No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.0
A10 Networks Thunder ADC boosts ROI within six months, cutting costs, saving money, and improving operational efficiency for users.
Sentiment score
6.7
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) offers cost-effective server deployment, saving users significantly on infrastructure expenses while providing valuable flexibility.
We do see a return on investment and cost reductions after the implementation of A10 Networks Thunder ADC.
Head Of Technical And Network Security at Connex Information Technologies
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
A10 Networks Thunder ADC offers effective support with excellent response times, but some users desire more comprehensive materials and faster urgent responses.
Sentiment score
7.7
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is praised for exceptional, proactive, 24/7 customer support, surpassing AWS and Google in personal service.
Their tech support is very responsible, and their response time is very low, providing superb support.
PM at Connex Information Technologies
The support we receive from the team is quite excellent.
Head Of Technical And Network Security at Connex Information Technologies
They respond with relevant and easy-to-follow solutions.
Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
They were very responsive to my issue.
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
6.9
A10 Networks Thunder ADC efficiently scales across regions, supporting enterprises with easy integration, load balancing, and growth management.
Sentiment score
7.0
Akamai Connected Cloud excels in scalability and flexibility, suitable for small to medium tasks despite lacking advanced features.
A10 Networks Thunder ADC can handle growth easily, and I have scaled up during higher traffic periods.
Senior Consultant and Creative Director at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
A10 Networks Thunder ADC's scalability is impressive.
IT Architecture Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
For my usage, which is a small business, I rate the scalability of Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) around nine or ten.
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
A10 Networks Thunder ADC is highly stable, reliable, and handles demanding environments with features like DDoS protection and regular updates.
Sentiment score
8.0
Akamai Connected Cloud is highly reliable, with minimal downtime and swift issue resolution, earning strong user trust.
In some of our deployments of A10 Networks Thunder ADC, we have employed DDoS and other security features, and for the past few years, we haven't experienced any major incidents.
Head Of Technical And Network Security at Connex Information Technologies
Most of the time, it just runs in the background without issues.
Senior Consultant and Creative Director at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

A10 Networks Thunder ADC requires UI improvements, better API docs, third-party integration, enhanced logging, scalability, and pricing structure refinement.
Akamai Connected Cloud needs better security, global data centers, improved support, DevOps workflow, and enhanced features to meet customer demands.
Having more structured, real-world configuration examples would make a big difference, especially for teams that are new to the platform, helping reduce the initial learning curve for them.
Senior Consultant and Creative Director at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
In the vThunder series of A10 Networks Thunder ADC, they have a perpetual license model and a subscription model, but in the Thunder series, the physical appliance does not have a perpetual license model, mainly operating on the subscription model.
PM at Connex Information Technologies
Enhanced integration with third-party tools would be beneficial.
IT Architecture Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
The main area for improvement is the lack of a backup feature to the local hard disk or storage.
System Administrator at mmcytech
The main improvement I would like to see from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is the ability to duplicate the server as it is and initialize a new one with the same features.
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
It would be useful to have the option to sort or group by tags on the domains page.
Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

A10 Networks Thunder ADC is cost-effective compared to F5, with flexible pricing and varying support costs based on requirements.
Akamai Connected Cloud offers transparent, flexible pricing from $5/month, with a favorable cost-performance ratio, appealing to enterprises.
I estimate that I can save around 20 to 30 percent of my budget with A10 Networks Thunder ADC.
Head Of Technical And Network Security at Connex Information Technologies
I always receive more features for the same price.
Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

A10 Networks Thunder ADC offers load balancing, SSL offloading, security, scalability, and cost efficiency ideal for cloud environments.
Akamai Connected Cloud excels with global coverage, ease of use, affordability, scalability, strong support, and superior speed versus competitors.
In terms of cost, it can lower both CapEx and OpEx.
IT Architecture Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
Application load balancing in A10 Networks Thunder ADC plays a crucial role in improving application reliability during peak periods.
PM at Connex Information Technologies
The standout features in A10 Networks Thunder ADC are definitely its load balancing capability and SSL offloading because these are very crucial and primary features that I seek from any service.
Senior Consultant and Creative Director at a consultancy with 11-50 employees
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is easy to use and has a fair price, making it accessible and straightforward, which is crucial when compared to other complex solutions.
System Administrator at mmcytech
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is cheaper.
Senior Software Engineer at a manufacturing company with 51-200 employees
Their support is really good. I can ask anything at any time, and they are able to resolve issues like reinstating deleted Linodes.
Managing Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

