Nginx Reaches 33.3% Web Server Market Share While Apache Drops Below 50%

Introduction: Half of the web still runs on Apache, but one‑third now uses Nginx, and the gap is closing quickly. Below we examine detailed statistics and trends.

Nginx is the fastest‑growing web server, now holding 33.3% market share, up from just 3.9% seven years ago. On average, among the top 10 million sites, a new site switches to Nginx every minute. To put this in perspective, Nginx’s growth rate is 70 times faster than the growth of Node.js sites.

Since 2010, Apache’s share has dropped from 71.5% to just under 50%, while Microsoft IIS fell from 20.6% to 11.3%.

As expected, Nginx has taken most of Apache’s lost share, though some sites are also moving away from Nginx. Administrators are pragmatic and flexible.

Among the top 10 000 high‑traffic sites, Nginx holds 58.4% market share. Apache remains the leader in the million‑site tier, but the gap is narrow: Nginx 39.7% vs. Apache 42.8%.

In Russia, Nginx enjoys a 76.8% share; similar dominance is seen in former Soviet states such as Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan. Nginx also leads in several Asian, African, and South American countries, while Apache stays ahead in most of the Americas and Europe. Microsoft IIS leads in China, Turkey, Egypt, and some Arab nations.

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Nginx leads in support for modern protocols, which likely drives migration. Among sites that support HTTP/2, 76.8% run Nginx, compared with only 2.3% on Apache, whose HTTP/2 module is still experimental. For IPv6, 63.3% of all IPv6‑enabled sites use Nginx—almost three times Apache’s share.

Nginx is also the preferred server for sites running Ruby, Python, Scala, and modern JavaScript frameworks such as AngularJS, Vue.js, and React. No clear OS trend emerges: Gentoo‑based systems favor Nginx, while most Red Hat/CentOS installations run Apache.

Future market‑share forecasts based on new‑site technology choices show Nginx maintaining a slight lead (36.4% vs. Apache 47.7% and IIS 10.8%). Follow our daily updated charts for real‑time developments.

Note: All trends and figures are accurate as of 2017‑04‑10. Our survey is regularly updated, so numbers may change over time.

English version link: https://w3techs.com/blog/entry/nginx_reaches_33_3_percent_web_server_market_share_while_apache_falls_below_50_percent

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