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F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs Fortinet FortiADC 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 Virtual Edition
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
12th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
6th
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Featured Reviews

Lilian Blaitt - PeerSpot reviewer
Virtual deployment boosts efficiency and support is quick
In my company, we use NGINX. I don't work with NGINX. For us, it is better to have the virtual solution because we have more virtual VJPs on fewer machines. This is the reason we are using it today It's easy to use, and they have good support. When we open tickets, they are answered quickly, and…
OusaidAbaz - PeerSpot reviewer
Integrates load balancing efficiently within existing technology environments
FortiADC provides load-balancing capabilities needed for integration with other Fortinet platforms. It allows for the creation of virtual IPs and applying various algorithms for traffic management. Although it offers fewer algorithms than competing platforms like F5, its capability to manage load balancing makes it valuable. The security features depend on the environment, relying on firewalls like FortiGate.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The integration capabilities of the product are easy to use, and there is no complexity involved in it."
"The tool's investment is less than a physical device."
"I have a specific issue with the network interface connector, the NIC. We're limited to a maximum of two NICs in a virtualized environment. It's a limitation of the tool."
"It's easy to use, and they have good support."
"The features that I like include LTM and Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."
"It has DoS layer 7 protection, which not many vendors have."
"This ensures that clients can connect to their applications without interruption."
"Because ADC is the intermediary between the servers and the end-user application, it gives thorough information about the traffic, what the problem is."
"The most valuable feature is the SSL offloading capacity."
"The main feature that we use is GSLB (Global Server Load Balancing). GSLB makes the customer's network more reliable by scaling applications across multiple datacenters. GSLB as a disaster recovery solution can direct traffic based on site availability."
"The user interface is very easy and integrates with Sandbox easily."
"I like the solution's load balance with DNS intelligence."
"Key features include SSL Offloading, VM availability, and L7 load balancing."
"I am impressed with the product's load-balancing feature."
 

Cons

"On-the-go upgrades are an option that the tool currently lacks, making it an area where improvements are required."
"BIG-IP could improve in supporting microservices, for example, in Docker and Kubernetes environments."
"I have a specific issue with the network interface connector, the NIC. We're limited to a maximum of two NICs in a virtualized environment. It's a limitation of the tool."
"It's expensive and could be cheaper."
"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is a heavy system that needs a lot of CPU, memory, and hard disk."
"The tool has limitations with respect to code and RAM."
"The product's stability for VMs could be better."
"I think it would be helpful if Fortinet put more video examples on their cookbook site."
"It would be good if they built in a fully functional web application firewall."
"I had a terrible experience with Fortinet support. I only used support once when I bought the solution. I got no response for two days. However, I believe that it's no longer the case. Fortinet solutions have problems when they're launched. For example, we had issues with Fortinet's authenticator when it came out. We also had trouble with FortiNAC in the beginning."
"The solution needs to integrate sFlow. sFlow provides better visualization of the bandwidth and types of traffic passing through the device. When used in the traffic path, this information can be really useful."
"When the FortiADC is part of a platform with components like FortiManager and FortiGate, automation and pushing configuration are very inconvenient."
"Issues with SSL and encrypted traffic."
"Because it is so generic, the documentation requires special attention. A person who has not worked on Fortinet FortiADC or a similar product will struggle to understand what the document is trying to say. The documentation could be more specific, and more detailed."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is an expensive solution, but it's worth the price."
"The pricing is standard."
"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being expensive."
"My company's customers need to make payments for the licensing charges attached to the product. It is an expensive product."
"I believe the price is good. It's fair. There are no extra costs."
"The solution could be more cost-effective."
"Compared to F5, FortiADC pricing is better."
"The price is competitive"
"The solution is less expensive than F5 or Imperva and is the most reasonably priced option available."
"I rate Fortinet FortiADC's pricing one out of ten. It is fixed."
"The product has average pricing. I rate its pricing a five out of ten."
"They offer a perpetual license."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Computer Software Company
14%
Retailer
7%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
8%
Educational Organization
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?
The integration capabilities of the product are easy to use, and there is no complexity involved in it.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?
I find it too complex to assess the impact of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition's automated deployment and integration with container orchestration platforms, such as Kubernetes and OpenShift, on my applic...
What advice do you have for others considering F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?
I do not use the load balancing and traffic management features of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition. I use other container orchestration platforms, but they are not relevant to F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition. ...
Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?
For ADC, any ADC can do a good job. But in case if you want to add WAF functionality to the same ADC hardware you have to look for other ADC's like F5, Imperva, Radware, Fortinet, etc.
Do you recommend Fortinet FortiADC?
I recommend Fortinet FortiADC. My experience with Fortinet has been very positive. Our company has been using it for around five years. We mainly use FortiADC for the load balancing of application ...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiADC?
The user interface is very easy and integrates with Sandbox easily.
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiADC Application Delivery Controller, FortiADC
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. Fortinet FortiADC and other solutions. Updated: August 2025.
865,384 professionals have used our research since 2012.