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F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs Ivanti Connect Secure 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:
 

Categories and Ranking

F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Man...
Ranking in SSL VPN
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
17
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (17th), Network Access Control (NAC) (8th), Remote Access (10th), Access Management (10th)
Ivanti Connect Secure
Ranking in SSL VPN
1st
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (10th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the SSL VPN category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) is 13.3%, down from 16.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Ivanti Connect Secure is 22.9%, up from 19.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
SSL VPN
 

Featured Reviews

Ashish Kumar Rai - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers remote access control, good GUI and easy to configure
I'd suggest improved documentation integration directly within the GUI. Right now, finding comprehensive documentation often requires going to external websites like the community portal. In the APM interface itself, they could add direct hyperlinks to relevant online documentation. This would provide easy access to admin guides and other resources when working within the GUI.
Johan Derycke - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable remote access and tunneling enhance work efficiency, but upgrade processes need improvement
Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used. On the client side, browser-initiated sessions are complex and require a more robust approach for non-admin users.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The load balancing features are valuable."
"I recommend F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) to others due to its reliability, and it is perceived as critical to security infrastructure."
"I rate the overall solution nine out of ten."
"We have seen a return on investment from F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager. It provided access at a time when we didn't have it."
"F5 BIG-IP APM is relatively easy to use."
"This is a product that is easy to install and integrate, and it is simple to use."
"A lot of features are useful to me, including mostly the authentication, SAML, or SSO, with no sign-on."
"The product allows us to create customized portals for your users."
"The most valuable feature is being able to securely connect and use virtual desktops."
"Ivanti Connect Secure provides the feature to check and ensure that employee devices are compliant before allowing them to access the VPN."
"What I like the most about Pulse Connect Secure is that it's user-friendly. It's easy to use. You just need to connect, and that's it."
"I can safely say this is one of the best solutions I have seen for VPN access. It can achieve what other vendors may not be able to. This product will train you about exactly what an SSL should be. You can leverage it to do whatever you wish, the way you wish to do it. This is the solution if you want a perfectly scalable product for your enterprise that can help your mobile users and integrate with the latest technologies."
"The most robust and reliable feature of Ivanti Connect Secure is the VPN tunneling, using both the Pulse and the Ivanti client."
"This is a very secure and stable tool."
"The new UI that they are providing right now is very good."
"The stability of the product is its most valuable feature."
 

Cons

"The technical support’s response time must be improved."
"The solution’s GUI looks very old."
"The solution is quite costly."
"I have had a lot of issues in the past few months with the agents, which was disappointing."
"We do not have knowledgeable support teams locally."
"The operational deployment is not great."
"The price of this product can be improved."
"If I could copy and paste objects instead of picking and configuring them from scratch each time, it would be great."
"The support team of the product needs improvement. Sometimes we have issues with multiple authentications, but there is no help from the support team."
"There is room for improvement. I'm concerned about the frequent vulnerabilities identified. As a security product, the number of vulnerabilities is concerning."
"The solution must be more user-friendly."
"The product's price is an area where improvements are required."
"We want to switch to another solution because there are some challenges with the support from Pulse. The quality of documentation is also not good. It is sometimes very hard to find documentation that provides a solution and describes how all this works."
"Ivanti needs improvement in its seamless upgrade and migration procedures, particularly with the browser components, which are fragile and sometimes cause issues depending on the Windows version, the browser version, and the different modules being used."
"Zero test FDP (Fraud Protection and Prevention) should be improved."
"The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product is very expensive."
"The tool is a little bit expensive."
"Recently, they have simplified the licensing"
"I rate the product price a six to seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price."
"A license is required for you to use Pulse Connect Secure, but I'm not aware of how much it costs."
"The cost of the product is high, but worth it because of the utility and great product support."
"The pricing for Pulse Connect Secure is not low and not high, so it's good. It's a six out of ten for me, price-wise."
"The pricing is quite nominal. We pay on a yearly basis."
"The price of Pulse Connect Secure is expensive."
"Pulse Connect Secure is relatively cost-effective."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
9%
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-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
In my opinion, the GUI is perfect with the configuration options provided. F5 BIG-IP has given customization options and policy configuration tools in the GUI. It's good and good enough to work.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 products are more expensive than other solutions but are valued for their quality and reliability, akin to purchasing a Bentley as opposed to an Audi.
What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM)?
F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM ( /categories/application-performance-monitoring-apm-and-observability )) does not have a direction for SaaS. Most solutions focus more on remote access and acc...
What do you like most about Pulse Connect Secure?
From an end-user perspective, the setup phase is easy.
What needs improvement with Pulse Connect Secure?
From our side, there is an issue when Windows updates. The security mechanisms of Ivanti Connect Secure are very slow to update. We expect them to provide weekly updates for compatibility with Wind...
 

Also Known As

F5 Access Policy Manager
Pulse Connect Secure
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Axcient, Baloise Group, Cygate, Catholic University of America, Datec Inc, Revlon, Santa Monica Networks, 7-Eleven
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) vs. Ivanti Connect Secure and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.