Web Servers
Apache vs Nginx: Comparing Architecture, Speed, and .htaccess Support
Process-per-request Apache against event-driven Nginx, compared on concurrent connections, static file delivery, and the .htaccess flexibility shared hosting depends on.
Event-driven
Nginx's core connection-handling architecture
Per-request
Apache's traditional process/thread model
.htaccess
Per-directory config only Apache supports natively
NVMe + LiteSpeed
What actually runs under Hosting Cheap's plans
In short
Apache vs Nginx comes down to architecture: Apache spawns a process or thread for each connection, which is flexible and supports per-directory .htaccess overrides but uses more memory under heavy concurrent traffic. Nginx handles connections asynchronously in a single event loop, serving static files and handling many simultaneous requests more efficiently, but has no equivalent to .htaccess for per-account configuration changes.
Apache and Nginx solve the same basic job - serving a web page - through fundamentally different architectures, and that difference matters more than any single benchmark number. Apache's traditional model spawns a new process or thread for every incoming connection, giving each request its own isolated memory space; Nginx instead runs a small number of worker processes that handle thousands of connections asynchronously through a single event loop.
That architectural split shows up clearest in two places: how each server behaves as concurrent traffic climbs, and how configuration changes get made on a shared server hosting many independent accounts. Apache's per-process model handles .htaccess files gracefully - letting a single account change redirects, security rules, or PHP settings without touching the main server config - while Nginx requires editing a central configuration file and reloading the whole server for the same kind of change.
Architecture: process-per-request versus a single event loop
Apache's traditional worker model spawns a dedicated process or thread for each incoming connection, which keeps requests cleanly isolated from one another but means memory usage climbs directly with the number of simultaneous connections a server has to juggle at once.
Nginx instead runs a small, fixed number of worker processes that handle many connections concurrently inside a single event loop, waiting on I/O rather than blocking a whole process per request. That design uses memory far more efficiently as concurrent connections climb into the thousands, which is why Nginx became the default choice for reverse proxies and high-traffic static content.
Static files versus dynamic content: where each server actually wins
For static assets - images, CSS, JavaScript, cached HTML - Nginx's event-driven model generally delivers them with lower overhead per request than Apache's process-based approach, since there's no need to spin up a full process just to hand back a file that doesn't change.
Dynamic content, like a PHP page generating output on the fly, is handled differently under each server - Apache has historically embedded PHP directly as a module (mod_php), while Nginx hands PHP requests off to a separate process like PHP-FPM. Both approaches work, but the split affects how memory and configuration get managed under load.
.htaccess: the convenience that shared hosting depends on
Apache's support for .htaccess files lets an individual account change redirects, password protection, caching headers, or PHP settings from within its own directory, without an administrator ever touching the server's main configuration or restarting anything. On shared hosting with many independent accounts, that per-directory flexibility is genuinely valuable.
Nginx has no direct .htaccess equivalent - any per-site configuration change has to go into the central server config and requires a reload to take effect, which is far less convenient on a shared server hosting many separate customer accounts that each need to make their own small changes independently.
LiteSpeed: sidestepping the tradeoff entirely
A pure Apache vs Nginx comparison eventually runs into a real tradeoff for shared hosting specifically: Nginx's efficiency under concurrent load against Apache's per-account .htaccess flexibility that many WordPress plugins and security rules depend on outright.
LiteSpeed resolves that tradeoff rather than picking a side - it uses an event-driven architecture similar to Nginx for handling concurrent connections efficiently, while maintaining full .htaccess compatibility like Apache, so individual accounts keep their per-directory configuration flexibility. Hosting Cheap runs LiteSpeed paired with pure NVMe SSD storage across every plan, which is exactly why this tradeoff doesn't have to be made at all.
Event-driven speed with the .htaccess flexibility shared hosting needs
LiteSpeed runs underneath every Hosting Cheap plan, handling concurrent connections with the same event-driven efficiency as Nginx while keeping full .htaccess support the way Apache does, so per-account configuration changes still work without a server-wide reload.
Paired with pure NVMe SSD storage, that architecture is what turns a fast web server into a fast page for a real visitor - not just a favorable number on an Apache vs Nginx benchmark chart.
- LiteSpeed's event-driven architecture handles concurrent connections like Nginx
- Full .htaccess compatibility preserved, unlike a standard Nginx setup
- Pure NVMe SSD storage paired with LiteSpeed on every plan
- 1-click installers and a cPanel-style panel on top, regardless of the web server underneath
Why Hosting Cheap
What you get
Event-driven efficiency
LiteSpeed handles many concurrent connections the way Nginx does, without Apache's per-process memory cost.
.htaccess still works
Per-directory configuration changes work the same way they do under Apache, unlike a standard Nginx setup.
NVMe storage underneath
Pure NVMe SSD pairs with LiteSpeed so the web server gain reaches actual page load times.
No config tradeoff to make
Concurrent-connection efficiency and .htaccess flexibility both apply at once, not one or the other.
Familiar 1-click installers
A cPanel-style panel sits on top regardless of which web server architecture runs underneath.
Risk-free performance test
A 30-day money-back guarantee allows real page-load comparisons against a current Apache or Nginx host.
How It Works
Get set up in a few steps
Check the current bottleneck
Determine whether a site struggles more under concurrent traffic or needs per-directory .htaccess flexibility.
Look at what's underneath the panel
Confirm whether a host runs Apache, Nginx, or LiteSpeed rather than assuming based on the control panel alone.
Measure the real difference
Use free managed migration, then compare page load and concurrency handling during the 30-day guarantee.
Included
Everything you need, on every plan
- Confirm whether the host runs Apache, Nginx, or LiteSpeed underneath the panel
- Check whether .htaccess per-directory configuration is supported, not just documented
- Ask how the server handles PHP - as a module or through a separate process like PHP-FPM
- Verify static assets are served efficiently under concurrent traffic, not just on a quiet server
- Confirm pure NVMe SSD storage backs whichever web server is running
- Check that 1-click installers work the same regardless of the underlying web server
- Ask whether free managed migration handles moving from an existing Apache or Nginx setup
- Use a 30-day money-back guarantee to measure real concurrency and page-load performance
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Nginx always faster than Apache?
Nginx generally handles many simultaneous connections and static file delivery more efficiently due to its event-driven architecture, but Apache's process-per-request model isn't necessarily slower for lower-concurrency workloads, and it retains full .htaccess support that Nginx lacks.
Why does .htaccess matter for shared hosting?
It lets an individual account change redirects, security rules, or PHP settings from within its own directory without an administrator editing the main server configuration or restarting anything, which matters on a server with many independent accounts.
Can Nginx use .htaccess files?
No, Nginx has no native equivalent to .htaccess. Per-site configuration changes require editing the central server config and reloading it, which is less convenient for shared hosting with many separate accounts.
What web server does Hosting Cheap actually run?
Hosting Cheap runs LiteSpeed, which uses an event-driven architecture similar to Nginx for handling concurrent connections while keeping full .htaccess compatibility like Apache.
Does the web server choice affect WordPress specifically?
Yes, many WordPress plugins and security rules write directly to .htaccess, so a web server without that support requires extra manual configuration that LiteSpeed and Apache avoid.
How is LiteSpeed different from both Apache and Nginx?
LiteSpeed combines Nginx's event-driven efficiency for handling concurrent connections with Apache's .htaccess compatibility, avoiding the tradeoff between the two rather than choosing one side of it.
Get event-driven speed without losing .htaccess flexibility
LiteSpeed and pure NVMe SSD on every plan, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
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