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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Surfshark One comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on May 21, 2025

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

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (17th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (9th), Access Management (9th)
Surfshark One
Ranking in SSL VPN
13th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 12.4%, down from 16.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Surfshark One is 1.4%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.
WK
Offers ease of use and has an initial setup phase that is straightforward
The tool's performance is quite good till now, so I have no complaints about it. The tool still blocks IP addresses for certain websites, making it an area of concern that requires improvements. This may be because some websites don't accept VPN connections from non-VPN servers, so sometimes, users are blocked from accessing certain sites.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on."
"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."
"On a scale from one to ten for stability, I would rate F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) a ten."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"Our organization is small - a college with about 3,500 students. We use F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager to protect our site, especially from the Iranian attacks we faced last year. We restrict access to only inside the country."
"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"The portal access was very good."
"The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use."
"It did what I needed it to do. It was easy to use."
 

Cons

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."
"The main improvement needed for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is to integrate into the cloud-delivered services from F5."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) does not have a direction for SaaS."
"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."
"If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great."
"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The initial setup was complex."
"The tool still blocks IP addresses for certain websites, making it an area of concern that requires improvements."
"There is room for improvement in stability."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"The product is very expensive."
"There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product is reasonably priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
Government
10%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

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 ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does not have a direction for SaaS. Most solutions focus more on remote access and acc...
What do you like most about Surfshark One?
The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Surfshark One?
There is a need to pay towards the licensing charges attached to the product. The product is reasonably priced.
What needs improvement with Surfshark One?
The tool's performance is quite good till now, so I have no complaints about it. The tool still blocks IP addresses for certain websites, making it an area of concern that requires improvements. Th...
 

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Surfshark One and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,129 professionals have used our research since 2012.