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F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Ivanti Connect Secure 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
122
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (2nd)
Ivanti Connect Secure
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
SSL VPN (3rd), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (11th)
 

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and Ivanti Connect Secure aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 16.1%, up 15.2% compared to last year.
Ivanti Connect Secure, on the other hand, focuses on SSL VPN, holds 21.5% mindshare, up 21.1% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)16.1%
NetScaler14.3%
HAProxy11.1%
Other58.5%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
SSL VPN Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Ivanti Connect Secure21.5%
Cisco Secure Client (including AnyConnect)16.7%
Citrix Gateway13.1%
Other48.699999999999996%
SSL VPN
 

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) 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.
Johan Derycke - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable remote access and tunneling enhance work efficiency, but upgrade processes need improvement
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used. On the client side, browser-initiated sessions are complex and require a more robust approach for non-admin users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution could improve the ease of use, the management could be simplified. Other solutions are easier to use."
"There is a lot of documentation available."
"The initial setup is easy."
"F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is very easy to use, from SSL Management to enabling, disabling loads, applications, systems, and monitoring. Overall the solution keeps our application functional from a client's perspective 24 hours a day, seven days a week."
"The configuration and integration into the AWS environment was pretty easy."
"We enjoy its overall ease of use."
"The feature I find the most valuable is the support infrastructure."
"The most valuable feature I found is iRules."
"The most valuable feature is being able to securely connect and use virtual desktops."
"The product is easy to use."
"Ivanti secures access to the corporate network from various devices and locations."
"The most robust and reliable feature of Ivanti Connect Secure is the VPN tunneling, using both the Pulse and the Ivanti client."
"It's quite stable."
"What I like the most about Pulse Connect Secure is that it's user-friendly. It's easy to use. You just need to connect, and that's it."
"The solution helps with principal decisions. It also helps with the security and configuration of many technologies."
"This is a very secure and stable tool."
 

Cons

"The pricing model has caused some frustration. My clients implemented the solution and later wanted to upgrade the features but the pricing structure was complicated. There are other solutions with better pricing models."
"I would like there to be more device security. I would like the tool to support SSL links, along with SSL and TLS."
"F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager could improve by having an FNI feature for a single source to multi-domain load balancing."
"Technical support could be improved."
"An area for improvement in F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is that it's a high-priced product."
"The SharePoint SSO part has some room for improvement."
"The GUI needs improvement."
"The auto logout feature after three minutes is terrible. I wish they would make that longer, since it is not a feature that we can change."
"The solution must be more user-friendly."
"We need to know how many live active users there are and we can't. We even updated the server, however, we still can't see the proper level of live connections. Right now, it's showing as 300 users and my customer does not have that many users in his organization."
"The product's price is an area where improvements are required."
"User experience and after-sales support could be better. For example, over the last couple of years, when this COVID scenario was going on, there were multiple attacks on these types of solutions. SQL has been attacked numerous times, and there were a lot of vulnerabilities, and our customers had to update and upgrade the devices every two weeks or every month. This was a headache. It could also be more scalable."
"I would like the solution to be more secure and compatible. It also needs to improve integration with other systems."
"Ivanti Connect Secure needs to have faster connections. It also needs to improve the stability."
"The support team of the product needs improvement. Sometimes we have issues with multiple authentications, but there is no help from the support team."
"I don't have any downsides to report about the product at this time."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are no additional fees to the standard licensing fee; everything is paid once."
"The price is little bit on higher side compared to the cost of NGINX."
"The pricing is inclusive of many features."
"I found F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) an expensive product. The costs would depend on the appliance and infrastructure size. However, my company didn't have to pay extra to use additional features."
"The solution is more expensive than one of its competitors."
"I am a fan of using AWS natively. It is much cheaper."
"LTM is a good product, but it's expensive. They should make it more competitive because cloud providers offer free load balancing. Cloud providers can't cover all the security aspects of F5, but you get a decent amount of security. Cloud environments are becoming the norm across the IT industry. Many of the larger companies that previously used on-prem infrastructure are switching to the cloud, so companies like Fortinet and Palo Alto are reducing their prices. Otherwise, they can't compete in the cloud."
"Security should be involved in any base license. When you bring on F5, you only have default license. Then, the ASM product license has to be purchased. It would be great if F5 could include the ASM in the base license."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise31
Large Enterprise84
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business6
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
The GUI of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) could be improved. It's not something regarding how it processes or blocks, as that's perfect. However, it still feels a bit legacy regarding the GU...
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is a perfect product for load balancing and WAF, and I would recommend it far more than any other product. The load balancing capabilities of F5 BIG-IP Local T...
What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?
From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti has always been known to be pricey, making it a rather high-cost solution.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, t...
 

Also Known As

F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
Pulse Connect Secure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, Microsoft and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: September 2025.
872,019 professionals have used our research since 2012.