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

F5 and IS Decisions are both solutions in the Access Management category. F5 is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.3, while IS Decisions is ranked #24. F5 holds a 2.0% mindshare in AM, compared to IS Decisions’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of IS Decisions users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

Read 18 F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) reviews

2,814 Views
619 Comparison Views

88% willing to recommend

UserLock

Read 2 UserLock reviews

973 Views
409 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...

UserLock

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 11, 2024

UserLock and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) are both used for providing secure access management. User reviews indicate UserLock excels in its pricing and support, whereas F5 BIG-IP APM is superior in features, seen as worth its higher price.

Features: UserLock is praised for its comprehensive multi-factor authentication and session management. F5 BIG-IP APM stands out with its advanced application access policies and integration capabilities. Users appreciate its versatility in handling diverse security requirements. While UserLock is user-friendly, F5 BIG-IP APM provides more robust features that are critical for complex environments.

Room for Improvement:UserLock users wish for more integration options with third-party applications and enhanced reporting features. For F5 BIG-IP APM, users call for a more streamlined setup process and better documentation. Both products have specific areas to grow, but UserLock needs to increase integration capabilities, and F5 BIG-IP APM should focus on simplifying deployment.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service:UserLock boasts an easy deployment process and stellar customer service, with users highlighting quick, hassle-free implementation and responsive support. In contrast, F5 BIG-IP APM offers a complex deployment scenario that may require expert assistance, though their customer service is well-rated once setup hurdles are addressed. UserLock's straightforward deployment gives it an edge in this area, despite F5 BIG-IP APM's commendable support.

Pricing and ROI:UserLock is considered cost-effective, with users noting satisfactory ROI due to reasonable setup costs and efficient functionality. F5 BIG-IP APM, although pricier, justifies its cost with extensive features and integration capabilities, delivering substantial ROI for users needing advanced access control solutions. While UserLock offers better initial affordability, F5 BIG-IP APM provides long-term value for complex needs.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 881,082 peers since 2012

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 Access Management

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (15th), Network Access Control (NAC) (7th), SSL VPN (5th), Remote Access (10th)

UserLock

Ranking in Access Management

24th

Average Rating

10.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Authentication Systems (25th)

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Access Management category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 2.0%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of UserLock is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Access Management Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)	2.0%
UserLock	1.2%
Other	96.8%

Access Management

Featured Reviews

SÜ

SalihUcpinar

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.

Read full review

Bill H.

Information Technology at City Of Keizer

Affordable, easy to use, and integrates well with Active Directory

The product and service are already great as it is but if I could add one feature, I guess it would be nice to have another factor of authentication (two additional factors) like your phone and a token for example, for when people forget their phone at home. It’s not that I mind not having two factors, but I do get that question from time to time from some of our users who think it would be really useful. From what I’ve heard, they’re working on it and it should be coming in the next version so that’s great news.

Read full review

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."

"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."

"The performance of the solution is valuable."

"The portal access was very good."

"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."

"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."

"The most valuable feature is the virtual IP creation. It's our most frequently used feature."

"The tool is reliable and easy to configure."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) pros

"The most valuable features are two-factor authentication and real-time logon monitoring."

"We mainly implemented UserLock for multi-factor authentication, but the user login insights are also nice."

Cons

"Integrating identity providers and single sign-on solutions can simplify user authentication and access control."

"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."

"The solution’s GUI looks very old."

"In my opinion, the GUI side needs some improvement based on my usage. Sometimes, it doesn't work as efficiently as the CLI side."

"The price of this product can be improved."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is not user-friendly and operates slowly."

"F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager has room for improvement in integration with other products."

"The operational deployment is not great."

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) cons

"I would like to see UserLock add the ability to automatically create a group policy in Active Directory. That might streamline the setup process."

"The product and service are already great as it is but if I could add one feature, I guess it would be nice to have another factor of authentication (two additional factors) like your phone and a token for example, for when people forget their phone at home."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is a little bit expensive."

"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."

"The product is very expensive."

"You will be hard-pressed to find better pricing."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Access Management solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

Government

17%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	9

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.

See all answers

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.

