F5 BIG-IQ vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

F5 and Broadcom are both solutions in the Process Automation category. F5 is ranked #26 with an average rating of 7.0, while Broadcom is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.0. F5 holds a 0.9% mindshare in PA, compared to Broadcom’s 0.9% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IQ

Read 15 F5 BIG-IQ reviews

1,186 Views
1,186 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

vCenter Orchestrator

Read 51 vCenter Orchestrator reviews

2,055 Views
1,069 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IQ

vCenter Orchestrator

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

vCenter Orchestrator and F5 BIG-IQ are part of the automation and management category, with vCenter Orchestrator thriving in VMware environments, whereas F5 BIG-IQ excels in managing F5 Networks appliances. F5 BIG-IQ is considered superior due to its comprehensive features, while vCenter Orchestrator stands out for its cost-effectiveness and support.

Features: vCenter Orchestrator offers workflow automation, scalable solutions, and seamless integration within VMware environments, with features like Distributed Resource Scheduler and efficient VM management. It simplifies management activities significantly. F5 BIG-IQ provides centralized management for F5 BIG-IP devices, notable for its load balancing capabilities, web application firewall (WAF), and streamlined operations management via a singular dashboard.

Room for Improvement: vCenter Orchestrator could enhance mobile administration, cross-platform compatibility, and workflow simplicity. Better integration with third-party systems and improved support response times are also recommended. F5 BIG-IQ users suggest enhancing integration with third-party products and easing interface complexity for those less versed in networking, alongside considering pricing adjustments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions typically see on-premises deployments, with vCenter Orchestrator often utilized in hybrid settings. Users generally appreciate technical support for both products, but some note speed issues in response times for vCenter Orchestrator, with VMware support gaining higher regard overall while suggesting faster issue escalation.

Pricing and ROI: vCenter Orchestrator is often viewed as expensive but can offer significant ROI within larger VMware ecosystems due to its virtualization benefits. In contrast, F5 BIG-IQ is seen as more affordable, with its inclusive licensing offering all necessary features in a single fee, often resulting in good ROI for larger setups.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator

April 2026

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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-IQ

Ranking in Process Automation

26th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

vCenter Orchestrator

Ranking in Process Automation

13th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IQ is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.9%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
vCenter Orchestrator	0.9%
F5 BIG-IQ	0.9%
Other	98.2%

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

Bikale Kassu

Manager for Implementation and Administration at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Has faced challenges with visibility and technical support but allows centralized management of multiple sites

The configuration part is complex for F5 BIG-IQ. The simplicity and visibility part needs improvement. The dashboard, especially the analytics part, needs to be more simple and presentable. For the security part, it is difficult to present to our management, so we have to capture it and prepare manual reporting options rather than getting them directly from the system. The automation part in F5 BIG-IQ is limited; we are still using it only for load balancing for some services. We haven't integrated it with our Accesso or implemented any automation options. The setup process for F5 BIG-IQ would rate a five out of ten.

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Narendar Bompally

Hybrid Cloud Engineer at RealPage

Boosts operational efficiency with flexible workflows and reliable cluster management

We currently use vCenter Orchestrator's pre-built workflow templates for our IT processes. The templates are flexible, allowing us to create and convert processes simply and manage patches. Regarding integration capabilities, we do not integrate any third-party tools. We exclusively use VMware products. The integration within the VMware infrastructure is limited to Single Sign-On (SSO). I have not created any workflows in vCenter Orchestrator as workflows are only used for change management. I have not encountered any drag and drop interface. The version control and logging features of vCenter Orchestrator have significantly improved the reliability of our automated processes, particularly during upgrades or patching to the cluster-wise. Previously, it would be done on a one-to-one cluster or one-to-one host basis, but now we only need to monitor it for upgrading or patching the entire cluster. I cannot comment on the pricing and licensing of vCenter Orchestrator as these aspects are managed by our onsite counterpart. Overall, I rate vCenter Orchestrator 8 out of 10. The rating reflects occasional delays in support response times and portal stability issues.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The F5 solution scales very easily, and if we have more boxes then we can just join them to the cluster."

"F5 BIG-IQ has always provided us with great support."

"F5 is a leader in this space and this is a solution that I recommend."

"We use this solution on a daily basis, and it is very stable."

"The most valuable features are load balancing and WAF."

"Scalability: To move from larger boxes to smaller boxes, along with virtualization. So, we are not locked into a particular size."

"Features like AFM, the gateway, and Global DNS are the coolest features that save work for us."

"F5 BIG-IQ has always provided us with great support."

More F5 BIG-IQ pros

"The platform integration is straightforward, especially with recent updates, making connecting with various systems and streamlining workflows easier."

"The tool is very beneficial for automating workflow."

"Scalability, I think you can add hundreds and thousands of machines to it."

"The DRS feature from VMware is very valuable to us because it balances workloads."

"I am impressed with the tool's easiness to work with VMware solutions."

"vCenter Orchestrator is very reliable and stable."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is the workflow creation."

"The solution's ability to template and easily implement are the most valuable features. It offers good replication as well."

More vCenter Orchestrator pros

Cons

"Integration with VAS is something that they need to work on."

"I had trouble with high availability deployment in my environment."

"You do need to have a good and solid background or foundation for networking and you need to understand how to configure F5 appliances in order to properly use it."

"A bug caused me to lose all the configuration."

"Sometimes the solution does not work."

"The solution's rSeries has been made free, and iSeries should be made free as well."

"Integration with VAS is something that they need to work on."

More F5 BIG-IQ cons

"The solution needs to integrate with Cloud facilities like AWS and Azure."

"VMware tools would benefit from more automation. When installing our devices and servers, we often need to install the VMware tools manually. This process should be automated during the VM installation process."

"The response time of vCenter Orchestrator's support could be improved."

"I believe a transparent view and better terms of condition between Oracle and vCenter Orchestrator would be helpful."

"After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed."

"We encounter challenges related to the renewal of support subscriptions."

"This solution needs to have more built-in workflows."

"There can be compatibility issues."

More vCenter Orchestrator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Users have to pay an annual subscription fee for the solution's iSeries."

"There is only one licensing fee for F5 BIG-IQ and everything is included in the price."

"F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution."

"I would like the product to be cheaper."

"My company needs to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"My organization didn't have to pay extra for vCenter Orchestrator. It was already included, so it's basically free. Even VMware regular support is included."

"The solution is a bit expensive."

"vCenter Orchestrator is a very expensive solution."

"vCenter Orchestrator is an expensive solution."

"The licensing module is somewhat complex. Calculating the cost is complicated. Many of our clients are unclear about the billing system and the traffic metering."

"We renew the solution's license every one or two years."

"I rate the product price a seven to eight out of ten on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

More vCenter Orchestrator pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

21%

Marketing Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Marketing Services Firm

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IQ?

From the pricing perspective, F5 BIG-IQ rates an eight out of ten as it's reasonably priced.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IQ?

See all answers

What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IQ?

Currently for WAF, we are moving to another device, F5. We are not using Imperva. F5 BIG-IQ is the Web Application Firewall we're currently using, but regarding the Imperva products, now we are flo...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?

We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.

See all answers

What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?

For our environment, I do not see any areas of vCenter Orchestrator that could be improved or enhanced. We are currently satisfied with the orchestrator. If any improvements are needed, I will prov...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for vCenter Orchestrator?

My usual use cases for vCenter Orchestrator involve managing all the ESXi hosts from the US, as we have almost 1200 to 1500 ESXi hosts.

See all answers

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Compared 13% of the time

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Compared 12% of the time

Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 11% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ

May 2026

Download F5 BIG-IQ product report

Buyer's Guide

vCenter Orchestrator

May 2026

Download vCenter Orchestrator product report

Overview

F5 BIG-IQ simplifies the centralized management of BIG-IP appliances, providing load balancing and application firewall services. It ensures efficient large-scale operations and is user-friendly, enhancing seamless configuration migrations.

F5 BIG-IQ is designed for organizations seeking to manage multiple F5 appliances through a single interface, offering solutions for load balancing, web application security, and policy migration. Suitable for on-premises or cloud deployments, it caters to service providers and data centers. While some users suggest improvements in GUI usability and performance optimization, F5 BIG-IQ effectively supports web and email security, internet banking, and SSL operations. The GUI is appreciated for ease of use by network-savvy engineers, though dashboard functionality could be enhanced.

What are the standout features of F5 BIG-IQ?

Load Balancing: Manages traffic distribution efficiently across multiple servers.
Centralized Management: Streamlines control of F5 appliance settings from a single location.
Application Firewall: Offers robust protection for web applications against threats.
Seamless Configuration Migration: Allows easy transfer of configurations between devices.
Scalability: Supports operations on a large scale without compromising performance.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating F5 BIG-IQ?

User-Friendliness: Intuitive design for network experts, reducing the learning curve.
Error Reduction: Minimizes errors in policy management, leading to smoother operations.
Efficient Integration: Integrates with existing infrastructure, enhancing workflow continuity.
Cost-Effectiveness: Provides value by optimizing resource allocation and management.

F5 BIG-IQ is implemented across service providers, data centers, and diverse industries for robust load balancing and application security. It handles internet-facing web application security, supports SQL policy management, and enables efficient collaboration with F5 teams. Numerous organizations apply it for internet banking security, email protection, and spearhead SSL transactions, benefiting from its capacity to adapt to rapidly changing requirements.

vCenter Orchestrator simplifies virtualization management with ergonomic design and efficient automation. It centralizes VM management with scalability and robust features for data handling, serving diverse industries seeking enhanced resource optimization and infrastructure management.

vCenter Orchestrator provides a user-friendly interface, focusing on workflow automation and integrated resource management. Known for its high availability and efficient data migration, it's implemented widely for virtualization and resource optimization. Though some find the cost and complexity a concern, its centralized management capabilities and integration with VMware tools make it resourceful. Users desire improvements in multi-platform support, mobile administration, and third-party integration flexibility, seeking more intuitive setup and expanded scripting options.

What are the most important features of vCenter Orchestrator?

Workflow Automation: Streamlines processes with customizable workflows.
Scalability: Supports growing infrastructure demands efficiently.
High Availability: Ensures continuous operation across environments.
VM Management: Centralizes control of virtual machines.
Data Migration: Facilitates efficient and cost-effective data movement.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Centralized Management: Offers a single pane for comprehensive oversight.
Cost-Efficiency: Reduces expenses with integrated features, no add-ons.
Integration Capabilities: Enhances operations with seamless VMware tool integration.
User-Friendly Design: Simplifies complex virtualization tasks.
Automation Capabilities: Optimizes resources and performance.

In industries like healthcare, education, and banking, vCenter Orchestrator enhances server deployment, virtualization, and network configurations. Deployed in both cloud and on-premise environments, it supports diverse IT providers aiming to streamline operations with high availability and resource optimization.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Beiersdorf Shared Services

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator

April 2026

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