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NGINX

Free plan LinuxMacSelf-hostedWindows

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NGINX's own site

What NGINX is

NGINX is software for serving HTTP traffic and routing requests as a reverse proxy, cache, load balancer, TCP/UDP proxy, or mail proxy. It supports SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3, as well as WebSockets, TLS termination, response caching, and rate limiting. Reverse proxying can combine caching and load balancing with fault tolerance. NGINX also supports caching and load balancing for FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers, and includes the njs scripting language. It runs one master process alongside worker processes under an unprivileged user. Configuration is file-based, and deployment is self-hosted on Linux, macOS, or Windows. The software is distributed under the 2-clause BSD License and its open-source plan is free. Downloads include mainline, stable, and legacy versions, plus source code, Windows builds, and packages for listed Linux distributions. F5 is identified as its primary maintainer, sponsor, and steward, and offers commercial support and enterprise editions including NGINX Plus.

Who it suits

NGINX suits administrators who need a self-hosted web server and proxy with caching, load balancing, and traffic controls. It also fits teams managing HTTP, TCP/UDP, or mail traffic across supported platforms.

What it does well

  • Free open-source plan at no cost
  • Supports HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and SSL/TLS SNI
  • Provides caching, load balancing, and fault tolerance
  • Available for Linux, macOS, and Windows

What to know first

  • Web application firewall is not included
  • Requires self-hosted deployment

Plans

PlanBilled and limitsPrice
NGINX Open SourceHTTP web server · reverse proxy · content cache · load balancer · TCP/UDP proxy · mail proxyFree

As nginx.org lists them, read 29 Sept 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.

Getting started

  1. Visit the NGINX website.
  2. Choose a mainline, stable, or legacy version.
  3. Download source code, a Windows build, or a package for a supported Linux distribution.
  4. Install it on Linux, macOS, or Windows.
  5. Configure NGINX using files.

Verdict

NGINX combines web serving and several proxy roles with caching, load balancing, and file-based configuration. Its free plan and wide platform coverage are useful, though it does not include a web application firewall.

Questions

Is NGINX free?

Yes. The NGINX Open Source plan is free.

What license does NGINX use?

NGINX is distributed under the 2-clause BSD License.

Which platforms does NGINX support?

It is available for Linux, macOS, and Windows, and is self-hosted.

Who maintains NGINX?

F5, Inc. is identified as its primary maintainer, sponsor, and steward.

Are commercial support and enterprise editions available?

F5 offers commercial support through its Open Source Subscription Bundles and enterprise distributions, including NGINX Plus.

What versions and downloads are available?

The download page lists mainline, stable, and legacy versions, Windows builds, source code, and Linux packages.

Facts from NGINX's own pages

Application integrations
It supports caching and load balancing for FastCGI, uwsgi, SCGI, and memcached servers. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Commercial support
F5 offers commercial support for NGINX through its Open Source Subscription Bundles. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Downloads
The download page lists mainline, stable, and legacy versions, Windows builds, source code, and Linux packages. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Enterprise editions
F5 provides enterprise distributions of NGINX, including NGINX Plus. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
License
NGINX is distributed under the 2-clause BSD License. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Linux distributions
Official packages are listed for RHEL and derivatives, Debian, Ubuntu, SLES, Alpine, and Amazon Linux. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Maintainer
F5, Inc. is identified as NGINX's primary maintainer, sponsor, and steward since its 2019 acquisition of NGINX, Inc. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Package security
The Linux package instructions describe verifying packages with official signing keys and signatures. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Process model
NGINX uses one master process and several worker processes, which run under an unprivileged user. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Scripting
The feature list includes the njs scripting language. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Security advisories
The security page lists vulnerabilities, severity, affected versions, and versions that are not vulnerable. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Traffic handling
It supports accelerated reverse proxying with caching, load balancing, and fault tolerance. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
Web protocols
Its listed HTTP features include SSL/TLS SNI, HTTP/2, and HTTP/3 support. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026
What it does
NGINX is an HTTP web server, reverse proxy, content cache, load balancer, TCP/UDP proxy server, and mail proxy server. · nginx.org, 29 Sept 2026

Where NGINX stands on Freedom251

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