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Ivanti Connect Secure vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 6% of the time

CyberArk Privileged Access Manager vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiGate vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 5% of the time

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

Compared 5% of the time

Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) vs F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

Compared 4% of the time

More F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) Competitors

Cisco Duo vs UserLock

Compared 25% of the time

Microsoft Entra ID vs UserLock

Compared 22% of the time

Aruba ClearPass vs UserLock

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiAuthenticator vs UserLock

Compared 11% of the time

Silverfort vs UserLock

Compared 9% of the time

More UserLock Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)

January 2026

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) report

Download F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) product report

Buyer's Guide

Authentication Systems

January 2026

Download UserLock product report

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager

No data available

Overview

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is an access management proxy solution for managing global access to the enterprise networks, cloud providers, applications, and application programming interfaces (APIs). Through a single management interface, BIG-IP APM consolidates remote, mobile, network, virtual, and web access.

BIG-IP APM can also serve as a bridge between modern and classic authentication and authorization protocols and methods. For applications which are unable to support modern authentication and authorization protocols, like SAML and OAuth with OIDC, but which do support classic authentication methods, BIG-IP APM converts user credentials to the appropriate authentication standard supported by the application.

BIG-IP APM Benefits:

Ease of use
Flexibility
Ability to integrate with other systems
Security features
Granular access control
Responsive and helpful support team

BIG-IP APM Features:

Support for Identity Aware Proxy (IAP) enabling Zero Trust application access
Context-based authorization with dynamic L4/L7 ACLs
Integration with third-party MFA solutions
DTLS 2.0 mode for delivering and securing applications
SAML 2.0 identity federation support
Support for OAuth 2.0 authorization protocol
SSO support for classic authentication (Kerberos, header- based, etc.), credential caching, OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.0, and FIDO2 (U2F)
AAA server authentication and high-availability
Integration with leading IAM vendor products (Microsoft, Okta, Ping Identity)
BIG IP Edge Client and F5 Access integrate with VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune and IBM MaaS360
Risk-based access leveraging third-party UEBA and risk engines (HTTP Connector)

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by BIG-IP APM users.

Mahmmoud Rabie, Senior Site Reliability Engineer, writes that BIG-IP APM is "A highly stable solution for load balancing, but the initial setup is complex."

Clyde Livingston, Senior Process Specialist at Telstra, says that BIG-IP APM is "Easy to use, useful access remotely, but lacking stability."

Chris Lam, Senior Solution Consultant at Macroview Telecom Limited, states that BIG-IP APM is "Useful for remote access VPN and VPI integration with VMware.

UserLock provides advanced Identity & Access Management (IAM) using Microsoft Active Directory, protecting hybrid and remote environments.

UserLock enhances security with multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and context-aware access controls, tailored for Active Directory environments without requiring complex identity migrations. It offers real-time visibility for IT teams to monitor and control user sessions, effectively preventing account sharing and unauthorized access. With detailed auditing, UserLock supports compliance with standards like ISO 27001, HIPAA, and NIS2.

What features make UserLock valuable?

Multi-Factor Authentication: Enhances security by requiring two or more verification methods.
Single Sign-On: Streamlines user access to different applications with one set of credentials.
Context-Aware Access: Adapts access controls based on user context such as location and time.
Real-Time Monitoring: Provides insights into user sessions, enabling instant responses to anomalies.
Compliance Reporting: Offers detailed auditing to assist with meeting regulatory requirements.

What ROI and benefits should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Reduces risk of breaches with robust authentication methods.
Ease of Use: Simplifies login processes while maintaining high security standards.
Operational Efficiency: Streamlines management for IT teams with automated and integrated controls.
Compliance Support: Facilitates adherence to industry standards, reducing compliance cost and effort.

UserLock is implemented in various industries to address specific demands for secure and seamless access management. In finance, it safeguards sensitive data through rigorous login authentication. Healthcare organizations use UserLock to maintain strict compliance with patient information security standards, while educational institutions benefit from its ability to manage and track access in complex network environments. With its flexible integration, UserLock supports industry-specific security protocols and operational needs.

IS Decisions

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

Barclays, US Department of Justice, National Bank of Kuwait, Turkish Aerospace, New York Albany School District, Regtransfers, University of Kent, Camden City School District, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Bank of Cyprus, Detran-PE: Pernambuco State Traffic Department

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock

December 2025

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock

Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. UserLock report.

See our list of best Access Management vendors.

We monitor all Access Management reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.