NGINX review
A flexible self-hosted reverse proxy with caching, load balancing, TLS, and protocol support.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
NGINX is open-source infrastructure software for serving web content, reverse proxying applications, caching responses, and balancing or proxying HTTP, TCP, and UDP traffic. It is designed for teams managing their own infrastructure on Linux or Windows. The feature set also covers HTTPS and TLS termination, WebSocket proxying, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, request rate limiting, and connection limiting by key or client IP. NGINX Open Source is distributed under the 2-clause BSD License and is self-hosted.
Its main strength is breadth within core reverse proxy operations. A single deployment can combine web serving, response and proxy caching, application proxying, TCP and UDP traffic handling, and load balancing. TLS termination and WebSocket support suit modern application architectures, while HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 support extends protocol coverage. Rate and connection limits add useful traffic-control options without requiring a separate proxy product. These capabilities make NGINX a practical fit for established teams that want a configurable general-purpose edge layer rather than a narrow proxy focused on one protocol.
The trade-off is operational ownership. Configuration is handled through text files, so teams need the skills and processes to manage self-hosted infrastructure and configuration changes. NGINX Open Source also does not include a web application firewall; F5 WAF for NGINX is a separate product that runs with NGINX Plus or NGINX Ingress Controller. Choose NGINX when free, open-source reverse proxying and broad protocol support matter. Teams seeking managed operation or built-in web application firewall protection should consider an alternative or a separate product in the F5 NGINX portfolio.
NGINX pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Free open-source deployment on Linux and Windows
- Supports HTTP, TCP, and UDP proxying and load balancing
- Includes caching, TLS termination, WebSockets, and rate limiting
- Where it doesn't
- Self-hosted deployment requires infrastructure administration
- Configuration is managed through text files
- Web application firewall protection is not included
NGINX fact sheet, pricing and score →
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