A10 Networks Thunder ADC
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (11th)
Akamai Connected Cloud (Lin...
Average Rating
9.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) (4th), Hybrid Cloud Computing Platforms (8th)
 

Mindshare comparison

A10 Networks Thunder ADC and Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. A10 Networks Thunder ADC is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 5.6%, up 4.9% compared to last year.
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode), on the other hand, focuses on Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS), holds 9.2% mindshare, up 7.2% since last year.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
A10 Networks Thunder ADC5.6%
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)13.6%
NetScaler12.2%
Other68.6%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)9.2%
Amazon AWS16.1%
Microsoft Azure9.0%
Other65.7%
Infrastructure as a Service Clouds (IaaS)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2817921 - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Architecture Manager at a government with 10,001+ employees
Application delivery has improved and security now ensures reliable high‑traffic e‑commerce
A10 Networks Thunder ADC offers several strong features that make it a very competitive solution. First, they provide advanced Layer 4 or Layer 7 load balancing. Another key feature is SSL offloading and encryption handling. A10 Networks Thunder ADC is also highly scalable and flexible. Scalability for A10 Networks Thunder ADC shows up in my day-to-day operations during high-traffic events such as Black Friday. One feature I find really powerful and something underrated about A10 Networks Thunder ADC is A-Flex. Beyond the standard ADC feature, what really stands out to me about A10 Networks Thunder ADC is how customizable, performant, and automated the platform is. A10 Networks Thunder ADC has a significant impact on my organization in several ways. First, it improves application availability and performance. From a security perspective, it helps protect applications against threats such as DDoS attacks. It also has a strong operational impact. In terms of cost, it can lower both CapEx and OpEx.
AK
CTO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Reliability and simplicity have ensured a seamless experience for 15 years
I am not satisfied with the customization options from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) because I still haven't tried any new capabilities provided by them yet. I am still keeping it as a virtual server because it is consistent and my business is stable using it. I didn't try the new features. The main improvement I would like to see from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) is the ability to duplicate the server as it is and initialize a new one with the same features. This is my main need, and I think this feature was published a few months ago, but I am not sure of this. I may often need to replicate the server and initiate a new one for some business and drop it again.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions are best for your needs.
892,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Computer Software Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise13
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business29
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise1
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
I would recommend A10 Networks due that it delivers high performance in a small form factor to reduce OPEX with significantly lower power usage, rack space, and cooling requirements compared to oth...
Do you recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
I do recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC. It's very user-friendly, easy to configure, and flexible. It is a very useful solution - especially now, when a lot of employees are working remotely. I hav...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
I estimate that I can save around 20 to 30 percent of my budget with A10 Networks Thunder ADC, though it's not an exact figure.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Linode?
I find Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode)'s pricing very competitive. They never charge extra without improvements. I always receive more features for the same price.
What needs improvement with Linode?
I am not satisfied with the customization options from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) because I still haven't tried any new capabilities provided by them yet. I am still keeping it as a virtual se...
What is your primary use case for Linode?
My use case for Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode) involves using the servers, specifically for servers. I am using the virtual server from Akamai Connected Cloud (Linode). I have more than one virtua...
 

Also Known As

Thunder ADC, AX Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

123inkt.nl, Bentley University, Box, Brainshark, Buienradar, Capgemini, CGN/LSN & NAT64, Chengdu Telecom, Club One, Code Ready, CRC Health Group, Cyso, Deutsche Telekom, Earth Class Mail, Excite, FFF Enterprises, Florence County, Framingham State University, From30
Best Buy, Panasonic, Giphy, Marco Polo, World Health Organization, Font Squirrel
Find out what your peers are saying about F5, HAProxy, NetScaler and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: April 2026.
892,287 professionals have used our research since 2012.