LiteSpeed vs nginx: real performance is not a 12x difference
Contrary to LiteSpeed's marketing claims of 12x higher performance, independent tests show differences of 1-15% with caching enabled. Real advantages emerge in specific scenarios: LiteSpeed dominates when serving cached traffic and offers better TTFB globally, while nginx clearly wins with dynamic uncached content (even 74% faster) and in Kubernetes environments. For WordPress with properly configured caching, both servers deliver nearly identical performance.
General benchmarks debunk marketing myths
Independent tests from 2022-2024 paint a picture significantly different from LiteSpeed's official materials. A 2024 RunCloud test on Google Cloud VPS (2 cores, 4GB RAM) showed only 0.17-0.49% difference between OpenLiteSpeed and nginx with caching enabled. Similarly, MakeItWork.press on Upcloud servers recorded 1790 vs 2052 req/s — OLS's advantage is only 14.6%.
The situation changes dramatically with caching disabled. Nginx with PHP-FPM achieves 40.09 req/s versus 22.97 req/s for OpenLiteSpeed — a 74% advantage for nginx. This pattern is consistent across all independent tests: nginx handles dynamic PHP content significantly better when cache cannot help.
Concurrent connection handling
| Scenario | nginx | OpenLiteSpeed | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000 clients/s (cached) | 59,964 requests, 0 errors | 53,791 requests, 362 errors | nginx |
| 0-10,000 clients ramping | 85,489 requests, 0 timeouts | 111,784 requests, 3,822 timeouts | Mixed |
| 10,000 req/s stress test | 50% timeouts | <6% timeouts | OpenLiteSpeed |
Under standard load, nginx offers greater stability with zero errors. However, under extreme load (10k+ concurrent connections), OpenLiteSpeed handles more requests, albeit at the cost of partial timeouts.
Resource consumption
OpenLiteSpeed consistently shows lower RAM usage — LiteSpeed's HTTP/3 tests (though they should be treated with reservation) show 28MB for OLS vs over 1GB for nginx. Independent RunCloud observations confirm lower memory and disk usage under equivalent load.
WordPress: LSCache is the biggest practical advantage
For WordPress sites, the difference between servers comes down mainly to cache solution quality, not the server itself. LSCache (LiteSpeed Cache) works at the server level — cache hits completely bypass PHP. Nginx FastCGI cache requires additional configuration, but with proper setup achieves nearly identical performance.
WordPress response time comparison
| Metric | nginx | OpenLiteSpeed |
|---|---|---|
| Fastest TTFB | 32ms | 34ms |
| Average TTFB (14 locations) | 372ms | 317ms |
| Average total time | 668ms | 550ms |
OpenLiteSpeed wins average TTFB globally by 50-150ms, which matters for users from distant locations. Nginx is slightly faster for local connections.
WooCommerce — nginx surprisingly better without cache
MakeItWork.press tests on a store with 11,000 products show nginx's advantage in uncached scenarios:
- Product page: nginx 0.48s vs OLS 1.01s PHP loading
- Product edit: nginx 0.55s vs OLS 1.79s
- 1000 product import: nginx 1:15 vs OLS 1:26
- Uncached WooCommerce (4 cores/8GB): nginx 29.25 req/s vs OLS 16.83 req/s
For large e-commerce stores with intensive backend operations, nginx may be the better choice.
LSCache vs nginx FastCGI — functionality
| Feature | LSCache | nginx FastCGI |
|---|---|---|
| Server-level cache | ✅ Native | ✅ Requires configuration |
| Tag-based cache purging | ✅ Full | Limited |
| ESI (Edge Side Includes) | ✅ Enterprise only | ❌ |
| Cache for logged-in users | ✅ Built-in | Requires custom setup |
| WordPress plugin | Free, feature-rich | No native plugin |
LiteSpeed Enterprise vs OpenLiteSpeed: worth paying for?
