{"id":1697,"date":"2020-04-10T02:29:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-10T08:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2026-01-22T08:31:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T14:31:40","slug":"nginx-vs-apache","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scalahosting.com\/blog\/nginx-vs-apache\/","title":{"rendered":"Nginx vs Apache"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Finding the best performing and most reliable web server is at the cornerstone of any successful online business.  So today, we are going to help with a detailed comparison of two of the market leaders \u2013 Nginx vs Apache<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Apache?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Nginx<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Apache is the server component of the LAMP stack (Linux<\/strong>, Apache<\/strong>, MySQL<\/strong>, and PHP<\/strong>), the prominent open-source software set<\/strong> for building web applications and various kinds of websites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache servers utilize Multi Processing Modules<\/strong> (MPMs<\/strong>), which allow it to run in three different modes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Process<\/strong> \u2013 not very scalable, good for smaller websites<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Worker<\/strong> \u2013 utilizes a network of threads, scales better, but not suited for high-traffic websites<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Event<\/strong> \u2013 efficiently handles longer connections, the default setting of most Apache-run servers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform packs a rich set of features. Things like load balancing<\/strong>, reverse proxy caching<\/strong>, and bandwidth throttling<\/strong> are a few of the best-liked features by web developers and server admins worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Nginx?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Nginx<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nginx arrived at the stage relatively late, almost ten years after Apache<\/strong>, but quickly took the market by storm. So much so, that it hosts close to 500 million websites<\/strong> today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say that the Nginx web server was developed with the sole reason to outperform Apache. In reality, it was the proposed solution of the C10k problem<\/strong> \u2013 How can a web server handle 10,000 simultaneous connections?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx relies on an asynchronous architecture<\/strong> to do the job \u2013 instead of threads, here we have s system that monitors<\/strong>, detects<\/strong>, and analyzes<\/strong> events. Based on these events, it applies predictive measures<\/strong> to handle the load.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In layman\u2019s terms, you have a platform that uses its resources much more efficiently, and in tune with the current traffic consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So which one scores better in the head-to-head comparison?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have a look at the test results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Popularity \u2013 winner: Nginx<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"Nginx<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

source: Netcraft<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take a trip down Memory Lane and check how the web server market looked twenty years ago:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Apache<\/strong> \u2013 60%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Microsoft<\/strong> \u2013 27%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Sun Technologies<\/strong> \u2013 3%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx stepped into the stage around 2007<\/strong>. At that time, Apache was still sitting comfortably on top, with a 49% market share<\/strong>.  Still, the Nginx developers<\/strong> wasted no time. The constant strive for innovation and product optimization impressed a lot of people, and clients soon started flooding in. Sun<\/strong>, Google<\/strong>, Microsoft<\/strong> \u2013all the popular web servers lagged behind and were eventually bypassed by Nginx<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache\u2019s lead was also shaky up until November 2018. According to the web survey reports<\/strong>, this is when Nginx finally took the top spot. So today, the popularity contest looks much more different than before:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Nginx<\/strong> \u2013 36%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Apache<\/strong> \u2013 25%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 Microsoft<\/strong> \u2013 14%<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be fair, Apache servers still host more active websites than Nginx,<\/strong> but the trend shows its only a matter of time before that changes as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance (Static Content) \u2013 winner: Nginx<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you take a look at the best ranking and most popular websites<\/strong>, you will find (at least) one common denominator \u2013 they load super fast. Site speed is detrimental nowadays, and every second spent in waiting equals lost visitors and fewer sales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx performs almost two times faster for static content<\/strong> than Apache with 512 concurrent connections and 2.4 times faster <\/strong>with double the requests. At the same time, the RAM consumption is lower \u2013 in order to handle the load, Nginx used 5-6% less system memory<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This difference comes mainly from the server architecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx doesn\u2019t require any connection to the PHP<\/strong> when serving static files. This makes the request much lighter and easier to process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx is the clear winner here, but bear one thing in mind \u2013 these performance results are for static-only pages. Nowadays, the majority of websites serve various types of dynamic conten<\/strong>t, and web servers had to be optimized accordingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Performance (Dynamic Content) – Draw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Almost 8 out of 10 websites<\/strong> today utilize PHP in their code in some way. It doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re building a WordPress<\/strong><\/a>, Joomla<\/strong>, Magento<\/strong>, or Drupal<\/strong> website \u2013 your site requests will trigger the PHP runtime environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike static content, Apache is much better at dealing with dynamic web pages. The optimized performance depends on the server configuration, like activating the PHP-FPM<\/strong> and FastCGI<\/strong> modules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once your Apache is properly set up, dynamic websites start flying<\/strong>. Apache-based servers are just as fast as Nginx<\/strong>. Performance benchmarks showed no difference between the two contenders, neither in the page load times nor in the memory consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache (with a little tweaking) runs as fast as Nginx for PHP-driven websites.