Introduction
Apache vs NGINX – Both are the two most common open-source web servers in the world. Together, they are responsible for serving over 50% of traffic on the internet. Both solutions are capable of handling diverse workloads and working with other software to provide a complete web stack.
While Apache and Nginx share many qualities, they should not be thought of as entirely interchangeable. Each excels in its own way, and this article will cover the strengths and weaknesses of each.
What is Apache?
Apache is “Apache HTTP Server”. It is an open-source, high-performance web server software developed and maintained by Apache Software Foundation. Apache is designed to create a secure, robust and efficient commercial-grade web server in line with the current HTTP standards.
Apache remains the first choice among the server administrators because of its flexibility, architectural simplicity, power compatibility, and multi-platform support. It can run on almost all operating systems such as Windows, UNIX, OSX, NetWare, etc. But it is commonly used in combination with Linux.
Apache became the backbone of the WWW (World Wide Web), it was really on the top of the game, but when NGINX comes in the business, the server administrator’s choice was changed.
Benefits of Apache
- Apache is open source which makes it free to use and allows community developers to extend and modify it easily.
- Apache is flexible due to it the presence of dynamic modules.
- Apache is compatible with Unix-like OS such as Linux, BSD, etc, and MS Windows.
- Apache has a huge community and easily available support in case of any problem.
- Apache has optimal deliverability for static files and is compatible with any programming language.
Pros
- An open-source solution available to individuals and organizations for free.
- Supports third-party modules, plugins, and extensions which enhance its functionality.
- A flexible and reliable server software with a robust testing and development track record.
- Community support from its active user base.
- Offers root access to server configurations; non-privileged users can edit permissions using the .htaccess file.
- Ideal for shared hosting environments.
Cons
- Resource-intensive software that may consume more CPU and memory than alternatives.
- May not be ideal for delivering static content due to its resource-intensive nature.
- Complex configuration due to its multiple functions.
- No support for asynchronous processing.
What is NGINX?
NGINX (also written as Nginx) is open-source software used for web serving, reverse proxying, caching, load balancing, media streaming, and more. NGINX came into the picture in 2004 when it was first publicly released by Russian developer Igor Sysoev. When it was released, NGINX was used mostly for serving static files, but today, it has grown into a complete web server that deals with the whole spectrum of server tasks.
Benefits of NGINX
There are many advantages of the NGINX server. Some of them are as follows:
- NGINX is open source and is free to use.
- NGINX has a simple configuration system, unlike Apache. The user must edit no more than two files.
- The performance of NGINX when it comes to serving static files like pdf, zip, HTML, mp4, MPEG, Avi-, jpg, gif, png, and others is great.
- NGINX handles traffic from any web app with no difficulties whatsoever and provides configuration guides for most apps. Various apps such as WordPress, python, Ruby, Drupal, VBulletin, PhpBB, and many other popular apps are served by NGINX.
- NGINX is superior when it comes to handling concurrent connections, response time, and usage of resources as compared to other web servers such as Apache or Lighttpd.
- NGINX makes websites faster thereby enabling them to get higher ranking by Google as they have already made various changes in the search ranking algorithm and recently they made the speed of the website also a part of the algorithm. The faster websites get maximum support from Google. NGINX can handle multiple client requests concurrently and effectively with heavy traffic. This makes the website more optimised and faster.
Pros
- Asynchronous and event-driven architecture makes NGINX ideal for multiple concurrent requests.
- Ideal for high-traffic servers.
- Can be used as a reverse proxy server.
- Low-memory footprint with efficient CPU and memory usage.
- Easy to configure and use, even for beginners.
- Active community support and documentation.
Cons
- Limited support for the Windows operating system.
- No native support for dynamic content and uses proxy requests on all dynamic content to a backend server before serving it to the client.
- Leans heavily on the use of external third-party modules.
Apache vs NGINX
| S.NO. | Apache | Nginx |
| 1 | Apache is an open-source web server. | Nginx is a web server. It is also used as a reverse proxy server which revices the request from client and send the request to proxy server. |
| 2 | It is mostly used for Unix, Linux, Windows and Solaris platforms. | It is mostly used for Unix like systems, and does not completely support Windows. |
| 3 | It was developed by Apache group and initially released on 25 March 1999. | It was developed by Nginx.inc and initially released on 4 october 2004. |
| 4 | Apache is written in C and XML. | Nginx is written in C language. |
| 5 | It is designed for web server. | It is designed for proxy server as well as web server. |
| 6 | In heavy web traffic, it cannot support multiple requests. | It can support multiple client requests with limited hardware resources. |
| 7 | In Apache, modules are dynamically fixed that make it more complex. | In Nginx, modules cannot be loaded dynamically as there is a core software in which they are complied . |
| 8 | It follows Multi-Threaded approach to process client requests. | It follows Event-Driven approach to process client requests. |
| 9 | In Apache, there is a dynamic content in web server itself. | It does not support provide dynamic content. |
| 10 | Apache’s performance for static content is lower than that of Nginx. | Nginx’s performance of static content is two times faster than that of Apache as it can simultaneously run thousands of connections and it uses less memory comparatively. |
| 11 | Less security provided as compared to Nginx and also the codebase is very high. | It provides better security with a smaller codebase. |
| 12 | File system location are passed to interpret the client requests. | It passes Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) to interpret the client requests. |
| 13 | Complex configuration system as compared to Nginx. | It has relatively simpler configuration system. |
| 14 | Apache runs on all Unix like systems such as Linux, BSD, etc. as well as completely supports Windows. |
Nginx runs on modern Unix like systems; however it has limited support for Windows. |
| 15 | Apache uses a multi-threaded approach to process client requests. | Nginx follows an event-driven approach to serve client requests. |
| 16 | Apache cannot handle multiple requests concurrently with heavy web traffic. | Nginx can handle multiple client requests concurrently and efficiently with limited hardware resources. |
| 17 | Apache processes dynamic content within the web server itself. | Nginx can’t process dynamic content natively. |
| 18 | Apache is designed to be a web server. | Nginx is both a web server and a proxy server. |
| 19 | Modules are dynamically loaded or unloaded, making it more flexible. | Since modules cannot be loaded dynamically, they must be compiled within the core software itself. |
| 20 | A single thread can only process one connection. | A single thread can handle multiple connections. |
| 21 | The performance of Apache for static content is lower than Nginx. | Nginx can simultaneously run thousands of connections of static content two times faster than Apache and uses little less memory. |
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