Microsoft IIS Alternatives

Microsoft IIS is described as 'Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows® Server is a flexible, secure and easy-to-manage Web server for hosting anything on the Web. From media streaming to web application hosting, IIS’s scalable and open architecture is ready to handle the most demanding tasks' and is a Web Server in the development category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Microsoft IIS for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac, BSD and Self-Hosted apps. The best Microsoft IIS alternative is nginx, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Microsoft IIS are Apache HTTP Server, Caddy, FileZilla Server and lighttpd.

Microsoft IIS alternatives are mainly Web Servers but may also be FTP Servers. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Microsoft IIS.

Microsoft IIS alternatives page was last updated

Microsoft IIS

Paid • Proprietary
Web Server
Windows

Internet Information Services (IIS) for Windows® Server is a flexible, secure and easy-to-manage Web server for...

Learn more about Microsoft IIS

nginx
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Web Server
Mac
Linux
BSD
54 nginx alternatives
nginx [engine x] is a HTTP and reverse proxy server, as well as a mail proxy server written by Igor Sysoev. It has been running for more than five years on many heavily loaded Russian sites including Rambler (RamblerMedia.com).
- - nginx is the most popular Mac & Linux alternative to Microsoft IIS.
- - nginx is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Microsoft IIS.
Suggest and vote on features
nginx Features
1. Lightweightnginx consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. Portablenginx can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Low memory usage
Load balancing
HTTPS Support
HTTP server
Modules
Configurable
Modular System
Multicast RTP streaming
Apache HTTP Server
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Web Server
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
49 Apache HTTP Server alternatives
Apache, is a web server notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web and in 2009 became the first web server to surpass the 100 million web site milestone. Apache was the first viable alternative to the Netscape Communications Corporation web...
- - Apache HTTP Server is the most popular Windows alternative to Microsoft IIS.
Suggest and vote on features
Apache HTTP Server Features
1. Extensible by Plugins/ExtensionsApache HTTP Server can be extended with add-ons, plugins and extensions.
HTTP server
Customizable
Modules
Configurable
Opinions about Apache HTTP Server as a Alternative to Microsoft IIS
Almost everyone thinks Apache HTTP Server is a great Microsoft IIS alternative.
Caddy
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Open Source
Web Server
Reverse Proxy Server
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
FreeBSD
OpenBSD
21 Caddy alternatives
Caddy is a web server like Apache, nginx, or lighttpd, but with different goals, features, and advantages.
Suggest and vote on features
Caddy Features
1. LightweightCaddy consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableCaddy can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
3. Support for MarkDownCaddy supports MarkDown for document formatting.
Simple installation
HTTPS Support
Support for Let's Encrypt
HTTP Proxy
Modular System
HTTP server
Content Management
FileZilla Server
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
FTP Server
Mac
Windows
Linux
23 FileZilla Server alternatives
FileZilla Server, sister product to FileZilla Client, is an FTP server that supports FTP and FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS). FTP over SSL/TLS provides secure encrypted connections to the server.
Suggest and vote on features
FileZilla Server Features
Support for FTP
Encrypted Connection
lighttpd
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Web Server
Mac
Windows
Linux
38 lighttpd alternatives
lighttpd (pronounced "lighty") is a web server designed to be secure, fast, standards-compliant, and flexible while being optimized for speed-critical environments.
Suggest and vote on features
lighttpd Features
HTTP server
Baby FTP Server
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Proprietary
FTP Server
Windows
19 Baby FTP Server alternatives
This Baby FTP server has only the most necessary features and is yet powerful enough to be a basis for a more complex server.
Suggest and vote on features
Baby FTP Server Features
Minimalistic
Abyss Webserver
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
Web Server
Mac
Windows
Linux
BSD
40 Abyss Webserver alternatives
Abyss Web Server is a compact web server available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and FreeBSD operating systems.
Suggest and vote on features
Abyss Webserver Features
HTTP server
SSL
vsftpd
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
FTP Server
Linux
43 vsftpd alternatives
Very secure FTP Daemon, a secure, fast FTP server for UNIX systems, including Linux.
vsftpd has no features, suggest some!
OpenLiteSpeed
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Web Server
Mac
Linux
7 OpenLiteSpeed alternatives
OpenLiteSpeed is a high-performance, lightweight, open source HTTP server developed and copyrighted by LiteSpeed Technologies. Users are free to download, use, distribute, and modify OpenLiteSpeed.
Suggest and vote on features
OpenLiteSpeed Features
HTTP server
Add a screenshot
Xlight FTP Server
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Freemium • Proprietary
FTP Server
Windows
18 Xlight FTP Server alternatives
Xlight FTP Server is a high performance and easy to use ftp server software for Windows. It is designed to handle thousands of simultaneous ftp clients and use very little CPU and memory.
Xlight FTP Server has no features, suggest some!
Cherokee
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Web Server
Mac
Linux
BSD
43 Cherokee alternatives
Cherokee is a flexible, very fast, lightweight Web server. It is implemented entirely in C, and has no dependencies beyond a standard C library. It is embeddable and extensible with plug-ins. It supports on-the-fly configuration by reading files or strings, TLS/SSL (via GNUTLS...
Suggest and vote on features
Cherokee Features
HTTP server
ProFTPD
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
FTP Server
Mac
Linux
BSD
Self-Hosted
20 ProFTPD alternatives
ProFTPD is a high-performance, extremely configurable, and most of all a secure FTP server, featuring Apache-like configuration and blazing performance.
- - ProFTPD is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Microsoft IIS.
Suggest and vote on features
ProFTPD Features
Modular System
SSL