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A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs Fortinet FortiADC comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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

A10 Networks Thunder ADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of A10 Networks Thunder ADC is 5.0%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiADC is 9.4%, up from 8.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiADC9.4%
A10 Networks Thunder ADC5.0%
Other85.6%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

RonaldoDE Melo - PeerSpot reviewer
Protects connection and servers from direct access with control access feature
The initial setup is very simple. The issue is that it achieves high output across all its features, specifically the output ports. This affects the customer's solution because sometimes, the customer is even aware of the user's activity on certain servers. If you have all the necessary information, we can quickly deploy the solution within two to three days. The size of the Thunder ADC depends on its configuration. For example, the cache converter typically includes more than two rack units, often requiring at least three rack units for adequate space. I rate it a ten out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.
OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates load balancing efficiently within existing technology environments
FortiADC provides load-balancing capabilities needed for integration with other Fortinet platforms. It allows for the creation of virtual IPs and applying various algorithms for traffic management. Although it offers fewer algorithms than competing platforms like F5, its capability to manage load balancing makes it valuable. The security features depend on the environment, relying on firewalls like FortiGate.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Compared to F5, which I used about six years ago, the A10 is much easier when routing. You don't have to use the wildcard bits to route it between the different segments. It's much less troublesome to configure."
"The Deterministic CGNAT feature is valuable for us."
"The ease of use is very good. It's very robust. It just sits and works."
"The solution is user-friendly and the CLA troubleshooting is easier compared to other solutions."
"The Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) is simple to use."
"It is very useful to have a simple dashboard where you can login and look into what your traffic patterns are, then look and see what times of day you're experiencing the heaviest traffic. You can quickly identify if you are possibly having a security issue or security breach. It makes it very easy to use the box."
"The most valuable features in A10 Networks Thunder ADC are the ease of configuration, user-friendliness, and simplicity to sell to customers."
"The DNS application firewall and load balancing are very valuable."
"This ensures that clients can connect to their applications without interruption."
"FortiADC provides load-balancing capabilities needed for integration with other Fortinet platforms."
"Simple to use and easy to integrate."
"Ease of use in deploying and having it up and running requires minimal knowledge."
"Customer service is excellent."
"From a technical perspective, it is the most scalable device from Fortinet."
"The solution provides high-level services such as availability, redundancy, and load balancing between servers."
"I am impressed with the product's load-balancing feature."
 

Cons

"The costs can be quite high."
"There is room for improvement in the GUI. I just migrated from the 2.7 software train to the 4.1, and there are still people on 2.7. The latter is a very old GUI if you compare it to F5. It's not as easy to use and a lot of things are missing. They've made a lot of improvements in the 4.1 step, but compared to the ease of use of F5, it's still quite difficult. For people who haven't got a lot of experience, the GUI can be quite challenging."
"There is room for improvement in the upgrading process. Sometimes we have to contact A10 for verification of some stuff."
"We are starting to do a lot with containers and how the solution hooks into Kubernetes that we haven't explored. I'm hoping that they have a lot of hooks into Kubernetes. That would be the part for improvement: Marketing use cases with containers."
"The user interface is not as pretty as it could be."
"There are competitors that have more features."
"In my opinion, they need to improve their cloud support. There is support for cloud, but not all functions are there, such as high-availability."
"There is two-factor authentication built-in, but it could be more robust."
"If I need design help, they do not assist; they say it is a design issue they cannot support, and I must approach the system integrator."
"The user interface could be more friendly and CLI could be more like that of Fortigate."
"Because it is so generic, the documentation requires special attention. A person who has not worked on Fortinet FortiADC or a similar product will struggle to understand what the document is trying to say. The documentation could be more specific, and more detailed."
"There is a mismatch between the number of features they are offering and the device capacity on how much it can handle."
"I think it would be helpful if Fortinet put more video examples on their cookbook site."
"Setup could be easier. The company's homework is to redesign those menus to configure with the smallest number of steps."
"One of the product's areas of improvement includes reducing the number of components requiring additional licenses, such as antivirus and IDS, which are already covered by our firewall."
"The product’s price could be reduced. Also, some of its features need to be more advanced."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Pricing is one of the features of the product that influence customers to use the product."
"As for the initial investment in the hardware, F5 and A10 are quite similar now. For the current A10 solution, the initial cost was about $36,000. As for annual support, the F5 solution would be between $10,000 and $12,000, while the A10 is $2,200 a year for support."
"The price is good they are very comparative."
"We just pay for support in addition to our licensing."
"You get a lot more for your dollar with A10."
"We previously had F5 and switched because of costs."
"The pricing is a third of the price of the F5 competition."
"For the hardware and license, we paid $35,000 per box, which was a one-time cost. Then, for the Gold Support on the two boxes, we pay $9400 annually."
"The solution's pricing is an issue and should be improved."
"Compared to F5, FortiADC pricing is better."
"The solution is less expensive than F5 or Imperva and is the most reasonably priced option available."
"I rate Fortinet FortiADC's pricing one out of ten. It is fixed."
"The product has affordable pricing."
"The price is competitive"
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"The product has average pricing. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
12%
University
6%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business11
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise7
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
I would recommend A10 Networks due that it delivers high performance in a small form factor to reduce OPEX with significantly lower power usage, rack space, and cooling requirements compared to oth...
Do you recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
I do recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC. It's very user-friendly, easy to configure, and flexible. It is a very useful solution - especially now, when a lot of employees are working remotely. I hav...
What do you like most about A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
A10 Networks Thunder ADC is an easy-to-use and flexible solution.
Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?
For ADC, any ADC can do a good job. But in case if you want to add WAF functionality to the same ADC hardware you have to look for other ADC's like F5, Imperva, Radware, Fortinet, etc.
Do you recommend Fortinet FortiADC?
I recommend Fortinet FortiADC. My experience with Fortinet has been very positive. Our company has been using it for around five years. We mainly use FortiADC for the load balancing of application ...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiADC?
The user interface is very easy and integrates with Sandbox easily.
 

Also Known As

Thunder ADC, AX Series
FortiADC Application Delivery Controller, FortiADC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

123inkt.nl, Bentley University, Box, Brainshark, Buienradar, Capgemini, CGN/LSN & NAT64, Chengdu Telecom, Club One, Code Ready, CRC Health Group, Cyso, Deutsche Telekom, Earth Class Mail, Excite, FFF Enterprises, Florence County, Framingham State University, From30
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Fortinet FortiADC and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.