When we talk about NGINX vs Litespeed, we should know that two of the most well-liked web servers on the globe are NGINX and LiteSpeed. They are incredibly fast and have strong security measures, which is why developers all around the world adore using them.
The main distinctions between the two web servers will be covered in this post, along with recommendations on which one to choose.
Also read: Apache vs NGINX – Who WINS in terms of Performance?
What is a Web Server?
A web server, in the simplest terms, is software or hardware created specifically to operate the technology required to fulfill client requests and provide web pages to these customers. Depending on its own hardware setup, a web server can host one or multiple websites.
Any device that has internet connectivity, such a laptop, wristwatch, IP camera, desktop computer, or smartphone, qualifies as a client. Clients commonly use web browsers to request data from web servers, such as Chrome or Firefox.
Since the beginning of the internet, web servers have existed, and the technology they employ as well as the material they provide have continued to develop and define the Internet that we use today.
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You can also learn about OpenLiteSpeed vs NGINX.
What is NGINX?
One of the most famous pieces of open-source web server software is NGINX. It is intended to provide stability and great performance. The design is event-driven and non-threaded, which uses less CPU processing for each request that is fulfilled. NGINX may also dramatically shorten client wait times. Additionally, it is speedy. It routinely outperforms the majority of its competitors in benchmark testing.
An HTTP and reverse proxy server is Nginx. On any given server, it could be used to host and cache apps and webpages. It is becoming more and more popular and is utilized by several sizable businesses, like Dropbox and Netflix.
It features specialized modules for caching (FastCGI) and handling PHP, and is widely renowned for delivering static files very well (PHP-FPM).
What is LiteSpeed?
The top high-performance, high-scalability web server from LiteSpeed Technologies is called LiteSpeed Web Server. Without altering any other applications or operating system specifics, it may be used to replace the existing server. The best part is that it may be fitted without causing any damage. As a result, LiteSpeed Web Server may easily take the place of a significant bottleneck in your current web hosting infrastructure.
One of the swiftest web servers accessible online is LiteSpeed. With its distinctive event-driven design, it can efficiently service thousands of clients at once. Additionally, it processes PHP scripts faster than any other web server in the world.
Key features of Nginx
Typical characteristics of Nginx include:
- Reverse proxy with caching
- IPv6
- Load balancing
- FastCGI support with caching
- WebSockets
- Handling of static files, index files, and auto-indexing
- TLS/SSL with SNI
Key features of LiteSpeed
Typical characteristics of LiteSpeed include:
- HTTP/3
- Fully compatible with Apache and .htaccess
- Bubblewrap support
- TLS V1.3
- QUIC
- Redis
- HTTP/2
- HTTP 1.0/1.1 compliant
- Scripting Languages: PHP, Perl, Ruby, Python, Java, etc…
- Server APIs: LiteSpeed SAPI (LSAPI), CGI, FCGI, AJPv13, Proxy
- HTTPS
- IPv4 and IPv6
- Unlimited IP and name-based virtual hosting
- Unlimited concurrent connections
- Brotli Compression
- GZIP compression
- Support for SPDY/2, 3, and 3.1
- WebSocket proxying
- Runs on Linux, FreeBSD, MacOSX, Solaris
Biggest Advantage of using LiteSpeed in WordPress
The caching plugin for LiteSpeed is WordPress’ largest benefit. This plugin serves as a comprehensive tool set for all of your performance needs. It does offer options for database optimization, object caching, object minification, ESI (partial) caching, image optimization, and more. Additionally, it supports QUIC.cloud integration, which helps speed up the loading time of your WordPress website from any location.
Unfortunately, Nginx doesn’t have a plugin that is as good.
Advantages of NGINX
- Uses an event-driven, non-blocking design that uses less CPU and memory.
- It includes several options for static content optimization and serving. As a result, providing static content is 2.5 times quicker and uses less memory than other web servers.
- Excellent performance in a multi-processor setting.
- DDoS assaults can be stopped by a built-in configuration option.
Advantages of LiteSpeed
- LiteSpeed uses the least amount of server resources when managing several concurrent connections. Its event-driven architecture allows it to operate more quickly than competing web servers like Apache. Therefore, if speed is a priority for you, it can be a great choice.
- Additionally, LiteSpeed works with a number of hosting panels, including CyberPanel
- Mod rewrite,.htaccess, and mod security are just a few of the Apache web server capabilities that the corporate edition is completely compatible with.
- It delivers static webpages more quickly than Apache since it is tuned for PHP speed.
- It is extremely convenient for websites and e-commerce sites since it can manage abrupt increases in traffic as well.
- Zero downtime maintenance, which allows you to reboot the server and upgrade the system without affecting users’ access to your website, is another important benefit.
- Per-IP connections and bandwidth restriction are only two of the adjustable security options that LiteSpeed provides.
Disadvantages of Nginx
- Cannot natively handle dynamic content.
- A shorter list of modules.
- Linux and Unix operating systems are supported; minimal Windows compatibility is available.
- Insufficient log monitoring tools just write logs to manual file navigation required files.
Disadvantages of LiteSpeed
- The free version has constraints in resources (however, LiteSpeed also have an open-source version which is also as good as the paid version)
Nginx vs LiteSpeed
| LiteSpeed | NGINX | |
| Architecture | Event-driven | Event-driven |
| Caching | Litespeed cache-QUIC.Cloud, CDN static and dynamic | Fast CGI-Plus CDN Static and dynamic |
| OS Support | Ubuntu 14+, Debian 8+, CentOS 7+, FreeBSD 9+, Linux kernal 3.0+ | all Unix systems, windows partial |
| Ease of config | GUI and read .htaccess file | .conf files |
| Security | Modsecurity rules, reCAPTCHA, WP brute-force, DDOS | Modsecurity rules |
| Control Panel | CyberPanel, CloudPages, Plesk, cPanel, Direct Admin | cPanel, aaPanel, Vesta, Hastia |
| Plugins | Control panel plugins and API for third party apps | This party modules |
| Languages | Supports all scripting languages | PHP, python, Perl, Ruby, JavaScript, Go, Java servlet |
| HTTP 3 | Strong support | Roadmap for support |
| CMS | WordPress, Magento, Joomla, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Drupal | WordPress, Magento, Joomla, PrestaShop, OpenCart, Drupal |
Speed Test:
We will be checking the average response time for two sites, one of which is using Nginx web server and the other one is using LiteSpeed web server. Both sites are identical in all aspects apart from the fact that one is using Nginx and the other is using LiteSpeed
NGINX:
LiteSpeed:
Result:
Here we can see a huge difference in the average response times of the two web servers. Nginx is giving us an average response time of 604 ms and LiteSpeed is giving us an average response time of 29 ms, which is much better as compared to NGINX.
Conclusion
The speed at which pages load for your visitors and clients is crucial to the success of your website. The findings unmistakably demonstrate that LiteSpeed Web Server outperforms its competitors in terms of performance, and as a result, CyberPanel offers it to clients as standard on both our Shared and WordPress Hosting.
Consider our web hosting plans if you truly want a website that loads in LiteSpeed!
