HAProxy vs Kemp LoadMaster comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Sep 5, 2022
 

Categories and Ranking

HAProxy
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
3rd
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
41
Ranking in other categories
Service Mesh (4th)
Kemp LoadMaster
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
6th
Average Rating
9.4
Number of Reviews
48
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2024, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of HAProxy is 14.1%, up from 13.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Kemp LoadMaster is 8.0%, up from 6.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Unique Categories:
Service Mesh
10.6%
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

AA
Apr 3, 2024
Helps distribute the server load but has only the basic features
The solution is used for high availability. We use it for the backend to distribute the load We needed a simple proxy system that is open source. HAProxy was the most used tool for any issues that we ran into. We did not want to use something that was not used much so that we could fix the issues…
SB
Dec 13, 2021
Reliable, easy to set up, and can increase your security score
My primary use case of this solution is as a web application firewall Kemp mitigated our cross-scripting vulnerabilities, cookie-related issues, and content security policy issues. Instead of working on each application, we can do everything with Kemp. In addition, using Kemp has raised our site…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We were able to use HAProxy for round robin with our databases, or for a centralized TCP connection in one host."
"​​Reliability. HAProxy is the most reliable product I have ever used."
"What I like best about the product is its simplicity and speed. When you need to set up a load balancer quickly, HAProxy offers options like sticky sessions and round-robin. It's also fast to configure, including adding SSL for security. While it may have fewer options than other solutions like F5, HAProxy gets the job done for basic load-balancing tasks."
"Stability is number one."
"HAProxy Enterprise Edition has been rock solid. We have essentially had no downtime caused by our load balancers in the last 10 months, because they’ve worked so well. Previously, our load balancers caused us multiple hours per year in downtime."
"The technical support has been, in one word, perfect. Every time I call, I’m on the phone with a representative within five minutes who is highly skilled and willing to help, whether in the case of critical issues or simple advice."
"I have found HAProxy very helpful in replicating production environment architecture in a development and testing environment."
"Having the right load balancing solution – which is what HAProxy is – and protection in place gives organizations peace of mind."
"I like that this is a Network Load Balancer that can be used practically with any application in the backend. They have how-to guides on how to set up Kemp NLB with Exchange, but you can use it as well for Sharepoint, RDS, or any other back end server."
"The Global WAF has saved us more than one time from unwanted traffic."
"The configuration is really easy and the web portal is self-explanatory."
"We really like the performance of this solution."
"From my personal experience, many firewalls provide Load Balancing functionalities, but Kemp Loadmaster has a lot of features and functionalities like what you can configure. So there are a lot of features but we use only five percent of it."
"Load-balancing is a great feature that is very easy to configure and it is always working fine."
"Managing and maintaining multiple servers is done in a single place."
"Great web balancing and remote access balancing."
 

Cons

"While troubleshooting, we are having some difficulties. There are no issues when it is running; it is stable and very good; however, if there is a troubleshooting issue or an incident occurs, we will have issues because this is open-source."
"Documentation could be improved."
"There is room for improvement in HAProxy's dynamic configuration."
"The web stats UI, which provides the status of the health and numbers, could greatly benefit from having a RESTful interface to control the load-balanced nodes. Although there is a hack around the UI (by issuing a POST request to HAProxy with parameters), a RESTful interface would greatly improve the automation process (through Chef and Ansible)."
"​It needs proper HTTP/2 support.​"
"HAProxy could improve by making the dashboards easier to use, and better reports and administration tickets."
"The only area that I can see needing improvement is the management interface, since it is pretty much all through the CLI or configuration. A GUI/web interface could be helpful for users who are not as experienced in the Linux shell. However, HAProxy does have another product that we evaluated called ALOHA, which has a web front-end, but we found it did not meet our needs."
"We would like to see dynamic ACL and port update support. Our infrastructure relies on randomly allocated ports and this feature would allow us to update without restarting the process."
"It would be helpful if there were a way to incorporate tooltips on the fields so that we don't have to dig through documentation."
"The ability to see live traffic is not great and can be improved."
"Perhaps Kemp could offer some training videos."
"I think there should be more visual instructions on how to configure advanced features."
"They need to improve the UI environment. Currently, it's hard to navigate and use product."
"UI is very basic and unattractive."
"It has all types of logs and they are very detailed, but it's a little bit hard to search for a single event."
"Certificate installations could be simplified and modernized, and allowed to be monitored for expirations/issues."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing fee for the solution is $690 per unit annually."
"When it comes to pricing HAProxy is free."
"Test/lab virtual machines can be installed without a licence. They can't be used for performance testing but otherwise behave like production nodes."
"I use the open-source version of the product. I don't have experience with the licensed version of the solution."
"HAProxy is free software. There are optional paid products (support/appliances)."
"The tool is open-source."
"Very good value for the money. One of the simplest licensing schemes in this category of products."
"If you don't have expertise then go with the licensed version. Otherwise, open-source is the best solution."
"From a cost perspective, Kemp is very competitive and is not hard to justify by any means."
"Pricing for the perpetual licensing was fair to us for the features and ease of use we received."
"​I have control on the licensing and all the prices since I work for a partner.​"
"The price is lower than other options."
"Setup is easy, the cost is affordable, and the licensing is quick and simple."
"The costs for the Kemp Load Balancer solution are okay because, for a good product, you have to spend money."
"KEMP gives away free trials for 30 days. This can be stretched if you want. During the test, you will have access to KEMP support.​"
"Download Kemp's VLM trial and take it for a test drive; you will be impressed."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
21%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
61%
Computer Software Company
8%
Government
4%
Financial Services Firm
3%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend HAProxy?
I do recommend HAProxy for more simple applications or for companies with a low budget, since HAProxy is a free, open-source product. HAProxy is also a good choice for someone looking for a stable ...
What do you like most about HAProxy?
The solution is effective in managing our traffic.
What do you like most about Kemp LoadMaster?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...I rate the technical support a ten out of ten...The initial setup of Kemp LoadMaster is very simple.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kemp LoadMaster?
LoadMaster is cheaper than some other solutions. It has a perpetual license, so it's a one-time cost.
What needs improvement with Kemp LoadMaster?
My company is really happy with Kemp LoadMaster as a product. My company is also happy with the support we receive from Kemp LoadMaster. I want Kemp LoadMaster to provide users with better reportin...
 

Also Known As

HAProxy Community Edition, HAProxy Enterprise Edition, HAPEE
LoadMaster Load Balancer
 

Learn More

Video not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Booking.com, GitHub, Reddit, StackOverflow, Tumblr, Vimeo, Yelp
Kent County Council, KEMP, SMA Solar Technology AG, RT€ Player , Victrix (Quebec, Canada), Texas A&M, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cisco, Austin Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about HAProxy vs. Kemp LoadMaster and other solutions. Updated: July 2024.
793,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.