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Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs NGINX Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.6
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway saves time and costs by managing infrastructure, offering up to 40% savings on projects.
Sentiment score
7.4
NGINX Plus improved website speed, reduced costs, and enhanced application accessibility, offering varied returns despite higher costs than alternatives.
We have seen a return on investment in terms of time-saving and cost-saving by not creating our own infrastructure.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway's customer service feedback varies, ranging from responsive and effective to slow with inconsistent expertise.
Sentiment score
6.8
Most users rely on community resources and documentation, but those who use technical support rate it effective despite variable response times.
There is room for improvement, specifically in paid support, by providing more direct contact.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is generally praised for scalability and auto-scaling, though some experience challenges with significant scale-ups.
Sentiment score
8.0
NGINX Plus is highly scalable, adaptable to configurations, and efficiently manages load balancing, especially on AWS or GCP.
While some people use NGINX for web servers, my current use case focuses on networking and tunneling, which does not necessitate much scaling.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is stable and reliable, though some users report minor issues requiring experience for optimal management.
Sentiment score
7.9
NGINX Plus is stable and reliable with minor concerns, often attributed to configuration, performing well in production environments.
I require ninety-nine point nine percent uptime, and NGINX has been pivotal in helping me achieve this along with our other DNS services.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway requires better pricing, integration, ease of use, documentation, support, and enhanced features for scalability and security.
NGINX Plus needs improvements in scalability, ease of use, pricing, performance, security integration, and standalone deployment options.
There is room for improvement in terms of support, such as assigning agents directly for more straightforward engagement.
NGINX could provide a means to generate self-signed SSL certificates.
As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway's cost is mixed, valued for integration but often seen as pricey, averaging a seven rating.
NGINX offers a free version, while NGINX Plus requires a paid license with flexible, feature-based pricing options.
Azure solutions are quite expensive.
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.
The solution offers a cost advantage.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway offers Layer 7 management, WAF security, API-based routing, easy integration, and cost-efficient performance.
NGINX Plus provides efficient load balancing, caching, and security with high performance, modularity, and seamless integration for flexible traffic management.
We are using it for some of the security features for our applications, particularly for securing traffic in transit with SSL.
For API management, the WebSocket, and the WebServer, NGINX provides a cost advantage, value addition, and effective support.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure Application...
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
4th
Average Rating
7.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
47
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (2nd)
NGINX Plus
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
6th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is 8.0%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 8.1%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

Shehzad Ali - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers time and cost savings with integration, but user interface needs improvement
We are using it for our internal application development. We are testing those features of application gateways. We are integrating it with our solutions, application, Azure Application Gateway Microsoft has a vast variety of tools, and it blends very well. It provides a range of services, so it…
Ritesh-Bakhru - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick installation and very easy to manage while doing orchestration or automation
NGINX cannot be a replacement for your traditional load balancer with what we use in the network today. However, with applications going toward microservices, NGINX is definitely a way forward. F5 has many traditional load balancing features, so they still need to bring some of those features to NGINX. NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5. I think F5 is trying to implement those features in NGINX so they can improve the balancing on NGINX, but I think that will take some time. With the traditional F5 set up, the same OS can do load balancing, firewalls, and even policy enforcement. If we are able to bring some of those capabilities to NGINX, I think it would become a versatile solution and usage would definitely increase.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Azure Front Door and Application Gateway?
We found Azure Front Door to be easily scaled and very stable. The implementation is very fast and Microsoft provides excellent support. Azure Front Door can quickly detect abnormalities before the...
How does AWS WAF compare to Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?
Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon’s Web Service Web Application Firewall or Microsoft Azure Application Gateway web application firewall software was the better fit ...
What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?
Application Gateway automatically redirects unwanted users and takes care of the security aspect. It also handles the performance side of things, which is why we use it.
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 do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.
 

Also Known As

Azure Application Gateway, MS Azure Application Gateway
NGINX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lilly, AccuWeather, AIRFRANCE, Honeywell
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NGINX Plus and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
839,422 professionals have used our research since 2012.