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F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Link11 comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

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
6.4
F5 BIG-IP AFM offers cost-effective returns with F5 bundles, though standalone returns are moderate, providing practical daily value.
Sentiment score
7.2
Link11 provided cost-effective security management, ensuring network protection, compliance, and seamless e-commerce operations with complete return on investment.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP AFM support is responsive and praised, though expertise varies; customer service is excellent, communication needs improvement.
Sentiment score
8.3
Link11 customer service is praised for its expert support, though time zone differences can impact communication efforts.
The responses are generally fast and effective.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
I rate the technical support by F5 a ten from one to ten.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
The customer service is excellent, and I rate it ten out of ten.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is scalable and flexible, supporting diverse environments and thousands of users daily.
Sentiment score
7.6
Link11 offers seamless scalability, efficiently managing high-traffic and adapting to changes while ensuring uninterrupted service during digital attacks.
The solution is highly scalable, allowing me to add or remove nodes and manage traffic without interruption, which is essential for meeting application demands.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
F5 BIG-IP AFM is highly rated for stability, reliability, and efficient logging, with no major bugs or issues reported.
Sentiment score
8.3
Link11 users appreciate its reliability, stability, and performance, noting minimal downtime and resolved setup challenges, reinforcing confidence.
 

Room For Improvement

F5 BIG-IP AFM needs better GUI, cloud integration, pricing, support, reporting, and zero-day prevention to enhance user experience.
Enhance Link11 with intuitive interfaces, real-time alerts, automated reporting, improved WAF, unified panels, and better bot management.
Having advanced technology similar to other vendors like Palo Alto for zero-day attack prevention would be valuable.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
I would assess the importance of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s integration with cloud services as significant.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
The appliance and features could be enhanced further, especially in terms of security.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Setup Cost

F5 BIG-IP AFM is costly yet valued for its stability, functionality, and perceived value for money despite high pricing.
Link11 offers adaptable pricing with flexible plans and discounts, enhancing value despite perceived high costs for enterprises.
The standard license is reasonably priced, but additional features like the WAF can be more expensive.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If considering a one-stop solution that provides load balancing, DNS security, AAA authentication, and firewalling on the same hardware, the cost is reasonable.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
 

Valuable Features

F5 BIG-IP AFM provides robust security and performance with features like DDoS protection and AI-driven traffic analysis.
Link11 and Reblaze provide advanced security features, effective threat management, and seamless integration for comprehensive protection across platforms.
The solution provides behavioral analysis via AI to detect malicious traffic.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
The scalability feature also allows me to manage and allocate resources dynamically without disrupting production traffic.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
I think the DDoS features are valuable in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM), and I recommend it usually for certain types of companies.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall...
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Link11
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
23rd
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
CDN (19th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (35th), Bot Management (10th), API Security (23rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is 1.9%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Link11 is 2.9%, up from 1.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)1.9%
Link112.9%
Other95.2%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
 

Featured Reviews

Nawapol Boonlerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
Comprehensive network protection has mitigated DDoS risks and supports secure on-prem operations
Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identified. It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they could have in the future to make it even better. For example, I have thoughts about the price. Currently, it does not integrate, and I would assess the importance of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s integration with cloud services as significant. Currently, I use only one site, and I cannot tell you about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) centralized security policies. I have not used F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s Threat Intelligence capabilities. I have not used their dynamic traffic shaping feature. So far, the only thing that could be improved is the pricing of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM).
PF
Chief Architect (Consultant) at Personal Consultant
Exceptional resilience and protection well-suited for medium to large businesses
The initial setup process is quite straightforward. Its complexity largely depends on the intricacies of your platform. If your platform spans multiple sites across the globe, requiring configuration of multiple instances and traffic routing, it can become more intricate. From our experience, even in companies with extensive platforms, the configuration process remains relatively simple. Once the instances are spun up and the initial configurations are in place, you can use their console application to set up your site or sites for traffic management. This involves configuring the sites and uploading SSL certificates. Even for those not well-versed in the intricacies of networking layers and rules, the out-of-the-box configurations already provide solid protection.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions are best for your needs.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Engineering Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Educational Organization
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
The standard license is reasonably priced, but additional features like the WAF can be more expensive. There are plenty of technical documents and a supportive community available, which helps mana...
What needs improvement with F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identified. It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they cou...
What is your primary use case for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
I am starting to learn and working with F5 team to conduct a proof of concept, and I do have experience with F5 Rules for AWS WAF. I have experience with BIG-IP, not BIG-IQ, and I may have experien...
Ask a question
Earn 20 points
 

Also Known As

F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager
Reblaze
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
CBC, Hermes, Gartner
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs. Link11 and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.