Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

lighttpd VS LiteSpeed Web Server

Compare lighttpd VS LiteSpeed Web Server and see what are their differences

lighttpd logo lighttpd

A secure, fast, compliant, and very flexible web-server that has been optimized for high-performance environments

LiteSpeed Web Server logo LiteSpeed Web Server

LiteSpeed Web Server (LSWS) is a high-performance Apache drop-in replacement.
  • lighttpd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-28
  • LiteSpeed Web Server Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-07-31

lighttpd features and specs

  • Low Memory Footprint
    Lighttpd is known for its low memory usage, making it ideal for environments where memory resources are limited.
  • High Performance
    It is designed to handle large numbers of parallel connections efficiently, making it suitable for high-traffic websites.
  • Easy to Configure
    Lighttpd offers straightforward configuration files that are easy to understand and modify.
  • Supports FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI
    It has built-in support for various interfaces like FastCGI, SCGI, and CGI, allowing it to interact with different types of applications.
  • Event-Driven Architecture
    The event-driven design allows for non-blocking and asynchronous operations, contributing to its speed and efficiency.

Possible disadvantages of lighttpd

  • Limited Module Support
    Lighttpd has fewer third-party modules and plugins compared to more popular web servers like Apache and Nginx.
  • Community Support
    The community around Lighttpd is smaller, which might result in slower updates and fewer tutorials or examples.
  • Learning Curve
    New users might find the initial setup and configuration challenging compared to more widely-used web servers.
  • Compatibility Issues
    Some applications or tools that are designed with Apache or Nginx in mind might not work seamlessly with Lighttpd.
  • Less Frequent Updates
    The development and release cycle for Lighttpd updates may not be as frequent as for more popular web servers.

LiteSpeed Web Server features and specs

  • Performance
    LiteSpeed is known for its high performance, handling more traffic with fewer resources compared to traditional web servers like Apache.
  • Built-in Caching
    It comes with LSCache, which provides advanced server-side caching, significantly boosting loading times for web applications.
  • Security
    LiteSpeed includes built-in anti-DDoS features, application-level distributed defense, and the ability to mitigate different kinds of attacks effectively.
  • Easy Apache Replacement
    LiteSpeed is compatible with Apache's htaccess, mod_rewrite, and mod_security, making it easy to switch from Apache without changing configurations.
  • HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 Support
    LiteSpeed supports modern protocols such as HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, making it suitable for the latest website requirements and performance enhancements.

Possible disadvantages of LiteSpeed Web Server

  • Cost
    LiteSpeed is a commercial solution, and its licensing fees can be a disadvantage for smaller businesses or individual developers.
  • Proprietary Software
    Being a proprietary solution, it doesn’t offer the transparency and community support advantages of open-source web servers like Apache and Nginx.
  • Learning Curve
    Switching to LiteSpeed may involve a learning curve, especially for those accustomed to other web server technologies.
  • Limited Customization
    It may not offer the same level of customization and flexibility as some other web servers, particularly in specialized or highly unique environments.

lighttpd videos

No lighttpd videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

LiteSpeed Web Server videos

What Is LiteSpeed Web Server?

More videos:

  • Review - What Is LiteSpeed Web Server?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to lighttpd and LiteSpeed Web Server)
Web And Application Servers
Web Servers
40 40%
60% 60
Application Server
39 39%
61% 61
Development Tools
58 58%
42% 42

User comments

Share your experience with using lighttpd and LiteSpeed Web Server. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare lighttpd and LiteSpeed Web Server

lighttpd Reviews

13 Best XAMPP Alternatives
Lighttpd is a simple and lightweight web server that allows you to do very fast static file serving. It can also be used as a content cache, a reverse proxy, or an HTTP accelerator. Lighttpd is not only lightning-fast but also straightforward to set up; in many cases, you only need one configuration file to work. Lighttpd has been around for some time now, so there are...
Source: thetechtian.com
Top 5 open source web servers
Great article Robin. Most of my experience is with Apache. I first started using it on Windows about 1998 or 1999. When I got into using Linux in 2001 I switched my previous install to that OS and have since deployed it many times. I have tried NGINX and lighttpd but never in production.
Source: opensource.com
Alternative web servers compared: Lighttpd, Nginx, LiteSpeed and Zeus
The huge leap for Lighttpd in January-March of 2007 is most likely due to one or more web hosting or domain registration companies switching over to Lighttpd either for their regular pages, or for parked pages, or both. If anyone knows what happened there in more detail, please feel free to let us know in the comments.
Source: www.pingdom.com

LiteSpeed Web Server Reviews

Litespeed vs Nginx vs Apache: Web Server Showdown
LiteSpeed Web Server, abbreviated as LSWS, is almost a newcomer to the webserver ‘scene’. It has gained a huge, perhaps even cult-like following in the last few years among web hosting companies due to its efficiency. With its streamlined architecture, companies running LiteSpeed Web Server could (theoretically) double the maximum capacity of websites their servers, assuming...
Source: chemicloud.com
Top Linux Web Servers: Pros and Cons
LiteSpeed comes in two versions: a free one known as OpenLiteSpeed and a paid enterprise version with extended functionality.
Source: bigstep.com
Alternative web servers compared: Lighttpd, Nginx, LiteSpeed and Zeus
Brief info: LiteSpeed is a commercial web server designed specifically for large websites. One of LiteSpeed’s advantages is that it can read Apache configurations directly which makes it easy to integrate with existing products to replace Apache. The server is lightweight and as the name implies very fast.
Source: www.pingdom.com

What are some alternatives?

When comparing lighttpd and LiteSpeed Web Server, you can also consider the following products

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

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

Microsoft IIS - Internet Information Services is a web server for Microsoft Windows

Forge - Static web hosting made simple

Phusion Passenger - Phusion Passenger is a multi-language (Ruby, Python, Node) web & app server which can integrate into Apache and Nginx

Eclipse Jetty - Jetty is a highly scalable modular servlet engine and http server that natively supports many modern protocols like SPDY and WebSockets.