F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Rapid7 AppSpider comparison

The compared F5 and Rapid7 solutions aren't in the same category. F5 is ranked #2 in ADC , with an average rating of 8.7, and holds a 16.1% mindshare in the category. Rapid7 is ranked #32 in SAST , and holds a 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Rapid7 users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Read 122 F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) reviews

6,912 Views
5,115 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Rapid7 AppSpider

Read 14 Rapid7 AppSpider reviews

1,341 Views
711 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Rapid7 AppSpider

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Rapid7 AppSpider based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, Microsoft and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC).

To learn more, read our detailed Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

September 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

122

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)

Rapid7 AppSpider

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) (32nd)

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Rapid7 AppSpider aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 16.1%, up 15.2% compared to last year.
Rapid7 AppSpider, on the other hand, focuses on Static Application Security Testing (SAST), holds 0.5% mindshare, up 0.4% since last year.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)	16.1%
NetScaler	14.3%
HAProxy	11.1%
Other	58.5%

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Static Application Security Testing (SAST) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Rapid7 AppSpider	0.5%
SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube)	19.7%
Checkmarx One	10.0%
Other	69.8%

Static Application Security Testing (SAST)

Featured Reviews

Bonieber Orofeo

IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital

Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage

One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.

Read full review

Rizwan-Alam

Head Information Security at Akhtar Fuiou Technologies

Easy automated web app scanning, but gives many false positives and isn't always stable

One of the challenges I have with AppSpider is that it gives you a lot of false positives, especially when compared to other solutions. This is the main aspect that I hope to see Rapid7 improve on. Beyond reducing false positives, I would also like to see them implement better reporting features, particularly in the executive summary type of reports which need to be user-friendly and easily understood by non-technical people. The recommendations and solutions on these reports could always be improved to make them more relevant, too. Lastly, the stability isn't that great, and sometimes it becomes non-responsive. I feel like the stability of the application is very average and currently needs more work.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"BIG-IP LTM's most valuable feature is that it allows you to seamlessly add more servers without impacting your application's configuration."

"The support from F5 BIG-IP LTM is good."

"The most valuable features of the solution are in the area of DDoS and WAF."

"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is brand image and recognition and the application delivery controller."

"It is a fast and available solution."

"We use F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager to balance traffic."

"The web application firewall feature is the most valuable and useful feature. It is a leading industry product when it comes to load balancing. Its user interface is very simple. There isn't a steep learning curve. When we initiate someone to F5, they start using it quickly."

"F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is very easy to use, from SSL Management to enabling, disabling loads, applications, systems, and monitoring. Overall the solution keeps our application functional from a client's perspective 24 hours a day, seven days a week."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pros

"The most valuable feature is the reporting, which is compliant with international standards."

"The initial deployment is very straightforward and simple. The product is stable if configured properly."

"What I like most about AppSpider is that it's easy to use and its automated scan gives me all the details I need to know when it comes to vulnerabilities and their solutions."

"It scans all the components developed within a web application."

"One of the most valuable features of AppSpider is its broad range of authentication identification, which is a key reason for its utilization."

"I would say that it is stable, as I am not aware of any major issues."

"The most valuable feature of Rapid7 AppSpider is the vulnerability reporting data. Additionally, the data is reported in a convenient way rather than seeing them as a PDF. We are able to generate all the reports exactly what we want in a flexible way."

"I like the ability the product has to detect vulnerabilities quickly, when it has been released in our environment, then displaying them to us."

More Rapid7 AppSpider pros

Cons

"LTM would be improved with the inclusion of signature-based blocking."

"A more hybrid approach would be beneficial for users."

"I would like them to have more flexible models."

"The license terms for "non-commercial" will be a challenge for us."

"The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use."

"I'm not very sure about the security with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). We have our own private data center, but we are going to migrate our private data center into the Azure cloud environment. Security will then be a major concern when we migrate our own whole infrastructure to the public cloud."

"F5 BIG-IP LTM can improve on the SSL loading which includes the authentication of certificates. Although, most of these issues have been solved there are still some issue that persists."

"Based on my experience using F5 and by only taking into consideration the last seven years, I have found that the reporting mechanism is bad."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) cons

"This price of this solution is a little bit expensive."

"The performance of the solution could improve. When I compare the speed it is slower than others on the market. There are some tricks we use to help speed up the solution."

"The tech support is responsive but issues remain unresolved."

"The product needs to be able to scale for large companies, like ours. We have millions of IP addresses that need to be scanned, and the scalability is not great."

