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Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) 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

Barracuda Load Balancer ADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
14th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Man...
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
123
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is 14.9%, down from 15.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)14.9%
Barracuda Load Balancer ADC2.0%
Other83.1%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

MB
Network and Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC
Balances loads efficiently and saves costs but could improve initial setup
The typical use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC involves managing and distributing network traffic efficiently to maintain system performance. Clients use Barracuda Load Balancer ADC for its ability to handle and balance loads across servers I have seen improvements in Barracuda Load…
Bonieber  Orofeo - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital
Identifying compromised traffic and securing data has been a significant advantage
One of the most beneficial features of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is its ability to identify compromised traffic and its capabilities in authentication. Additionally, the security aspect of it provides a significant advantage as it helps us secure our data, which is a major investment and benefit for us. Before using this system, we had difficulties in storing our data and managing the traffic that comes in and out.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is simple and powerful. I find the Barracuda Load Balancer ADC's load balancing function most valuable. It balances the traffic well. The security features, like the Web Application Firewall, are also very helpful."
"I would rate the stability of Barracuda Load Balancer as a ten out of ten; it has high stability."
"The price is very good, and it's not very expensive."
"Barracuda's technical support is good - whenever we have an issue, they immediately connect and resolve it."
"The most useful features in Barracuda Load Balancer are its security capabilities, load balancing efficiency, and scalability."
"It offers features Kemp doesn't provide. For example, there are predefined templates for handling Office 365. You can download them for automatic configuration."
"The configuration and integration into the AWS environment was pretty easy."
"The combination of ADC and WAN is the most valuable feature."
"The most valuable features of the solution are in the area of DDoS and WAF."
"One of the best features of the solution is the operating system."
"It is stable."
"In my team, we work in a very agile environment and the solutions from BIG-IP, including BIG-IP WAF, suit us well when developing and serving our applications."
"The detail that you have available when setting up iRules."
 

Cons

"The Barracuda Load Balancer ADC could be improved with more customization features. For example, F5 uses iRules for custom configurations. I haven't found something similar in Barracuda yet. The load balancer and WAF's basic and common features are enough, but we need more customization options."
"There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic."
"The quality of the solution's performance could be improved."
"There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic."
"Load Balancer ADC is competitively priced, but it's not feature-rich, and its technology is not that advanced."
"The product is expensive."
"The SharePoint SSO part has some room for improvement."
"In the LTM solution, it would be beneficial to have more algorithms for traffic segmentation or the ability to create user-defined algorithms rather than being restricted to predefined ones."
"The setup is a little bit complex."
"I'm not very sure about the security with F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM). We have our own private data center, but we are going to migrate our private data center into the Azure cloud environment. Security will then be a major concern when we migrate our own whole infrastructure to the public cloud."
"F5 could improve the rule-setting capabilities in the GUI, and they need to simplify web management. For example, the menus in the Citrix GUI are easier to navigate, with a clean structure and layout."
"There are not very many areas for improvement, but the price is high."
"I would like there to be more device security. I would like the tool to support SSL links, along with SSL and TLS."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Load Balancer ADC is cost-effective and is about half the price of F5."
"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."
"F5 isn’t cheap but is worth the price."
"BIG-IP LTM isn't a cheap solution - I'd rate its pricing as three out of five."
"Try to negotiate all the software features that you require upfront."
"It is cheaper than the average on the market."
"I use a yearly subscription, which is the most expensive one now compared to its competitors."
"F5 is more expensive than other solutions, so you have to be sure F5 is the best solution to fit the requirements."
"The price of F5 BIG-IP LTM could improve."
"The price should be reduced because it is expensive when compared to the competition."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Media Company
10%
Government
7%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
9%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business62
Midsize Enterprise32
Large Enterprise85
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
Pricing for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC can be a consideration. However, it offers good value with its cost-saving benefits and efficient operation, balancing the initial financial outlay.
What needs improvement with Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic. Also, more could be done to enhance the initial setup, as it can be c...
What is your primary use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?
The typical use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC involves managing and distributing network traffic efficiently to maintain system performance. Clients use Barracuda Load Balancer ADC for its a...
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP?
The pricing of F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) is on the higher side compared to competitors, but it is worth it.
What is your primary use case for F5 BIG-IP?
Our main use cases involve multiple applications, so we are using F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) services, and we are using WAF and ASM services to secure those applications and load balance...
 

Also Known As

Barracuda Load Balancer
F5 BIG-IP, BIG-IP LTM, F5 ASM, Viprion, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition , Crescendo Networks Application Delivery Controller, BIG IP
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Fenwal Blood Technologies
Riken, TransUnion, Tepco Systems Administration, Daejeon University, G&T Bank, Danamon, CyberAgent Inc.
Find out what your peers are saying about Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs. F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
882,260 professionals have used our research since 2012.