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Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Kemp LoadMaster comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is 1.5%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is 15.7%, up from 15.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kemp LoadMaster is 7.3%, up from 7.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)15.7%
Kemp LoadMaster7.3%
Barracuda Load Balancer ADC1.5%
Other75.5%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

Roni Wijaya - PeerSpot reviewer
A simple and powerful solution with WAF feature
The solution is simple and powerful. I find the Barracuda Load Balancer ADC's load balancing function most valuable. It balances the traffic well. The security features, like the Web Application Firewall, are also very helpful. I use the SSL offloading feature too. It's very helpful because it prevents overload. Our application runs on HTTP, but we upload HTTPS on the load balancer. This means there are no performance issues. I think it's very helpful.
Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
IshtiaqKhalil - PeerSpot reviewer
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

"The solution is simple and powerful. I find the Barracuda Load Balancer ADC's load balancing function most valuable. It balances the traffic well. The security features, like the Web Application Firewall, are also very helpful."
"The most useful features in Barracuda Load Balancer are its security capabilities, load balancing efficiency, and scalability."
"Barracuda's technical support is good - whenever we have an issue, they immediately connect and resolve it."
"I would rate the stability of Barracuda Load Balancer as a ten out of ten; it has high stability."
"The price is very good, and it's not very expensive."
"Its user interface is very easy to use on a day-to-day basis. It is very user-friendly."
"Currently, it's distributing the load perfectly, as per my understanding of our requirements."
"F5 BIG-IP is used with good applications and functions as an application firewall with additional features. We will not use any feature or any service unless there is a business case and there is a need for implementation."
"Users can see a remarkable performance difference from a qualitative sense."
"The main reason that we suggest this product to our clients is the great integration with other security tools, such as IBM Guardium."
"We like is how they integrate nicely with the Oracle PeopleSoft application."
"Initial setup was straightforward. We were up and running in three hours."
"It also has an AVR feature: application, visibility, and recording. It's good for customers looking for what is actually happening in their network and where the latency is."
"We really like the performance of this solution."
"The feature I find most valuable is load balancing with different algorithms."
"The user interface is very easy to work with."
"The solution is easy to configure when changing the load balancing method to Round Robin or least connection."
"Exchange load balancing and reverse proxy for Skype for Business are key features."
"The configuration is really easy and the web portal is self-explanatory."
"Using Kemp as a front-facing service appliance, it allows me to have the flexibility of swapping out real servers behind the scenes without any intervention from my network team."
"We are most impressed with the ease of use and great support."
 

Cons

"The quality of the solution's performance could be improved."
"There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic."
"Load Balancer ADC is competitively priced, but it's not feature-rich, and its technology is not that advanced."
"The Barracuda Load Balancer ADC could be improved with more customization features. For example, F5 uses iRules for custom configurations. I haven't found something similar in Barracuda yet. The load balancer and WAF's basic and common features are enough, but we need more customization options."
"There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic."
"I would like to see improvement in the manageability and easier setup."
"Needs to provide a visual interface to follow a customer's activity (from client to BIG-IP to SNAT IP to the chosen server, then back). Today, we are still performing packet captures."
"Lacking in free training to help users understand the product more, so they would know how to correctly use it. Like other vendors and their products, becoming more proactive is an area for improvement."
"I wouldn't recommend the tool to small companies, considering its high price and the infrastructure needs of small businesses."
"The solution is scalable."
"There are some aspects of F5 BIG-IP that could be improved, the main one being virtual machine support. We have seen that even with the virtual editions, there are some things that we would like to do that are currently not possible with virtual machines."
"The initial setup can take a long time."
"I think the logging could be improved."
"There are some challenges with updates on certain models that don't have a few features."
"We have experienced at least one problem with stability, although it was fixed with an upgrade."
"We experienced a brief period of instability."
"It would be nice if the historical metrics were easily exportable from the interface."
"In the next release, they can introduce 360 views in the same dashboard to make it easier for users to view. The graphical information should be displayed on the dashboard."
"I want Kemp LoadMaster to provide users with better reporting capabilities in relation to TCP packets. In general, the connections that are present in the system require improvement."
"It would be helpful if there were a way to incorporate tooltips on the fields so that we don't have to dig through documentation."
"They need to improve the UI environment. Currently, it's hard to navigate and use product."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"Load Balancer ADC is cost-effective and is about half the price of F5."
"There are no additional fees to the standard licensing fee; everything is paid once."
"I am a fan of using AWS natively. It is much cheaper."
"The licensing strategy for F5 is good."
"When we purchased additional licenses for our other locations, we received a discount of between 20% and 25%."
"The price is little bit on higher side compared to the cost of NGINX."
"There are additional costs depending on what modules or what functionality is required."
"Great product for the money. But they can get really expensive, so get what meets your needs."
"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."
"The price is lower than other options."
"At $2,500 USD, this is absolutely a fantastic buy for the money!"
"The Kemp LoadMaster is a tremendous value."
"The product definitely provides what the organization needs and its cost is reasonable considering the value it brings."
"KEMP gives away free trials for 30 days. This can be stretched if you want. During the test, you will have access to KEMP support.​"
"Download Kemp's VLM trial and take it for a test drive; you will be impressed."
"​I have control on the licensing and all the prices since I work for a partner.​"
"The pricing is alright and we pay a monthly licensing fee"
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Retailer
10%
Educational Organization
10%
Media Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
University
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business60
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise84
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business24
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise16
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
Pricing for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC can be a consideration. However, it offers good value with its cost-saving be...
What needs improvement with Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handlin...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
The typical use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC involves managing and distributing network traffic efficiently t...
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 ...
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 m...
What do you like most about Kemp LoadMaster?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...I rate the technical support a ten out of ten...The initial ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kemp LoadMaster?
LoadMaster is cheaper than some other solutions. It has a perpetual license, so it's a one-time cost.
What needs improvement with Kemp LoadMaster?
There are some challenges with updates on certain models that don't have a few features. The support team often takes...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Load Balancer
F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
LoadMaster Load Balancer
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Fenwal Blood Technologies
Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
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 NetScaler, F5, Microsoft and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: August 2025.
865,738 professionals have used our research since 2012.