which is inspired by the F5 apps."

"I receive very good support."

"The product is resilient."

"NGINX is much easier to deploy and configure, and the skillset required to handle NGINX is more available in the market compared to deploying F5, Radware, or Citrix."

"The most valuable features are the gateway and the ability to publish to sites."

"The product is lightweight and fast."

More NGINX Plus pros

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."

"NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5."

"It would be good if NGINX provided a graphical user interface."

"I would like it to have a more user-friendly graphical interface."

"One area of improvement could be that NGINX could provide a means to generate self-signed SSL certificates."

"The scaling should be built into the software rather than configured from an outside source."

"Our most challenging part was to run an older PHP website reverse-proxied through NGINX. That was not fun."

"The solution needs to be easier to setup and deploy."

"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."

More NGINX Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."

"You pay for each feature that you want."

"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."

"NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it."

"NGINX Plus is worth it, if you need it. If you do not need the features or support, the free and open source package is more than capable. "

"NGINX Plus is an open-source solution with limited additional features. When you try to get additional features in the solution, then you need to pay an extra amount to NGINX Plus."

"I am not so happy with their pricing policy, but this is not the worse thing in my life. I can tolerate it."

"The solution is free, but you can spend a lot of money with a complex solution."

More NGINX Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Government

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	16
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	11

Questions from the Community

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

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 NGINX Plus?

It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?

Pricing is reasonable and that is fine.

See all answers

Comparisons

IIS vs NGINX Controller

Compared 57% of the time

More NGINX Controller Competitors

IIS vs NGINX Plus

Compared 9% of the time

HAProxy vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

Apache Web Server vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

NetScaler vs NGINX Plus

Compared 8% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NGINX Plus

Compared 7% of the time

More NGINX Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

April 2026

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Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus

April 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

NGINX

Overview

NGINX Controller is an application-delivery solution designed to optimize traffic management, load balancing, and security for modern applications, providing enterprises with a scalable and flexible way to ensure high-performance web services.

NGINX Controller offers a comprehensive suite of features that focus on maximizing application uptime and efficiency. Its architecture supports seamless integration into current workflows and environments, making it a preferred choice for enterprises seeking robust traffic management solutions. The platform supports dynamic load balancing, analytics, and automation to enhance application delivery across various infrastructures.

What are the key features of NGINX Controller?

Load Balancing: Manages client requests efficiently across multiple servers.
Advanced Analytics: Provides insights to optimize resource allocation and performance.
Security Features: Offers integrated WAF capabilities and DDoS protection.
Scalability: Easily handles increasing workloads with minimal configuration changes.
Automation Support: Enables automated infrastructure workflows via APIs.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Cost Efficiency: Reduces overhead through effective resource management.
Performance Improvements: Boosts application response times and reliability.
Ease of Integration: Simplifies incorporation with existing systems for smooth deployment.
Security Enhancements: Increases protection against cyber threats.

Implementation of NGINX Controller across industries such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce highlights its adaptability and effectiveness in managing growing digital demands. Its ability to seamlessly integrate with existing IT infrastructures adds value by simplifying complex traffic management tasks while providing robust security and analytics capabilities.

NGINX Plus efficiently handles heavy loads with lightweight software and simple configuration. It seamlessly integrates with F5, offering high-performance load balancing and robust reverse proxy capabilities for HTTP, IMAP, POP, and SMTP protocols.

NGINX Plus stands out for its load balancing, authentication, caching, and modular design. Its flexibility and scalability make it ideal for web servers, traffic routing, and enterprise use, supported by comprehensive documentation and a strong community. However, improvements in pricing, graphical interface, and advanced load balancing are desired. Users seek enhanced performance, better security, and simpler configuration. Automation and integration capabilities need attention, and scalability requires further refinement.

What are the key features of NGINX Plus?

Load Balancing: Manages traffic efficiently for better resource utilization.
Reverse Proxy: Offers robust support for directing requests to the appropriate backend server.
Caching: Improves speed and reduces server load through effective content caching.
Modularity: Customizable setup with various modules for specific functionalities.
Security Features: Provides web application firewall and DDoS protection.

What benefits can users expect?

Performance Enhancement: Boosts speed and efficiency in web and application servers.
Scalability: Easily adapts to increased demand with minimal effort.
Flexibility: Supports a wide range of deployment scenarios from cloud to on-premises.
Security: Fortifies web applications with comprehensive protection measures.

NGINX Plus is vital for industries deploying reverse proxy, load balancing, and application delivery control. Enterprises utilize it for both cloud and on-premises setups to manage content, secure traffic, and improve application performance. It plays a crucial role in CDN deployments, API management, and microservices architecture by providing enterprise-grade capabilities in caching and traffic management, along with security features like web application firewall and DDoS protection.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

April 2026

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