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NGINX Plus vs Zend PHP Engine comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jun 3, 2026

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 Plus
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
3rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (10th)
Zend PHP Engine
Ranking in Application Infrastructure
15th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.6
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Application Infrastructure category, the mindshare of NGINX Plus is 7.9%, down from 9.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Zend PHP Engine is 2.6%, up from 1.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Infrastructure Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
NGINX Plus7.9%
Zend PHP Engine2.6%
Other89.5%
Application Infrastructure
 

Featured Reviews

Nadeem-Inamdar - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MW
CEO at VonatelNetworks
Effective network data analysis with customization capabilities and an open-source model
We use Zend PHP Engine in a government project to develop a tool for network monitoring analysis. We utilize the tool to collect all the network data for a platform PHP allows us to personalize a solution if the customer desires. This flexibility is beneficial. Zend PHP Engine is a good tool for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"NGINX is the best available tool today for the tasks it covers."
"When I worked in a security research center, we tested NGINX to support DoS and DDoS attacks, and its results were great."
"NGINX works much better than HAProxy in our current hardware and architecture for HTTP/HTTPS load balancing. ​​"
"It's lightweight software that can handle heavy loads efficiently."
"NGINX has created a resilient infrastructure for us which has reduced our downtimes."
"I think NGINX Plus is one of the most powerful and fittest solutions in this area, and I'd recommend it to others."
"The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
"The web application firewall feature has helped enhance security for our applications because most of the attacks which are performed on our website are being blocked by it, so the web application firewall is good."
"No issues with stability encountered."
"Zend Engine gives the flexibility to use external modules to easily expand the functionalities you need for your web project."
"The fact that it is available open-source is the best feature."
"We have not encountered issues with scalability as long as we effectively use caching to optimize performance of our web applications as well as a proper use of database connectivity."
"Essentially, we get the best performance at very affordable costing."
"Faster web app implementation, when PHP dev is required by customers."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the speed at which it compiles and sends the dynamic cache."
"This solution is really easy for me to use."
 

Cons

"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application. As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified."
"The scalability could be improved."
"It would be great if there was even more automation to make it even easier to maintain."
"I am not so happy with their pricing policy, but this is not the worse thing in my life."
"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 user interface could be improved."
"I would suggest adding GUI-based configuration panels to NGINX Plus to simplify setup and management tasks."
"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."
"The platform is not satisfying to me -- it is just not up to standards performance wise."
"The main area that Zend needs to improve is to support asynchronous programming tasks, which is facilitated in PHP 7, but not at the same degree as HHVM.​​"
"Zend PHP Engine needs to improve the loading time of its libraries and make it faster."
"Its object oriented programming language needs improvement."
"The biggest problem with PHP is you have to write lot of conditions or have to use a framework."
"A general scripting language should be further developed and should be embedded into it."
"The solution can be quicker."
"SQL queries have always been an issue with PHP, especially if you use large tables, which require caution from the side of the developer.​"
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."
"​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 price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
"I use the solution's community edition which is free of cost."
"​NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it.​"
"The cost is reasonable."
"It's an open source solution, so it's free."
"Compared to other similar solutions on the market, I think it's over-priced."
"The Zend PHP engine is open source technology, so there's no need for us to worry about licensing or other costs."
"The solution is open source and you just pay for the server cost."
"Zend PHP Engine is not an expensive solution."
"Its pricing depends on the number of users."
"No problem with pricing and licensing, as tools are open source. You have to consider training cost, mindset setup cost, as part of the TCO."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
12%
Construction Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
8%
Construction Company
19%
Comms Service Provider
15%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
15%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business16
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Large Enterprise2
 

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 needs improvement with NGINX Plus?
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....
What needs improvement with Zend PHP Engine?
Integrating AI tools would make PHP more competitive, as other tools already have AI features.
What is your primary use case for Zend PHP Engine?
We use Zend PHP Engine in a government project to develop a tool for network monitoring analysis. We utilize the tool to collect all the network data for a platform.
 

Also Known As

NGINX, F5 NGINX Plus
PHP Engine
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Cisco
Find out what your peers are saying about NGINX Plus vs. Zend PHP Engine and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.