Nginx vs Apache: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare Nginx and Apache on architecture, performance, configuration, and use cases. Discover which web server is the best fit for your project.
Nginx
An event-driven web server and reverse proxy known for its high concurrency and low resource footprint. Nginx handles thousands of simultaneous connections efficiently through an asynchronous, non-blocking architecture. It is deployed worldwide as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache handling billions of requests per day.
Apache
The Apache HTTP Server is the longest-running open-source web server in the world, developed since 1995. With a process-driven architecture, extensive .htaccess support, and modules like mod_rewrite, Apache offers maximum flexibility. It is the default web server on most Linux distributions and shared hosting environments.
Comparison table
| Feature | Nginx | Apache |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Event-driven, asynchronous non-blocking I/O | Process/thread-driven with MPM modules (prefork, worker, event) |
| Concurrency | Excellent — handles 10,000+ simultaneous connections efficiently | Good with event MPM, but higher memory footprint under many connections |
| Configuration | Centralized configuration files — no per-directory overrides | .htaccess for per-directory configuration — flexible but slower |
| Reverse proxy | Native reverse proxy and load balancer with upstream configuration | mod_proxy module — functional but less optimized |
| Dynamic content | Proxies to external processes (PHP-FPM, uWSGI, Node.js) | Built-in module support (mod_php, mod_python) |
| Community | Fast-growing, dominant in modern infrastructure and containers | Longest history, extensive documentation, widely installed |
Verdict
Nginx and Apache are both proven web servers, but they excel in different scenarios. Nginx wins convincingly in concurrency and resource efficiency, making it the preferred choice for modern high-traffic applications and reverse proxy setups. Apache excels in flexibility through .htaccess support and built-in modules, making it ideal for shared hosting and legacy applications. In practice, they are often combined: Nginx as a reverse proxy in front of Apache for dynamic content processing.
Our recommendation
At MG Software, we use Nginx as our default web server and reverse proxy for all our projects. The event-driven architecture fits perfectly with our containerized deployments and delivers excellent performance under high concurrency. We configure Nginx as a reverse proxy for Next.js, Node.js, and other application servers. For clients with existing Apache configurations, we offer migration guidance, converting .htaccess rules to Nginx configuration and optimizing performance.
Frequently asked questions
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