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Citrix Gateway vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 2, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.1
Citrix Gateway enhances security and offers cost savings, with benefits depending on business models and infrastructure implementation.
Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager offers cost savings, quick ROI, and enhances security by ensuring crucial access and reducing costs.
Citrix Gateway secures our environment from potential threats, which can save substantial financial resources, especially in preventing data breaches or ransomware attacks.
Co-Founder at Virajo
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.1
Citrix Gateway support is mixed; users value documentation but note varying responsiveness and seek proactive communication and training.
Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP APM customer service receives mixed reviews, with some praising responsiveness and others citing delays and communication issues.
Very experienced engineers contact you in order to troubleshoot the problem.
Citrix VDI & Windows Virtualization Specialist at ATOS
While there are multiple support tiers with priority response times of around 30 minutes, there appears to be a limitation in the number of technical teams who can immediately understand and resolve issues.
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
If there is a solution, they don't always communicate it.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
Most of the technical support is managed in-house due to our extensive experience with F5 products.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
F5 technical support is responsive and helpful.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Citrix Gateway offers high scalability and flexibility, supporting thousands of users across different environments with tri-scaler capabilities.
Sentiment score
7.3
F5 BIG-IP APM scales for diverse deployments, offering flexibility and effective tools, though hardware limitations might challenge scalability.
The solution features high availability, supporting both active-passive and active-active deployments to ensure constant product availability.
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
I believe that the scalability of Citrix Gateway depends on the project's requirements, as it can vary from simple load balancing to extensive Web Application Firewall implementations.
Co-Founder at Virajo
Citrix Gateway is not for small companies; it's for medium companies because the pricing is better for more users.
Citrix VDI & Windows Virtualization Specialist at ATOS
The product's flexibility and company culture contribute to resolving these challenges.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
I would rate the scalability of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) between seven and eight.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Citrix Gateway provides stable, reliable performance with high user ratings, despite occasional minor challenges with updates and certificates.
Sentiment score
7.9
F5 BIG-IP APM is praised for reliability, performance, and minimal bugs, with minor suggestions for log clarity improvement.
I find Citrix products to be very stable.
Co-Founder at Virajo
On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
Sometimes, the logs are not quite informational or easy to understand.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Citrix Gateway needs user-friendliness, integration, and cloud improvements, addressing costs, stability, speed, security, and support issues.
F5 BIG-IP APM requires improvements in pricing, cloud integration, user interface, documentation, support, and additional features for enhanced performance.
At this time it costs 35% more than other solutions.
Docente De Planta- Programa Ingeniería Física at Universidad del Cauca
The main purpose of Citrix Gateway is to enforce the appropriate level of access to the correct user on the proper device under the correct conditions.
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
The ability to run the Anycast feature would be valuable, as the current solution only operates on-premises.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great.
Professional Services Specialist at a security firm with 51-200 employees
The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
 

Setup Cost

Citrix Gateway's varied pricing models require strategic planning, with costs ranging from $4,000 to $15,000 plus additional support fees.
F5 BIG-IP APM is costly but valued for high performance, with unpredictable cloud pricing and additional fees for features.
I consider Citrix Gateway to be an expensive solution, generally ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 yearly, depending on the model.
Co-Founder at Virajo
The price is one aspect, but technically it is complete.
Citrix VDI & Windows Virtualization Specialist at ATOS
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
 

Valuable Features

Citrix Gateway enhances network efficiency and security with features like VPN, load balancing, and seamless integration with other platforms.
F5 BIG-IP APM offers secure remote access with SSL VPN, multi-factor authentication, and comprehensive integration and security features.
The product effectively helps me protect the organization's network from potential threats, thereby securing our environment from hackers and ransomware attacks.
Co-Founder at Virajo
It's easy to scale and easy to implement.
Docente De Planta- Programa Ingeniería Física at Universidad del Cauca
Secure SaaS access is particularly valuable as it ensures that SaaS-based applications are delivered securely.
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
It provides robust security and offers integration with multi-factor authentication systems, which is crucial for an organization's security policy.
Business Development Manager at Pylones
APM is quite flexible for customers to use, providing secure remote access through various host-checking conditions for both machines and users.
Solutions Manager at Macroview Telecom Limited
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) provides excellent WAF and bot defense solutions.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
 

Categories and Ranking

Citrix Gateway
Ranking in SSL VPN
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
Universal Access Gateways (1st), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (9th)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
18
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (16th), Network Access Control (NAC) (7th), Remote Access (10th), Access Management (9th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of Citrix Gateway is 11.8%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 8.4%, down from 14.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Citrix Gateway11.8%
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)8.4%
Other79.8%
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

SK
Enterprise Architect at Wipro Limited
Strong security and versatile features drive positive experience, but support responsiveness can improve
The main purpose of Citrix Gateway is to enforce the appropriate level of access to the correct user on the proper device under the correct conditions. This is enabled through Citrix Gateway combined with endpoint analysis and optional Citrix analytics for security. Regarding improvements, implementing adaptive access policies on Citrix Gateway could be enhanced, particularly in security posture. Although it enforces real-time contextual access control based on device, user network risk, certain aspects can be improved. Other areas for improvement include BYOD access control and risk-based decision-making. Additionally, there is potential for reducing administrative overhead by applying policies dynamically based on context rather than static rules. Incident response speed is another area that could be enhanced.
Senior Cyber Security Consultant at KoçSistem
Has provided reliable policy controls and secure web access for large enterprises
I consider Cloudflare when evaluating centralized access control features; Cloudflare utilizes multi-factor authentication and full API support, while F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) needs to enhance its API support. I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for large companies such as Tüpraş and Ford. Tüpraş is one of the biggest companies in Turkey, along with other customers such as Tofaş, Euroko, Koç Holding, and more. For on-premises deployment, I would rate it a 10. For cloud deployment, I would rate it a seven. I primarily use it on-premises. I rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) eight out of ten.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
12%
Government
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise16
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix Gateway?
We can maintain our systems using the solution.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix Gateway?
The price is one aspect, but technically it is complete. Technically, it is really complete.
What needs improvement with Citrix Gateway?
It's difficult to say that because Citrix Gateway is changing all the time. It is improving all the time, and I think that it is periodically giving us patches. Anything that I can think to be impr...
What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly. Additional features for architecture such as Anycast would be beneficial. The ability to run the Anycast feature woul...
 

Also Known As

Citrix NetScaler Unified Gateway
F5 Access Policy Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Aeronamic, Avianca, Bechtel Corporation, Betfair UK, Catholic University Leuven (K.U. Leuven), Centene Corporation, Cerner, Charityshare, City of High Point, Clark Builders
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Find out what your peers are saying about Citrix Gateway vs. F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
879,259 professionals have used our research since 2012.