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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NetScaler vs Radware Alteon comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is 15.4%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 14.4%, down from 15.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Radware Alteon is 4.9%, up from 3.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage
One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) ( /products/f5-big-ip-local-traffic-manager-ltm-reviews ) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.
DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU - PeerSpot reviewer
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.
MaverickHurley - PeerSpot reviewer
Makes it easier and quicker to spin up services when we deploy applications
The most valuable aspect is the ability to customize the types of load-balancing scenarios needed for customized applications. Some of the load balancers on the market today are strictly out-of-hand load balancers for SSL or HTTP. Radware Alteon is most useful for customizing in-house applications based on ports and protocols. Another great feature is integrated application protection. There are many features you can activate. Some of them are add-ons, such as WAF protection, DDoS, rate-limiting, and connections-per-second per application. We also use Radware where we do all the programming.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP LTM is it helps our delivery team to make policies and rules for application."
"ASM for WAF."
"The most valuable feature I found is iRules."
"The scalability of the solution depends on the sizing of the network. Generally, the scalability is quite good."
"We plan to create packages of services from which it will be possible to build comprehensive tailor-made solutions."
"Along with load balancing, we perform a lot of packet inspections, URL rewriting, and SSL interceptions via iRule."
"I have never faced any stability issues with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)."
"It has made it a single entry point for all users, verging across all the VPCs. It is more of an SSO solution versus multitier user loggin."
"Its customer support service is good."
"Load balancing, cache redirection, content switching, all connected with traffic management."
"This solution allows the user to easily scale out application delivery, and provides secure remote access."
"It has helped us to increase the resiliency of the application and the performance."
"I find all of it to be valuable, because of the flexibility that is built into this product."
"It allows students to access required software for their studies."
"The load balancing feature of this solution is very good."
"Available on any device and can be accessed on a wide area network."
"A user-friendly and reasonably priced solution."
"The most valuable aspect is that it establishes user security."
"It is easy to expand. Our clients are enterprise-size."
"Overall, I would rate Alteon a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is its stability. During the time that I have been using it, it has not undergone a service failure... And with the integrated application protection, we have not suffered from attacks anymore."
"The most valuable aspect is the ability to customize the types of load-balancing scenarios needed for customized applications. Some of the load balancers on the market today are strictly out-of-hand load balancers for SSL or HTTP. Radware Alteon is most useful for customizing in-house applications based on ports and protocols."
"The device blocks threats and allows legitimate users to work correctly."
"It saves us a lot of work in terms of management since it has tasks already defined automatically. That enables us to better administer our services. It is very dynamic and easy to administer."
 

Cons

"I would like them to expand load balancing, being able to go across multiple regions to on-premise and into the cloud. This could use improvement, as it is sometimes a little cumbersome."
"Fixing bugs."
"There is a challenge in Pakistan. This is when there is a hardware failure. Sometimes, it takes more time to get a replacement because it is sent out from the U.S. or some other regional outpost. Thus, it takes two to three days to receive a replacement."
"Its scalability and deployment should be better. It should be more scalable, and it should be easier to deploy."
"It would possibly help to get more training, even better in local languages."
"Implementing whitepapers with a lot more applications could easily be added."
"The solution's hardware quality needs improvement."
"They need to develop the reporting tools further."
"Some features of Citrix ADM are available on the cloud, which could really be helpful if they were available on an on-premise version."
"Reducing the overhead required for AppFlow data collection, specifically for HDX Insight, would be a huge improvement."
"It can be difficult to setup."
"Integration with other third party providers and third party applications could be better because it can be a bit complex at present."
"Technical support could be improved."
"Mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity."
"In every release - and it doesn't matter if it's a minor release or a major release - they keep moving things around and they keep changing the mechanism. So certain things can work in one version one way, and everything works really well, then when you upgrade it to the next version, it breaks everything because they have a new way of doing it."
"Citrix ADM needs to improve on its additional features and reduce the communication ports."
"The community portal does not have a place to find scripts."
"Their support can be better. The Radware management is very proactive. We can connect to anybody in Radware Management in India. We can even connect with the MD of Radware India. However, their lower level staff should be more proactive towards the customers."
"There is room for improvement in reducing the number of false positives I receive. We could benefit from more configuration options to avoid these false positives, which can be overwhelming for a security analyst."
"We are in the process of updating our version of the solution, so judging what should be improved is difficult. But in some cases, the visualization takes a while, especially for mapping issues."
"The solution could be more open to additional third-party add-ons being integrated into it."
"Performance could be improved."
"Integration with cloud services could be improved. Every now and then, we need engagement to address challenges with cloud integrations."
"There are certain features I would like to see in the next release."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's fair, it's not too expensive. Maybe just a little high."
"BIG-IP LTM isn't a cheap solution - I'd rate its pricing as three out of five."
"It is sort of a commodity product. A load balancer is a load balancer. What will be, at the end of the day, the cheapest option or have the best performance, that is what it will come down to."
"Though functionality is high, its cost can be considered slightly higher than its competitors​."
"We have found the pricing and licensing on AWS to be competitive."
"I use a yearly subscription, which is the most expensive one now compared to its competitors."
"Take a look at the modules that you are going to use. Look into the best bundles for them."
"The only area that has room for improvement would be pricing, so its competitors do not have a say."
"In Turkey, everything is good, but it seems expensive for us due to the currency exchange. I don't have a specific rating scale, but if I had to rate the price, I would say it's around a six out of ten."
"We are quite happy with price. It's not too high."
"When compared to other solutions, the cost is high."
"The price for Citrix ADC here in Mexico was good, when you compare it with F5 and Radware."
"Our licensing fees including technical support are approximately $3,500 USD."
"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten since it is expensive."
"Citrix ADM costs us approximately $5000 per month."
"For the specific use case that my customers primarily engage with, I would give the pricing a rating of seven out of ten."
"The cost of Radware Alteon is mid-ranged."
"Its pricing is very good. It is very competitive. Radware Alteon is the leader in the market. At a lesser price, we get a good product and also good support. Other vendors who are providing load balancers charge separately for two items. You have the hardware cost, and you have the support cost, whereas, in the case of Radware, you get both in a single package."
"Our government agency opted for Radware Alteon due to its affordability and efficiency. While I can't say precisely how much it costs the organization, the price per device. In India, we always look for affordable products, so I assume Alteon is cost-effective because the government chose it."
"The pricing is better than the competition. It is getting more pricey as the years go on, as more people are migrating to it, and as the technology gets better."
"It is not the priciest and it is not the cheapest. For our solution, it was right in the middle of price performance."
"The solution is cost-efficient."
"The pricing seems reasonable to me for what the solution provides. It is within the parameters of this type of solution."
"Radware LinkProof is neither cheap nor expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Educational Organization
11%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Government
9%
Computer Software Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
The price needs improvement as it is quite costly.
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
We're using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) ( /products/f5-big-ip-local-traffic-manager-ltm-reviews ) for our a...
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 ente...
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...
What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?
Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexi...
What do you like most about Radware Alteon?
It saves us a lot of work in terms of management since it has tasks already defined automatically. That enables us to...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Radware Alteon?
We have a three-year contract with Radware. It is beneficial to have a longer-term contract because you can obtain mo...
What needs improvement with Radware Alteon?
It is a fairly complete service and it is difficult for me to think of what can be improved. A feature that I would l...
 

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall
Alteon, Radware AppWall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
Convergys
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: May 2025.
852,796 professionals have used our research since 2012.