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Apache HTTP Server vs Nginx: catalog facts
Apache HTTP Server	Nginx
Free The open-source software is available without a license fee. Hosting, hardware and…	Free Nginx open source is free. Nginx Plus is a paid subscription.
Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted	Windows, macOS, Linux, Self-hosted
Huge module ecosystem and decades of documented configuration Per-directory .htaccess overrides suit shared hosting	Event-driven model handles large numbers of idle connections cheaply One binary covers static serving, reverse proxying, caching and load balancing
Higher memory use per connection than event-driven servers Default configurations are spread across many files and vary by distribution	Dynamic modules must usually be compiled in Several load-balancing and monitoring features are exclusive to the paid Nginx Plus
Self-hosted	Self-hosted
Open source	Open source
License: Apache-2.0	License: BSD-2-Clause
Not stated if an account is needed	Not stated if an account is needed
Not stated if it works offline	Not stated if it works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked September 22, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.