Proxying requests to application servers. Apache can do this, but it's clumsy to set up. nginx handles it much more gracefully.

Haproxy to me is much better. The free version of nginx has absolutely abysmal stats for monitoring.

I second this. NGinx has very powerful controls around content caching but very flimsy controls and monitoring around proxy operations. HAProxy has minimal controls around caching but incredible controls and flexibility with proxy operations. HAProxy is my go-to for the outer ring of my systems. I use NGinx when I need a lot of control around content caching and in that case NGinx is my middle ring. Think CDN model Both compliment each other quite well in various use cases.

I've interacted with the development teams of Apache, NGinx and HAProxy. The lead developer of HAProxy has by far been the easiest to work and interact with.

I’ve been using Apache exactly for that for years and it’s quite easy to setup. Maybe it’s me just being used to it, but I find Apache easier to configure than nginx.