Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management [EOL] vs NetScaler comparison

Citrix Intelligent Traffic ...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 25, 2025

NetScaler and Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management compete in network management and traffic optimization. NetScaler often has the upper hand due to its scalability and security features, while Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management is attractive for high availability and intelligent traffic distribution.

Features: NetScaler offers comprehensive application delivery capabilities, supporting load balancing, application acceleration, and security. It has extensive support for virtual and cloud environments. Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management excels in real-time traffic management, ensuring efficient routing and reduced latency by leveraging global traffic data to optimize user experiences.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetScaler is known for straightforward deployment and consistent customer support, providing comprehensive guidance and quick resolution times. Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management is valued for seamless integration and intuitive configuration within existing infrastructure. It scores slightly higher for ease of deployment.

Pricing and ROI: NetScaler tends to have higher setup costs due to its extensive feature set and scalability. Its ROI is often seen as worthwhile due to enhanced application security and performance. Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management offers competitive pricing with a focus on traffic efficiency and user experience, providing strong ROI for businesses prioritizing global traffic management. Pricing differences are aligned with the depth and specialization of each product’s capabilities.

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

Citrix Intelligent Traffic ...

Average Rating

8.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetScaler

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Network Management Applications (5th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (11th)

Featured Reviews

reviewer982137

Manager IT Technical Teams / Organizational Consulting at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

It's a robust and proven solution that we've been working with for many years

Citrix solutions are increasingly complex. I think this is a disadvantage for Citrix now. One or two weeks is long enough to implement Citrix's core products. However, you have to set up all features and user parameters, which takes one or two months. We need about 30 people to deploy and maintain this solution.

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DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Cloud Consultant at Migros Ticaret A.Ş.

A tool for centralized management including inventory and sales tracking

Citrix ADM has the ability to implement policies to tighten security. For instance, you can restrict access to your network from outsiders or lack necessary security measures such as antivirus programs. Additionally, there's the Delivery Controller, which allows for comprehensive monitoring and management tasks such as remote restarts, maintenance, and registration. Another essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the HDX protocol, a high-performing component of the Citrix solutions. We also use provisioning to generate VM and NetScaler ADC solutions to propose access to applications for our customers."

"An essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently."

"The best feature of Citrix is its track record of stability in its features."

"Manageability and visibility are good."

"I would say the rewriting and redirection functions are must-have's for us."

"The program is easy to install and to set up."

"If you need PCI-compliance and have high security requirements, WAF is the most valuable feature. If you need to monitor your load-balancing services with complex types of monitoring, make sure everything is alright, and load balancing is important, Content Switching and Monitoring features are the keys to your needs. If you want to provide a lot of static images or data, the Caching feature works best for you."

"It is simple for both IT specialists and customers."

"The load balancing feature and the fact that you can do context switching in the WAF are the most valuable. We majorly use it for load balancing, but we also use it for context switching in the WAF. It is also robust and very easy to work with and manage."

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Cons

"We discussed problems with the network products with the Indian teams. The support center for network products is located in India. There are language barriers and issues with the time difference, so we sometimes face restrictions when dealing with this team."

"The vendor provides frequent patches, however, the security of the website has room for improvement."

"I would like to see multifactor authentication added to this solution to improve the security."

"The configuration for its web application firewall is complicated."

"The product provides some templates to integrate with applications like MS Exchange, MS SharePoint, SAP Enterprise Portal, and others. However, the last update for these templates was 2013 (lots of applications are running on versions newer then 2013)."

"An area for improvement would be the difficulty in finding information about standard licensing costs over the internet. They should provide some reference prices on the net to be quickly referred to."

"Quality assurance could improve by ironing out security vulnerabilities before releasing upgrades."

"I think there is always room for improvement in this type of solutions. For example, I think the GUI should be easy to understand."

"I think the documentation should be improved."

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Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available

"Citrix ADM costs us approximately $5000 per month."

"NetScaler does the same thing as an F5 and it's cheaper."

"Its licensing cost is much higher than other products, but it is acceptable because it is a one-time investment, and we are getting our requirements fulfilled when we buy this product. So, there is no issue with the pricing."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight or nine out of ten."

"There isn't much of a difference between the cost of Citrix and that of other similar solutions."

"The pricing for Citrix Web App and API Protection is unreasonable. I don't know the exact price, but I heard it's tens of thousands and it's a bit too much for the small country I live in."

"We have been evaluating F5, Citrix, and other ADC products. Citrix is the most expense of all of them."

"The solution is undoubtedly very good, but it is expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	45
Midsize Enterprise	23
Large Enterprise	57

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Citrix ADC?

The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?

After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.

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What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?

Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...

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Comparisons

No data available

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Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

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Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management [EOL] report

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Also Known As

Citrix ITM

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall, NetScaler VPX - Customer Licensed

Overview

With billions of real user measurements a day, from every corner of the internet, Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management monitors internet traffic issues in real time and automatically steers your traffic to avoid them.

Whether you host your applications and content on premises, in the cloud or in content delivery networks (CDNs), Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management allows you to globally load balance all traffic, dynamically optimizing the user experience and lowering service costs. Citrix uses real-time machine learning to direct user requests to the most suitable content source.

Citrix

NetScaler is an advanced application delivery controller providing load balancing, SSL offloading, and enhanced network performance. Users benefit from its robust security features, seamless Citrix integrations, and cost-effective infrastructure.

Designed to optimize and secure application delivery, NetScaler offers high availability and supports data centers with its load balancing and reverse proxy capabilities. It ensures effective traffic management and provides valuable insights into network health while integrating easily with Citrix products. Users appreciate its centralized management via ADM and flexible deployment options tailored to their infrastructure needs. However, there is room for improvement in its management tools, interface, and documentation, alongside a need for security enhancements and better licensing flexibility.

What are the most important features of NetScaler?

Flexible Deployment: Allows adaptation to different environments and needs.
Load Balancing: Efficiently distributes traffic to enhance performance.
SSL Offloading: Offloads encryption to optimize server performance.
Content Switching: Enables tailored content delivery based on user needs.
Robust Security: Includes firewalling and AAA authentication.
Global Server Load Balancing: Distributes load across multiple locations for high availability.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

Cost-effectiveness: Delivers an efficient infrastructure without high costs.
Reliable Performance: Ensures consistent delivery and resilience.
High Availability: Maintains network uptime and service quality.
Technical Support: Offers responsive assistance for operational issues.

NetScaler is implemented across sectors like healthcare, finance, and education to guarantee secure remote access, enhance application network management, and support virtual desktops. Its application gateways and VPN access capabilities make it ideal for industries needing secure and efficient connectivity solutions.

Sample Customers

Dataport, Bet365, VFLI, Rhode & Schwartz

ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)