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Laragon VS Microsoft IIS

Compare Laragon VS Microsoft IIS and see what are their differences

Laragon logo Laragon

All in one web server.

Microsoft IIS logo Microsoft IIS

Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows
  • Laragon Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-02
  • Microsoft IIS Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-01-25

Laragon features and specs

  • Portability
    Laragon is designed to be a highly portable development environment, allowing you to easily move your projects to different computers without complex setup processes.
  • Simplicity
    Laragon offers an easy-to-use interface that simplifies the management of local development servers, databases, and other tools, making it accessible to developers of all skill levels.
  • Speed
    Laragon is optimized for performance, enabling quick installation and execution of server environments, which helps in rapid development and testing.
  • Customization
    Laragon provides extensive customization options, allowing you to configure environments according to your specific needs, including support for different versions of PHP, MySQL, and other tools.
  • Minimal System Impact
    Laragon runs efficiently without consuming excessive system resources, ensuring that your development environment does not slow down your computer.
  • Integrated Tools
    Laragon comes bundled with numerous tools like Apache, Nginx, PHP, MySQL, and more, making it a complete package for local development.

Possible disadvantages of Laragon

  • Windows-Only
    Laragon is currently only available for Windows, limiting its accessibility for developers who use macOS or Linux.
  • Community Support
    While Laragon has a supportive community, it is not as large as some other development environments, which might make finding solutions to uncommon issues more challenging.
  • Learning Curve for Customization
    Although Laragon is easy to use for basic tasks, fully leveraging its customization capabilities may require a learning curve for less experienced users.
  • Default Configuration Limitations
    The out-of-the-box configurations may not meet the needs of all high-complexity projects, necessitating additional setup and customization.
  • Limited Official Documentation
    Laragon could benefit from more extensive official documentation, which would help users better understand and utilize all its features effectively.

Microsoft IIS features and specs

  • Integration with Windows Server
    Since IIS is developed by Microsoft, it offers seamless integration with Windows Server, leveraging features like Active Directory, .NET Framework, and PowerShell for enhanced performance and manageability.
  • User-Friendly Interface
    IIS features a graphical user interface (GUI) that simplifies the server setup and management process, making it easier for administrators to configure and maintain web applications.
  • Extensive Documentation and Support
    Being a product from Microsoft, IIS offers comprehensive documentation, extensive online resources, and professional technical support, which can be highly beneficial for enterprise users.
  • Security Features
    IIS includes various built-in security features, such as dynamic IP restrictions, request filtering, application pooling, and integration with Windows authentication, making it a secure choice for hosting web applications.
  • Performance and Scalability
    IIS is optimized for performance and can effectively handle multiple requests and high-traffic websites. It also supports load balancing and server farms to enhance scalability.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft IIS

  • Cost Considerations
    Unlike some other web servers that are open-source and free, IIS may incur licensing costs as it requires a Windows Server license, making it potentially expensive for small-scale deployments.
  • Platform Dependency
    IIS runs exclusively on the Windows platform, which can be a limitation for organizations that use a diverse set of operating systems or prefer open-source ecosystems like Linux.
  • Complex Configuration for Advanced Features
    While IIS offers a user-friendly interface for basic setups, configuring advanced features may require considerable expertise and can become complex, particularly for those unfamiliar with Microsoft's environment.
  • Performance Overheads
    IIS may introduce performance overhead due to the multiple layers of abstraction and integration with Windows features, which can affect performance in some high-demand scenarios compared to lightweight, minimalist web servers.
  • Lower Community Support
    Open-source web servers like Apache and Nginx have large, active communities that contribute to continuous improvement and troubleshooting. IIS, being a proprietary product, has a smaller community in comparison.

Analysis of Laragon

Overall verdict

  • Yes, Laragon is generally considered to be a good tool. It's particularly appreciated by web developers who need a lightweight, yet powerful, local development environment. Its user-friendly interface and hassle-free setup process make it a strong contender against other local development solutions.

Why this product is good

  • Laragon is a popular development environment that simplifies the process of setting up and managing local web servers. It's praised for its speed, portability, and ease of use. The platform provides a variety of tools and services that make web development more efficient, including support for multiple languages, databases, and server technologies. Its auto-configuration and ability to run multiple projects independently make it a convenient choice for many developers.

Recommended for

  • Web developers seeking a simplified local environment for developing PHP, Node.js, Python, Java, or Ruby applications.
  • Developers who need an easily configurable and portable solution that can run on Windows.
  • Those who value fast startup times and minimal system resource usage in their development tools.
  • Users looking for a tool that can handle multiple projects and multiple versions of server software independently.

Analysis of Microsoft IIS

Overall verdict

  • Microsoft IIS is a good choice for businesses and developers who are already working within a Microsoft ecosystem or need close integration with Windows applications and services. It offers a solid balance of performance, security, and ease-of-management, making it a viable option for hosting a variety of web applications.

