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F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs NGINX Plus 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)
11th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX Plus
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is 0.1%. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 7.4%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NGINX Plus7.4%
F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition0.1%
Other92.5%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

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…
Michael Olayemi - PeerSpot reviewer
Enables public access and secure configurations through reverse proxy
The primary valuable feature of NGINX for me is its ability to provide a reverse proxy. I have found that this feature supports our local server, and I am able to connect through our DNS system, making it accessible publicly. Additionally, the integration with SSL certificates and the configuration capabilities make it a valuable solution for my use case. Without NGINX, users would not be able to access our application, which means there is positive ROI from using NGINX as it is crucial for the functioning of my organization.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It has DoS layer 7 protection, which not many vendors have."
"The features that I like include LTM and Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."
"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."
"When you use NGINX, you have more options and power."
"The product is resilient."
"The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
"Supports IMAP, POP and SMTP protocols for the reverse proxy."
"With NGINX, I appreciate its ability to route traffic geographically."
"The web proxy and the database proxy are excellent."
"The best solution, by far, for web traffic control for things in production and just around the house."
"I receive very good support."
 

Cons

"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."
"BIG-IP could improve in supporting microservices, for example, in Docker and Kubernetes environments."
"It's expensive and could be cheaper."
"On-the-go upgrades are an option that the tool currently lacks, making it an area where improvements are required."
"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."
"Make modules easier to enable or disable. The beauty and ugly side of the NGINX modules is you have to know how to compile the module. For beginners or non-very technical aspirant(s) going for NGINX, they have to learn how to compile the modules.​"
"Lack of a feature to print data on the terminal for verification of network traffic during debugging and testing."
"Initially, I experienced hiccups whenever I installed the application. As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified."
"The drawback is that you must obtain a license for everything."
"If NGINX brings some features for health check in the open source version, it would be better. ​"
"The scalability could be improved."
"I would like the configuration process to be more simplified."
"One area of improvement could be that NGINX could provide a means to generate self-signed SSL certificates."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is an expensive solution, but it's worth the price."
"The cost is reasonable."
"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
"You pay for each feature that you want."
"There's an open-source version of NGINX that is free."
"HAProxy is cheaper than NGINX."
"​NGINX is a free tool in Brazil. There are some companies which do support it.​"
"The solution is free, but you can spend a lot of money with a complex solution."
"The list price of NGINX Plus is close to $5,500."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Energy/Utilities Company
7%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Computer Software Company
15%
Government
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business2
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise2
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise10
 

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. ...
Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?
IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...
What do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.
 

Also Known As

No data available
NGINX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. NGINX Plus and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
869,566 professionals have used our research since 2012.