"There are some glitches with stability, and it is an area for improvement."

"Integration could be better."

"The solution is too slow. It could take a full day to scan. Competitors are much faster."

"Implementing Rapid7 AppSpider requires scanning and self-identification mechanisms. You can add different types of authentication to each scan."

More Rapid7 AppSpider cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is a bit expensive product. Kemp Loadmaster is much cheaper than F5. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. It can be for one year or three years."

"It is cheaper than the average on the market."

"The only area that has room for improvement would be pricing, so its competitors do not have a say."

"This solution comes with a standard license, and there are also extra licenses that can be obtained. The licenses are purchasable for durations of one, two, three, and five years. The hardware is something to consider when purchasing"

"I am a fan of using AWS natively. It is much cheaper."

"The tool is a bit expensive."

"F5 pricing is too high, compared to Citrix."

"I found F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) an expensive product. The costs would depend on the appliance and infrastructure size. However, my company didn't have to pay extra to use additional features."

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) pricing and cost advice

"The price is pretty fair."

"The licensing cost depends on the number of users."

"The price of Rapid7 AppSpider cost 9,000 annually but there is limited usage. Large companies are able to negotiate a better price or a better deal for the usage with the vendor."

"AppSpider is closed-source software and you need to acquire a license in order to use it."

"It is expensive if you want to buy the Enterprise version that is able to scan multiple applications at once."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

15%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	62
Midsize Enterprise	31
Large Enterprise	84

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	11
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	1

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?

The GUI of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) could be improved. It's not something regarding how it processes or blocks, as that's perfect. However, it still feels a bit legacy regarding the GU...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is a perfect product for load balancing and WAF, and I would recommend it far more than any other product. The load balancing capabilities of F5 BIG-IP Local T...

See all answers

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)?

The solution is robust and reliable.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Rapid7 AppSpider?

The price is not high, but for Japanese customers, localization may incur additional costs.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Rapid7 AppSpider?

For Japanese customers, localization is needed. The product should offer a GUI in Japanese and provide Japanese reports for end-users.

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Rapid7 AppSpider?

Our clients use AppSpider to address security concerns for their websites. It is particularly used by customers who require security assessments.

See all answers

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 18% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

VMWare Avi Load Balancer vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

HAProxy vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 8% of the time

NetScaler vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

Compared 7% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) Competitors

Rapid7 InsightAppSec vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 33% of the time

SonarQube Server (formerly SonarQube) vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 11% of the time

PortSwigger Burp Suite Professional vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 10% of the time

Acunetix vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 9% of the time

OWASP Zap vs Rapid7 AppSpider

Compared 6% of the time

More Rapid7 AppSpider Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)

October 2025

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Rapid7 AppSpider

September 2025

Download Rapid7 AppSpider product report

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP

AppSpider

Overview

F5 BIG-IP LTM optimizes the speed and reliability of your apps via both network and application layers. Using real-time protocol and traffic management decisions based on app and server and connection management conditions, and TCP and content offloading, BIG-IP LTM dramatically improves application and infrastructure responsiveness. BIG-IP LTM's architecture includes protocol awareness to control traffic for the most important applications. BIG-IP LTM tracks the dynamic performance levels of servers and delivers SSL performance and visibility for inbound and outbound traffic, to protect the user experience by encrypting everything from the client to the server.

BIG-IP LTM provides enterprise-class Application Delivery Controller (ADC). You get granular layer 7 control, SSL offloading and acceleration capabilities, and advanced scaling technologies that deliver performance and reliability on-demand. The highly optimized TCP/IP stack combines TCP/IP techniques and improvements in the latest RFCs with extensions to minimize the effect of congestion and packet loss and recovery. Independent testing tools and customer experiences show LTM's TCP stack delivers up to a 2x performance gain for users and a 4x increase in bandwidth efficiency.

SPAs, APIs, mobile—the evolution of application technology is measured in months, not years. Is your web application security testing tool designed to keep up? AppSpider lets you collect all the information needed to test all the apps so that you aren’t left with gaping application risks.

Our dynamic application security testing (DAST) solution crawls to the deepest, darkest corners of even the most modern and complex apps to effectively test for risk and get you the insight you need to remediate faster. With AppSpider on your side (or, rather, all of your sides), you’ll be able to scan all the apps today and always be ready for whatever comes next.

Rapid7

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.

Microsoft

Buyer's Guide

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

September 2025

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