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OS Support \u2013 winner: Apache<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Different projects require different operating systems to run efficiently, so a wide variety of supported OS types is a factor we must consider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which web server is more versatile?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to Linux distributions, Apache and Nginx are flawless<\/strong>. Both platforms can easily handle every Unix-like system<\/strong> out there, including AIS<\/strong> and BSD<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same goes for the macOS users \u2013  any of the two web servers can easily run such a project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The breaking point in this section of our Nginx vs Apache comparison was the support for Windows. While you can successfully run a Win-based website or app with Nginx, there are certain restraints and missing functionalities<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache simply covers it all, letting you concentrate more on developing your project and less on overcoming server limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Security \u2013 winner: Nginx<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Webmasters might be responsible for protecting their websites from hackers, but it all starts with the hardware security.  Let\u2019s say you are setting up and managing your own web server.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apache relies on a C-based code<\/strong>, which is always up to the latest security standards. You can find extensive information on how to secure your server from DDoS attacks<\/strong>, one of the greatest cybersecurity threats nowadays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a good base, but hardening your security shouldn\u2019t stop there. Take modules, for example. By activating the mod_evasive function<\/strong> with Apache, you guarantee your project complete safety from all kinds of HTTP<\/strong>, DoS<\/strong>, and brute-force attacks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nginx web server takes security quite seriously as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform gives enough options for mitigating the risks of hacker attacks<\/strong> and keep client websites well-protected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what makes Apache or Nginx better?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As it turns out \u2013 the sheer size of the code base. Nginx has a smaller and more optimized code<\/strong>, giving it a slight edge in the Security department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modules \u2013 Draw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Modules help us expand our server functionalities and optimize our online project. Be it with a workload upgrade<\/strong>, a media streaming plugin<\/strong>, or a content filtering solution<\/strong> \u2013 we heavily depend on a variety of mods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So which one between Nginx vs Apache is more flexible and susceptible to customizations?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a close call, really, as both platforms support over 150 modules by default<\/strong>. And those are just in-house developed add-ons. When you take into account the plethora of third-party plugins, the numbers get even more impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 A detailed list of Apache modules<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u2022 a complete Nginx<\/a> module list<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u2022 A detailed list of Nginx third-party modules<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of core functionalities, both web servers support the essentials \u2013 load balancers<\/strong>, caching<\/strong>, proxying<\/strong>, the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are certain areas where one or the other is slightly better (like the media streaming solutions on Nginx), but overall, a draw is the fairest result here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support (Documentation) \u2013 Draw<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Apache and Nginx are the most popular servers right now, so you can easily find plenty of support documentation<\/strong> for both platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The official company websites are rather dev-oriented<\/strong>. No fancy designs or functionalities, no unnecessary multimedia \u2013 the focus is on content and teaching users how to best operate their server. Nginx\u2019s documentation felt<\/strong> a bit more beginner-friendly<\/strong>, but not enough to make a significant difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus, you\u2019re not in any way limited to the official sources alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platforms are open-source and quite popular, which means that plenty of people can contribute and add to the helpful resources. With a little googling, you can find a configuration file<\/strong>, tutorials with screenshots<\/strong>, videos<\/strong>, step-by-step guides<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, there isn\u2019t any visible difference when you compare the Apache web server vs Nginx in terms of support documentation<\/strong>. A draw would be the fairest verdict here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Support (Live) \u2013 winner: Nginx<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Learning about server management from a well-written tutorial is good, but prompt assistance from a real person when you need it – even better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, unlike hosting or site-building services, web server developers rarely have in-house staff dedicated solely to customer assistance. And again, we are talking about open-source platforms<\/strong>, so we shouldn\u2019t hold our hopes too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can get assistance with Apache-specific questions on various third-party websites<\/strong>. Places like CodeMentor<\/strong> not only connect you to expert professionals<\/strong>, but can also help you hire skillful developers<\/strong> who will relieve you of the daunting server administration tasks altogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nginx offers a similar experience. Its popularity is growing in leaps and bounds, and the fan base is a close bunch, always ready to welcome new members to the community. One thing tipped the scales in favor of Nginx \u2013 the<\/strong> in-house support<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though it\u2019s a paid service, the best assistance always comes straight from the source. After all, who can better know the ins-and-outs of the technology than the very people that helped develop it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several packages, separated by the type of help you need:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n