F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Reviews

Vendor: F5

4.2 out of 5

23 reviews
95% willing to recommend

What is F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)?

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is a high-performance, full-proxy network security solution designed to protect networks and data centers against incoming threats that enter the network. Built on F5’s industry-leading BIG-IP hardware and software platforms, BIG-IP AFM provides a scalable platform that delivers the flexible performance and control needed to mitigate aggressive distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) and protocol attacks before they overwhelm and degrade applications and infrastructure availability.

Get the F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Buyer's Guide and find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM), Cloudflare, Cloudflare One and more!

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is the #9 ranked solution in top Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions. PeerSpot users give F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is most commonly compared to Cloudflare: F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Cloudflare. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 55% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a financial services firm, accounting for 20% of all views.

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

February 2025

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Featured reviews

Richard Polyak

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

Our company uses the solution as a data center firewall. It is hard to determine all users within our infrastructure. It depends on systems we put behind the solution. Its internal but also a data center firewall. Sometimes, there are hooks from the solution to our external infrastructure or…

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Nabil Magdy

RETIRED at Banque du Caire

The initial setup of F5 BIG-IP AFM difficulty depends on the experience of the person doing it. I have experience with the solution, it was not too difficult for me to implement. The process of implantation can be done in five minutes. I rate the initial setup of F5 BIG-IP AFM an eight out of ten.

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Richard Polyak

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

It is pretty straightforward. The duration depends on our typical deployment scenarios. Usually, it takes about three months from the time our projects are fully approved and all the way down to deployment. So, from initial installation to releasing the production, our deployment scenarios take three months. Its maintenance is easy and simple. For maintenance, we need a staff of one.

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F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) mindshare

As of March 2025, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category stands at 1.4%, up from 1.0% compared to the previous year, according to calculations based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

PeerAnalyst reports

Type	Title	Date
Category	Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection	Mar 1, 2025	Download
Product	Reviews, tips, and advice from real users	Mar 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Cloudflare	Mar 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Radware DDoS Protection Service	Mar 1, 2025	Download
Comparison	F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Arbor DDoS	Mar 1, 2025	Download

Title	Rating	Mindshare	Recommending
Cloudflare	4.2	18.9%	95%	74 interviews Add to research
Cloudflare One	4.4	4.2%	100%	20 interviews Add to research

Valuable Features

"The features of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager that have proven most effective in securing the network are significant."
"The web application firewall has been very helpful. We purchased F5 when we were migrating our applications to the cloud."
"CGNAT is one of its strong areas."

Room for Improvement

"Apart from the price, I feel no other areas need improvement."
"NGINX, which F5 purchased, has room for improvement in its features, particularly its load balancing or application load balancing features."
"It doesn't compare to next generation firewalls"

ROI

Users observe a noticeable ROI when F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is paired with another F5 solution due to substantial discounts and affordability. As a standalone, its ROI is considered below average by some, scoring it four out of ten. A return is achieved by others, noting cost reductions that balance initial expenses over time. The value of security and efficiency makes it a beneficial investment despite accumulating costs.

Pricing

Enterprise users find F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) generally expensive, but worth the price due to its features and stability. Pricing varies with options like perpetual licenses or subscriptions. While some see it as mid-range, additional fees for support and specific features apply. Compared to competitors, it's pricier, with separate purchases for threat intelligence or geolocation. Despite mixed affordability ratings, many agree on its value for money given its market position.

"As per pricing, I would not say cheap, but little higher than cheap, but not very expensive. So you can say kind of value for money solutions."
"We have purchased a five-year licensing package for the product."
"We need to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."

Deployment

Initial setup experiences for F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager vary. Some users describe it as straightforward and not overly complex, highlighting success when guidelines are followed. Others mention challenges, citing the setup as complex, particularly in environments already utilizing additional modules. Deployment timelines range from a few days to three months or even a year, depending on configuration and existing infrastructure. Simplicity in maintenance was noted, often needing minimal staff once deployed.

These insights are based on the in-depth reviews provided by peers to help you make a better buying decision.

Download our F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Buyer's Guide for additional reliable information.

Review data by company size

By reviewers

By visitors reading reviews

Top industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

20%

Computer Software Company

19%

Insurance Company

Government

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

University

Manufacturing Company

Venture Capital & Private Equity Firm

Educational Organization

Legal Firm

Logistics Company

Performing Arts

Cloud Solution Provider

Energy/Utilities Company

Real Estate/Law Firm

Retailer

Security Firm

Hospitality Company

Transportation Company

Non Profit

Outsourcing Company

Compare F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) with alternative products

Learn more about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

For service providers, BIG-IP AFM IPS does even more, protecting the network edge and performing traffic inspection and protocol adherence for prevalent service provider protocols such as SS7, Diameter, HTTP/2, GTP, SCTP and SIP traffic coming into the network over UDP, TCP, and SCTP.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) was previously known as F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager.