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F5 BIG-IQ vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

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
25th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
14
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
vCenter Orchestrator
Ranking in Process Automation
6th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IQ is 0.2%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.3%, down from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Process Automation
 

Featured Reviews

Ravindra-Mali - PeerSpot reviewer
Key features like SSL uploading strengthen file handling
From the study material point of view, there are multiple certifications available. The challenge is there is hardly any study material available that can be referred to or used as a study material. Of course, from the knowledge perspective, multiple courses and details are available. However, from a hands-on experience perspective, more resources should be available on the Internet, like labs and lab preparations.
Gerhard Gmelch - PeerSpot reviewer
Enhance automation efficiency with cost-effective graphical workflow design
I use vCenter Orchestrator for automation purposes, specifically to run automation workbooks The most valuable features are the graphical UI for designing the workflows and the interfaces that come out of the box. Additionally, it is included in the VMware Vitalization Stack, which means there…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use this solution on a daily basis, and it is very stable."
"The customer service is great."
"F5 BIG-IQ has always provided us with great support."
"It is quite good in a large environment where I have multiple devices; it is easy to manage the devices."
"The product is excellent."
"F5 BIG-IQ is a central management system for the BIG-IP."
"The backup, monitoring and logging are the best features."
"Scalability: To move from larger boxes to smaller boxes, along with virtualization. So, we are not locked into a particular size."
"I am impressed with the tool's easiness to work with VMware solutions."
"The tool is very beneficial for automating workflow."
"The technical support services are excellent."
"I like the tool's DNS feature."
"I find that managing all my vCenters from one console is the most valuable feature."
"Communication with technical support is very good. It has a repository of knowledge base articles which we can access which are very helpful."
"The most crucial feature of vCenter is its scalability. We can use it to expand our network, so we don't have to report our client devices. The network configuration features are also helpful because we can migrate entire networks."
"Because of the central management, the scripting engine and workflow engine are integrated with VMware without any burden to integrate different products."
 

Cons

"The solution's rSeries has been made free, and iSeries should be made free as well."
"I had trouble with high availability deployment in my environment."
"They could use YAML or JSON if they wanted to make it a little bit easier for us."
"The solution should improve pricing. It's expensive in comparison to other American solutions."
"A bug caused me to lose all the configuration."
"There are a lot of scripts available on the internet for people who know how to use them, but with a graphical interface, it would be easier for new users."
"The shell, kernel, or Linux has something like a delay, especially with the Virtual Edition, when you are trying to implement it in the cloud and you want to access it remotely with web management. It would be great if they could improve their kernel. It was difficult for me, especially when I got started with BIG-IP. I was struggling to find which commands work with it. If you want to work with it, you have to be a Linux guy."
"From a hands-on experience perspective, more resources should be available on the Internet, like labs and lab preparations."
"The price of this product is high and could be improved."
"The response time of vCenter Orchestrator's support could be improved."
"I would like to see more automation added in the future."
"The only problem with the product is that it is very expensive, making it an area where improvements are required."
"The custom workflows are very difficult and confusing."
"I would like to see better performance."
"The solution has a limited count of parallel executions, which can be a bottleneck for larger environments."
"Using this solution requires a lot of experience."
 

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."
"vCenter Orchestrator could be more affordable."
"The concept of hyper-convergence is smart. I don't know if it can be applied with less cost to be more affordable for small or medium-sized companies. The cost is a very important factor for it. We are currently depending on SAN storage. However, the hyper-converged solutions are depending on the storage within the hosts, such as vSAN in the VMware. It is a smart 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."
"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."
"We renew the solution's license every one or two years."
"The licensing cost is manageable because they have different versions available, standard, essential, and advanced."
"This solution is expensive and the licensing is more attractive for Haveri."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Government
13%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IQ?
F5 BIG-IQ is a central management system for the BIG-IP.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IQ?
The product is really good with no significant downsides. However, better and simpler integration with ACI could improve the product.
What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?
The stability of the product is very good.
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.
What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?
After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed. We are considering alternatives since we lost the perpetual aspect, and support is changing.
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Beiersdorf Shared Services
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.
859,957 professionals have used our research since 2012.