Key differences between the paid and free versions concern mainly operational functionality, not raw performance. According to an experienced LiteSpeed user (WPJohnny): "OpenLiteSpeed is 1-2% faster at most. LiteSpeed Enterprise maybe 3-5% faster. If at all."
Features available only in Enterprise
| Feature | Performance impact | Critical for |
|---|---|---|
| ESI (Edge Side Includes) | High — cache mixed content | WooCommerce, stores with logged-in users |
| Auto-reload .htaccess | Operational — no restarts | Shared hosting, frequent config changes |
| cPanel/Plesk integration | None | Shared hosting |
| Optimized ModSecurity | Medium | Sites with extensive WAF |
| Zero-downtime upgrades | Operational | 24/7 production |
| Asynchronous SSL handshake | Medium | High HTTPS load |
ESI is critical for e-commerce: allows caching entire product pages while dynamically inserting private elements (cart, user data). OpenLiteSpeed doesn't support this feature — the workaround is QUIC.cloud CDN.
LiteSpeed Enterprise pricing (2025)
| License | Price/month | Domains | Workers (cores) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Starter | $0 | 1 | 1 |
| Site Owner | $10-15 | 5 | 1 |
| Web Host Lite | $26 | Unlimited | 1 |
| Web Host Professional | $46 | Unlimited | 4 |
| Web Host Enterprise | $65 | Unlimited | 8 |
Recommendation: OpenLiteSpeed is sufficient for single sites without logged-in users. Enterprise pays off for shared hosting (cPanel), e-commerce with ESI, or production requiring zero-downtime.
When nginx is the better choice
Kubernetes and cloud-native environments
Nginx has an official Kubernetes Ingress Controller — the most widespread ingress controller in the K8s ecosystem. LiteSpeed offers no equivalent. For modern microservice architectures, nginx is the industry standard:
- Native Docker integration
- Support for gRPC, WebSocket, TCP/UDP load balancing
- Powers Kong, Apache APISIX and other API gateways
- Netflix, Dropbox, and most high-traffic enterprises use nginx as reverse proxy
Technical scenarios favoring nginx
- Uncached dynamic content: 50-74% faster than OpenLiteSpeed
- Stability under high load: zero errors vs hundreds of OLS timeouts at 1000 clients/s
- Mixed technology stack: better support for Python, Go, Node.js (not just PHP)
- API gateway/microservices: de facto industry standard
- Zero licensing costs: full functionality in open-source version
Costs — nginx significantly cheaper
| Solution | Annual cost |
|---|---|
| nginx open-source | $0 |
| OpenLiteSpeed | $0 |
| LiteSpeed Enterprise (4 workers) | ~$550 |
| NGINX Plus | ~$2500 |
Nginx open-source offers enterprise-grade functionality for free, while equivalent LiteSpeed features require a paid Enterprise license.
Conclusions and recommendations by use case
| Scenario | Recommendation | Reasoning |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress + cache | Both equivalent | <5% difference, LSCache easier to configure |
| WooCommerce/e-commerce | LiteSpeed Enterprise | ESI for logged-in users, but nginx better uncached |
| Kubernetes/Docker | nginx | No LiteSpeed alternative |
| API gateway/microservices | nginx | Industry standard, Kong/APISIX |
| Shared hosting (cPanel) | LiteSpeed Enterprise | Only option with integration |
| Zero budget, full functionality | nginx | OpenLiteSpeed lacks ESI, .htaccess restart |
| Extreme traffic spikes (10k+) | OpenLiteSpeed | Better overload survival |
| Large WooCommerce catalog uncached | nginx | 74% faster uncached |
Conclusion: LiteSpeed marketing promising 12x advantage is an exaggeration — independent tests show 1-15% advantage in typical cached scenarios. Nginx wins in containerization, microservices, and dynamic content. LiteSpeed dominates with WordPress + LSCache and in Apache-compatible environments. For most WordPress sites, both servers will deliver nearly identical performance with proper cache configuration.