Why this product is good

  • Microsoft IIS (Internet Information Services) is a versatile and powerful web server that integrates seamlessly with Windows Server and other Microsoft technologies. It offers robust security features, efficient management tools, reliable performance, and strong support for .NET applications. IIS is known for its ease of use in Windows environments, offering a user-friendly graphical interface and a wide range of administrative tools, such as the IIS Manager. Additionally, it supports both static and dynamic content hosting and is capable of handling large volumes of traffic efficiently.

Recommended for

  • Organizations using Windows Server environments
  • .NET application developers
  • Businesses needing seamless integration with other Microsoft services
  • Companies looking for reliable security features
  • Web hosting providers serving enterprise-level clients

Laragon videos

Best WAMP Server for Local WordPress - Laragon is Easy

More videos:

  • Review - Laragon And WordPress
  • Review - Laravel development setup on Windows PC (Laragon)

Microsoft IIS videos

Analyzing Microsoft IIS Web Logs - Part 1

More videos:

  • Review - My SEO Video 2017 Microsoft IIS SEO Toolkit

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Laragon and Microsoft IIS)
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
26 26%
74% 74
Development Tools
63 63%
37% 37
Application Server
18 18%
82% 82

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Laragon and Microsoft IIS

Laragon Reviews

Exploring 7 Efficient Alternatives to MAMP for Local Development Environments
Laragon is a lightweight, efficient web development environment for Windows, integrating Apache or Nginx servers, MySQL database, PHP, and tools like Composer. It features quick virtual host creation and configuration, supports multiple PHP versions, and automates SSL settings.
Source: medium.com
Top 6 Alternatives to XAMPP for Local Development Environments
Laragon - A lightweight, efficient web development environment for Windows. It integrates Apache or Nginx servers, MySQL database, PHP, and Composer among other tools. Features include portability, fast virtual host creation and configuration, support for multiple PHP versions, and automated SSL settings.
Source: dev.to
Best XAMPP Alternatives for Website Development in 2024
Other alternatives like WAMP, MAMP, LocalWP, EasyPHP, Laragon, and AMPPS also provide unique features, but InstaWP stands out for its efficiency and ease of use. By leveraging InstaWP, developers can streamline their workflow and create exceptional websites with confidence.
Source: instawp.com
13 Best XAMPP Alternatives
This excellent application is probably one of our favorites. Laragon simplifies web server configuration and deployment through its intuitive user interface.
Source: thetechtian.com
9 Best XAMPP Alternatives Cross Platform Web Server
Laragon is amongst the best XAMPP Alternatives for lightweight and superfast local development servers. With a feature set that rivals that of XAMPP, Laragon is one of the best alternatives to the package, improving on many of its drawbacks.

Microsoft IIS Reviews

Apache, IIS, NGINX, GWS : What’s Your Choice?
Utilizing a specific type of virtual or physical server determines the type of web server software you use. If you prefer Microsoft, then you will prefer to use IIS (Internet Information Services / Server) by Microsoft as your primary web server application solution. If you use Linux distribution, you have other alternatives like Apache, NGINX and LiteSpeed.
Source: www.milesweb.in
What Is the Most Popular Web Server Application in 2021?
Despite being bundled with most modern Microsoft software, IIS loses out to Apache on its own devices. The main selling point here is performance. While IIS has kept up with Apache in recent times, Apache has historically been performing much better, which still gives it an edge over IIS.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Laragon seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 57 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Laragon mentions (57)

  • How to install PHP 8.3 with OCI8 on Laragon
    In this tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps to install and configure the OCI8 extension on Laragon with PHP 8.3. The OCI8 extension allows PHP to connect to Oracle databases, and setting it up can be a bit tricky. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Best MAMP Alternatives in 2025
    Laragon is another viable alternative to MAMP, allowing developers to work on their site development and testing projects without needing access to a live server. It provides a local environment where users can build and develop WordPress sites, and it also supports local testing for any PHP, Node.js, Python, Java, and more applications. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • 100+ Must-Have Web Development Resources
    Laragon: A quick and easy local development environment for Windows that includes MySQL, PHP, Redis, and Apache. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • Drupal 9 on Windows
    I usually use laragon there it comes with apache server can install php version and has composer built in. https://laragon.org/ also can set up quick app scrpt so on right mouse click will start install process for any php based project you want. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • help me create database server
    In an earlier comment, /u/Readyman2627 recommended https://laragon.org, which apparently helps you get a local database server running. Source: about 2 years ago
View more

Microsoft IIS mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Microsoft IIS yet. Tracking of Microsoft IIS recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Laragon and Microsoft IIS, you can also consider the following products

XAMPP - XAMPP is a free and open-source cross-platform web server that is primarily used when locally developing web applications.

Apache HTTP Server - Apache httpd has been the most popular web server on the Internet since April 1996

MAMP - MAMP is the abbreviation for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. It is a reliable application with its four components that allows you to access the local PHP server as well as the database server (SQL).

Apache Tomcat - An open source software implementation of the Java Servlet and JavaServer Pages technologies

AMPPS - MAMP and WAMP stack with Latest PHP, Apache, MySQL and Softaculous. Install and manage apps like PHP, WordPress and much more with just one click.

LiteSpeed Web Server - LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.