Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs NetScaler comparison

Microsoft Azure Application...

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 12, 2022

We performed a comparison between Citrix ADC vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway based on our users’ reviews in four categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.

Ease of Deployment: Users of both solutions say that deployment is straightforward.

Features: Users of both solutions are happy with the products’ stability and its load balancing.

Citrix ADC users like the solution’s ease of use and its flexibility. Users would like to see a more user-friendly interface, and say its security and scalability could be improved.

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway users like the solution’s WAF feature and that it has good integrations along with good scalability. Users mention that they would like to see increased flexibility and DDoS protection, and better monitoring.

Pricing: Users of both solutions share mixed reviews on the pricing. Some consider it to be fair, while others think it is expensive.

Service and Support: Users of both solutions are satisfied with the technical support.

Comparison Results: Users give a similar rating to both solutions. Each solution has an easy deployment, similar opinions on pricing, and good technical support. However, they differ in their strengths and weaknesses in terms of features.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NetScaler Report (Updated: July 2024).

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NetScaler

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Helped 793,295 peers since 2012

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Azure Application...

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

4th

Average Rating

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Web Application Firewall (WAF) (3rd)

NetScaler

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is 5.2%, down from 10.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 13.5%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Unique Categories:

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

8.7%

No other categories found

Featured Reviews

Sami

Cyber Security Consultant at a retailer with 10,001+ employees

Nov 29, 2022

High stability with built-in rules that reduce alerts and are easy to configure

Our company uses the solution to publish services that are on Azure. There is more than one way to publish services. You can use the Microsoft infrastructure for app services including small programming, configurations related to obligations, and publishing. Or you can publish manually by using…

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reviewer1263516

Technical Manager at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Jan 22, 2020

Provides good performance for our virtual apps and desktops

We are using NetScaler VPX as a gateway for our virtual applications and desktops The most valuable feature is the securing of virtual apps and desktops. This solution increases the backend network service performance, which is one of the things that we like the most. Bugs in the software have…

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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

"I find Application Gateway’s WAF module valuable because it helps prevent layer 7 attacks."

"In my experience, Microsoft products have a smooth integration and facilitate easy management and monitoring. Using Azure Application Gateway allows us to efficiently handle the system loads."

"We use the product in front-end and back-end applications to do the load balancing smartly."

"The production is a valuable feature."

"The solution's integration is very good."

"Microsoft Azure Application Gateway gives us a lot of benefits, including domain mapping."

"Azure Application Gateway's most valuable feature is ease of use. The configuration is straightforward. It isn't difficult to adjust the size of your instances in the settings. You can do that with a few clicks, and the configuration file is the same way. You can also set rules and policies with minimal time and effort."

"The solution was very easy to configure. It wasn't hard at all to adjust it to our needs."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway pros

"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."

"This solution allows the user to easily scale out application delivery, and provides secure remote access."

"SSL Offload"

"What I like most about Citrix NetScaler is its stability, and I didn't see a lot of issues with it."

"The web application firewall is one feature I found valuable in the solution."

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

"Helped us a lot with load balancing."

"Scalability is great. One of the best features of NetScaler is that it can scale out."

More NetScaler pros

Cons

"The working speed of the solution needs improvement."

"The solution doesn’t support wildcard-based and regular expression-based rules."

"The monitoring on the solution could be better."

"Implementing and standardizing the solution across the IT landscape in a heterogeneous environment is painful."

"It could be easier to change servicing."

"One of the challenges we faced was the solution does not support any other PCP protocols apart from HTTP and HTTPS."

"The solution could improve by increasing the performance when doing updates. For example, if I change the certificate it can take 30 minutes. Other vendors do not have this type of problem."

"The configuration is very specific right now and needs to be much more flexible."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway cons

"They can improve the scalability and the multi-tenancy feature. We recently tried to configure an authentication, and we ran into some issues while using the web-based GUI. It was very slow when you log in with your credentials in the web-based GUI. Each time we clicked on the menu, it tried to do the authentication. It works properly in the console."

"It can be difficult to setup."

"Its GUI should be improved. Its CLI is powerful, but GUI needs more features."

"Too many bugs in the software and it's always difficult when you need to update."

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

"Does not include security. A web application firewall would be a nice addition."

"Finding relevant documentation for learning NetScaler can be challenging, especially for beginners who prefer a web interface over command-line interfaces."

"Reducing the overhead required for AppFlow data collection, specifically for HDX Insight, would be a huge improvement."

More NetScaler cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Every solution comes with a license and cost. Microsoft provides the license and the total cost is for the maintenance every year."

"The product is not expensive."

"There is some additional cost, such as extended support."

"The tool's pricing model is pay-as-you-go."

"I rate the pricing seven out of ten because some third-party solutions are even costlier than this."

"It is an expensive solution. We have an enterprise agreement, it is monthly."

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being cheap and one being expensive."

"I rate the price of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway an eight out of ten."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway pricing and cost advice

"Citrix NetScaler VPX is not the cheapest solution out there, but you get what you pay for."

"Its price is comparable to others and affordable."

"Citrix ADC could improve the price and make it less expensive, other competitors have a better prices. This would allow Citrix ADC to keep dominating the market."

"Costly product and complicated licensing."

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

"F5 BIG-IP is much more expensive than Citrix ADC. For example, If we choose two platforms, Citrix ADC, 3000 version, and we choose F5, F4200 version. F5 BIG-IP has connections, timers, and throughput similar to Citrix ADC, but the price is very expensive."

"Price-wise, I feel that the solution is a little bit expensive."

"It is true that it is a bit pricey compared to newer technologies coming to the market. For example, A10 is a load balancer that does everything that Citrix can and it does a lot more than what NetScaler does when it comes to the security space, and their prices are so cheap. Every box comes with its own license and support built into it. When you compare that with NetScaler, you have to buy licenses separately, you have to buy a support agreement that is going to be separate. A small NetScaler, even if it is a VPX which is a virtual server, could cost you close to $150,000 to $200,000 dollars. So the pricing is really high."

More NetScaler pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions are best for your needs.

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793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Azure Front Door and Application Gateway?

We found Azure Front Door to be easily scaled and very stable. The implementation is very fast and Microsoft provides excellent support. Azure Front Door can quickly detect abnormalities before the...

How does AWS WAF compare to Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon’s Web Service Web Application Firewall or Microsoft Azure Application Gateway web application firewall software was the better fit ...

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?

Application Gateway automatically redirects unwanted users and takes care of the security aspect. It also handles the performance side of things, which is why we use it.

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.

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.

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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Product Reports

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

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Microsoft Azure Application Gateway report

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Also Known As

Azure Application Gateway, MS Azure Application Gateway

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX

Learn More

Microsoft

Overview

Azure Application Gateway is a web traffic load balancer that enables you to manage traffic to your web applications. Traditional load balancers operate at the transport layer (OSI layer 4 - TCP and UDP) and route traffic based on source IP address and port, to a destination IP address and port.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

One platform for a consistent application delivery and security experience because nobody has time to learn multiple systems to manage ADC deployments. NetScaler is built with a single code base using a software-based architecture, so no matter which ADC form factor you choose — hardware, virtual machine, bare metal, or container — the behavior will be the same.

Sample Customers

Lilly, AccuWeather, AIRFRANCE, Honeywell

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

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NetScaler