NGINX Controller vs NGINX Plus comparison

NGINX Controller and NGINX Plus are both solutions in the Application Infrastructure category. NGINX Controller is ranked #20 with an average rating of 7.0, while NGINX Plus is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8. NGINX Controller holds a 0.9% mindshare in AIS, compared to NGINX Plus’s 9.3% 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

158 Views
158 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NGINX Plus

Read 32 NGINX Plus reviews

3,866 Views
1,546 Comparison Views

93% willing to recommend

NGINX Controller

NGINX Plus

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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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

January 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

20th

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

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (8th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of NGINX Controller is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 9.3%, down from 11.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Infrastructure Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
NGINX Plus	9.3%
NGINX Controller	0.9%
Other	89.8%

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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Michael Olayemi

Senior Software Engineer at Checkit

Enables public access and secure configurations through reverse proxy

The primary valuable feature of NGINX for me is its ability to provide a reverse proxy. I have found that this feature supports our local server, and I am able to connect through our DNS system, making it accessible publicly. Additionally, the integration with SSL certificates and the configuration capabilities make it a valuable solution for my use case. Without NGINX, users would not be able to access our application, which means there is positive ROI from using NGINX as it is crucial for the functioning of my organization.

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

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

"The best solution, by far, for web traffic control for things in production and just around the house."

"It's lightweight software that can handle heavy loads efficiently."

"The product is lightweight and fast."

"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."

"Nginx is simple to configure, very stable in a highly utilized environment and very modular, allowing DevOps to create it's own modules for interactive use with Nginx."

"The flexibility of its modules allow it to be scalable."

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

"The load balancing module, which is equivalent to LTM, is the focus of the PSE. So far, the features of both are identical. I believe NGINX has more features for securing these services, but in terms of load balancing, both are massive solutions."

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."

"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."

"The solution's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."

"There is room for improvement in the pricing model."

"It would be great if there was even more automation to make it even easier to maintain."

"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application. As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified."

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

"The drawback is that you must obtain a license for everything."

"I would like the configuration process to be more simplified."

More NGINX Plus cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

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

"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. "

"The cost is reasonable."

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

"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."

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

"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."

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

More NGINX Plus pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	15
Midsize Enterprise	2
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 100% of the time

More NGINX Controller Competitors

IIS vs NGINX Plus

Compared 17% of the time

Apache Web Server vs NGINX Plus

Compared 14% of the time

HAProxy vs NGINX Plus

Compared 10% of the time

NetScaler vs NGINX Plus

Compared 9% of the time

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

Compared 8% of the time

More NGINX Plus Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Application Infrastructure

January 2026

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Buyer's Guide

NGINX Plus

January 2026

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Also Known As

No data available

NGINX

Overview

Built to manage NGINX Plus instances at scale, NGINX Controller provides DevOps and developers a self-service, API driven control plane for their most critical application and security services. Manage and monitor load balancers, API gateways, and web application firewalls across any cloud, all from a single pane of glass.

The NGINX Controller API Management Module is an API management solution, combining NGINX Plus as an API gateway with new control‑plane functionality. NGINX Controller is designed to empower Infrastructure & Operations and DevOps teams to define, publish, secure, monitor, and analyze APIs, without compromising performance.

NGINX Plus is a versatile solution that offers load balancing, caching, proxying, and API deployment capabilities. It can be deployed on private or public clouds and is ideal for building CDN solutions. The solution can also be used to secure web applications and replace web services like Apache.

NGINX has helped organizations improve functioning, reduce downtimes, and offer a DevOps-friendly solution. Its community support and documentation are highly regarded, and its configuration is more straightforward, making it a recommended choice over HAProxy.

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

January 2026

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