# AWS Elastic Load Balancing vs NGINX

| Attribute | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | NGINX |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 85.2 (33% (low)) | 37 (7% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A managed load balancing service that distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets and availability zones. Supports application, network, gateway, and classic load balancer types with automatic scaling and security features. | An open-source HTTP web server and reverse proxy that handles traffic routing, content caching, load balancing, and TCP/UDP proxying. It powers core web infrastructure and Kubernetes deployments. |
| features.capabilities | - | `{"layer":"both","open_source":true,"waf_bundled":false,"pricing_model":"open-source-self-host","deployment_form":"software/self-host","http2_http3_support":true,"k8s_ingress_or_gateway_api":true}` |
| integrations.count | - | 2 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Docker"},{"name":"OpenShift Container Platform"},{"name":"Gateway API"},{"name":"F5 WAF","native":false,"category":"security","direction":"bidirectional"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Application Load Balancer","summary":"Pay per Load Capacity Unit (LCU) used. Free tier includes 750 hours/month and 15 LCUs for new AWS customers (6 months)","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"LCU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.008,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-LCU model for application layer load balancing","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_tier_hours":"750 hours/month","free_tier_data_processing":"15 LCUs"}},{"free":true,"name":"Network Load Balancer","summary":"Pay per Network Load Capacity Unit (NLCU) used","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"NLCU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.006,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-NLCU model for high-performance network layer load balancing","contactSales":false},{"free":true,"name":"Classic Load Balancer","summary":"Free tier: 750 hours/month + 15 GB data processing. Then $0.025 per GB processed","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.025,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Legacy load balancer with usage-based pricing","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_tier_hours":"750 hours/month","free_tier_data_processing":"15 GB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Gateway Load Balancer","description":"Deploy third-party virtual appliances at scale","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free tier for 6 months (750 hours/month classic+ALB, 15 LCUs for ALB). After free tier, usage-based pricing per LCU or NLCU processed. New customers receive up to $200 in free credits.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/pricing/?nc=sn&loc=3","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T13:40:49.357Z","freeTrialDays":180,"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Open source. Commercial support and NGINX Plus (30-day trial) available through F5, Inc.","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://nginx.org","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T13:44:38.584Z","freeTrialDays":30}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | - | http://nginx.org/en/security_advisories.html |

## Capabilities (Load Balancers)

| Capability | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | NGINX |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Layer | - | Both |
| Deployment form | - | Software/self host |
| Tls termination | - | - |
| Http2 http3 support | - | ✓ |
| Gslb multi region | - | - |
| K8s ingress or gateway API | - | ✓ |
| WAF bundled | - | ✗ |
| Autoscaling integration | - | - |
| Health check depth | - | - |
| Session persistence | - | - |
| Fips 140 validated | - | - |
| Open source | - | ✓ |
| Pricing model | - | Open source self host |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T17:38:20.829Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*