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Akamai Ion vs Kemp LoadMaster 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

Akamai Ion
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
15th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Kemp LoadMaster
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
13th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (27th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (17th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Akamai Ion is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kemp LoadMaster is 5.9%, down from 7.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Kemp LoadMaster5.9%
Akamai Ion2.0%
Other92.1%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Reliable bot management with valuable traffic analytics and good delivery configuration
We are using Akamai Ion primarily for CDN services. It is more about delivery configuration, and for security, we use Akamai WAF security controls and Botman Akamai Ion helps protect us from DOS, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and scraping tools. Real-time analytics are very helpful for…
IshtiaqKhalil - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at BOK
Displays flexible, user-friendly interface with minor licensing challenges
The product could be improved with a more intuitive interface for complex configurations and more advanced analytics. Additionally, enhanced security features, like a more robust Web Application Firewall, and stronger APIs for better automation would be beneficial. Overall, the main areas for improvement are in strengthening the advanced features to better meet the demands of large-scale enterprise environments. key features for the next release should focus on three areas. First, an enhanced, next-generation security suite with a more powerful Web Application Firewall (WAF) and integrated bot protection. Second, more advanced and customizable analytics dashboards to provide deeper insights into application performance. Finally, greater support for modern, cloud-native environments, including better APIs for automation and seamless hybrid-cloud traffic management

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Akamai is easy to use and very effective."
"The most valuable feature is bot management."
"One of the most valuable features I like is the ability to block specific cipher suites like RC4, and older protocols like SSL 3.0."
"We needed a Microsoft Threat Management Gateway server replacement solution for a customer and were impressed with the simplified deployment of the Kemp LoadMasters."
"The security features, load balancing, built-in templates, and the easy to implement virtual IPs are great."
"In terms of the value you get for the amount of money you pay, this is the number one solution."
"The solution is easy to configure when changing the load balancing method to Round Robin or least connection."
"We ran a single (non-redundant) LoadMaster appliance in our VMware environment for close to five years with zero outages caused by it, so I am very impressed with the stability of KEMP's devices."
"The most valuable feature is the load balancing and allowing for high availability of our web services."
"It helps with efficiency and reactivity, in case of assistance needs."
 

Cons

"The product must provide more flexibility."
"Log management should display data for more than two months."
"The only thing that I miss is that the TMG server was giving me live information about who is connected and what is the request about."
"I would like to see more automation and control of overactive and inactive resources. If I could schedule these around our updates then it would be all automated. I would like to set up an automated script to coincide with the scripts I use to update resources and servers."
"SNMP and/or RESTCONF management, in order to collect many counters for plotting in a central application, needs to be improved."
"They need to improve the UI environment. Currently, it's hard to navigate and use product."
"If I had to pick an area for improvement, I think it would be direct integration with the template library."
"With the license purchase afterwards, if it expires, it begins dropping the HTTP traffic, also the DNS traffic."
"If you want logging for SMTP traffic, you have to enable ESP, which requires you to define allowed IP addresses. That’s irritating, to say the least."
"There is room for improvement in the stability of the solution."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is expensive."
"At $2,500 USD, this is absolutely a fantastic buy for the money!"
"From a cost perspective, Kemp is very competitive and is not hard to justify by any means."
"They have multiple tiers of licensing and you can upgrade it easily."
"The setup cost and pricing plan is reasonable and will ultimately give you a worthy return."
"It is well-priced and licensing is very flexible."
"​I have control on the licensing and all the prices since I work for a partner.​"
"This is a cost-efficient product."
"The price is great and the value is definitely there."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
19%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai Ion?
The billing cycle is monthly, however, payment is done yearly. While expensive, it provides value for the services offered.
What needs improvement with Akamai Ion?
Log management should display data for more than two months. The traffic report needs to be more flexible. The response time of technical support should be improved.
What is your primary use case for Akamai Ion?
We are using Akamai Ion primarily for CDN services. It is more about delivery configuration, and for security, we use Akamai WAF security controls and Botman.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kemp LoadMaster?
My primary advice is to carefully analyze your total cost of ownership (TCO) rather than just the initial purchase price. Kemp LoadMaster is highly competitive on price and often provides a much be...
What needs improvement with Kemp LoadMaster?
The product could be improved with a more intuitive interface for complex configurations and more advanced analytics. Additionally, enhanced security features, like a more robust Web Application Fi...
What is your primary use case for Kemp LoadMaster?
Our primary use case was traffic load balancing and distribution. The solution was essential for managing all inbound client traffic, including HTTPS and DNS requests, by routing it through our fir...
 

Also Known As

No data available
LoadMaster Load Balancer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Eurail, Boston Scientific
Kent County Council, KEMP, SMA Solar Technology AG, RT€ Player , Victrix (Quebec, Canada), Texas A&M, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cisco, Austin Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai Ion vs. Kemp LoadMaster and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.