F5 BIG-IQ vs vCenter Orchestrator comparison

F5 and Broadcom are both solutions in the Process Automation category. F5 is ranked #25 with an average rating of 8.7, while Broadcom is ranked #8 with an average rating of 8.0. F5 holds a 0.4% mindshare in PA, compared to Broadcom’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 75% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IQ

Read 15 F5 BIG-IQ reviews

350 Views
347 Comparison Views

75% willing to recommend

vCenter Orchestrator

Read 51 vCenter Orchestrator reviews

848 Views
170 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IQ

vCenter Orchestrator

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

vCenter Orchestrator and F5 BIG-IQ are part of the automation and management category, with vCenter Orchestrator thriving in VMware environments, whereas F5 BIG-IQ excels in managing F5 Networks appliances. F5 BIG-IQ is considered superior due to its comprehensive features, while vCenter Orchestrator stands out for its cost-effectiveness and support.

Features: vCenter Orchestrator offers workflow automation, scalable solutions, and seamless integration within VMware environments, with features like Distributed Resource Scheduler and efficient VM management. It simplifies management activities significantly. F5 BIG-IQ provides centralized management for F5 BIG-IP devices, notable for its load balancing capabilities, web application firewall (WAF), and streamlined operations management via a singular dashboard.

Room for Improvement: vCenter Orchestrator could enhance mobile administration, cross-platform compatibility, and workflow simplicity. Better integration with third-party systems and improved support response times are also recommended. F5 BIG-IQ users suggest enhancing integration with third-party products and easing interface complexity for those less versed in networking, alongside considering pricing adjustments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both solutions typically see on-premises deployments, with vCenter Orchestrator often utilized in hybrid settings. Users generally appreciate technical support for both products, but some note speed issues in response times for vCenter Orchestrator, with VMware support gaining higher regard overall while suggesting faster issue escalation.

Pricing and ROI: vCenter Orchestrator is often viewed as expensive but can offer significant ROI within larger VMware ecosystems due to its virtualization benefits. In contrast, F5 BIG-IQ is seen as more affordable, with its inclusive licensing offering all necessary features in a single fee, often resulting in good ROI for larger setups.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator

September 2025

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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-IQ

Ranking in Process Automation

25th

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

vCenter Orchestrator

Ranking in Process Automation

8th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Process Automation category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IQ is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of vCenter Orchestrator is 0.3%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Process Automation Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
vCenter Orchestrator	0.3%
F5 BIG-IQ	0.4%
Other	99.3%

Process Automation

Featured Reviews

Bikale Kassu

Manager for Implementation and Administration at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Has faced challenges with visibility and technical support but allows centralized management of multiple sites

The configuration part is complex for F5 BIG-IQ. The simplicity and visibility part needs improvement. The dashboard, especially the analytics part, needs to be more simple and presentable. For the security part, it is difficult to present to our management, so we have to capture it and prepare manual reporting options rather than getting them directly from the system. The automation part in F5 BIG-IQ is limited; we are still using it only for load balancing for some services. We haven't integrated it with our Accesso or implemented any automation options. The setup process for F5 BIG-IQ would rate a five out of ten.

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Gerhard Gmelch

IT architect endpoint at Rohde & Schwarz

Enhance automation efficiency with cost-effective graphical workflow design

I use vCenter Orchestrator for automation purposes, specifically to run automation workbooks The most valuable features are the graphical UI for designing the workflows and the interfaces that come out of the box. Additionally, it is included in the VMware Vitalization Stack, which means there…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The customer service is great."

"F5 BIG-IQ is a central management system for the BIG-IP."

"We mainly use F5 BIG-IQ to protect our web-based applications, such as our email and website, so we use it as a web-based application firewall for those services."

"The most valuable features are load balancing and WAF."

"F5 BIG-IQ has always provided us with great support."

"The product is excellent."

"We use this solution on a daily basis, and it is very stable."

"Features like AFM, the gateway, and Global DNS are the coolest features that save work for us."

More F5 BIG-IQ pros

"I find that managing all my vCenters from one console is the most valuable feature."

"The most valuable feature for us is the performance stability of vCenter Orchestrator, especially in complex situations, making it excellent for managing virtual machines."

"The solution is pretty stable and reliable."

"The most valuable features are the graphical UI for designing the workflows and the interfaces that come out of the box."

"vCenter Orchestrator is easy to use."

"The solution's most valuable feature is its good automation features."

"The solution was easy to install."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is availability."

More vCenter Orchestrator pros

Cons

"I had trouble with high availability deployment in my environment."

"F5 BIG-IQ is a complex solution, and it cannot manage everything related to BIG-IPs."

"The solution should improve pricing. It's expensive in comparison to other American solutions."

"The solution's rSeries has been made free, and iSeries should be made free as well."

"Sometimes the solution does not work."

"A bug caused me to lose all the configuration."

"For stability, F5 BIG-IQ rates a two or three because currently we are integrating it with our third party as a port forwarding service. We created many VIPs, but on average, weekly, we lose three to five connections, making the troubleshooting part a headache for us."

More F5 BIG-IQ cons

"We would like more flexibility in sizing data storage and virtual machines, as the current options aren't very adaptable."

"The product’s cost needs improvement."

"There are some update-related issues with the product."

"A feature to review and setup tasks should be added."

"I would like to see more automation added in the future."

"After the change from perpetual licensing to subscriptions, the cost model changed."

"The only point for improvement is the price, which has increased by 135%, making it very expensive."

"VMware tools would benefit from more automation. When installing our devices and servers, we often need to install the VMware tools manually. This process should be automated during the VM installation process."

More vCenter Orchestrator cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution."

"I would like the product to be cheaper."

"Users have to pay an annual subscription fee for the solution's iSeries."

"There is only one licensing fee for F5 BIG-IQ and everything is included in the price."

"Our licensing is on a yearly basis. We pay for the license and then we pay the support every year."

"This solution is expensive and the licensing is more attractive for Haveri."

"The product is expensive."

"The price is reasonable, and one of the reasons that this product was selected."

"My company needs to make yearly payments towards the licensing costs attached to the product."

"vCenter Orchestrator is a very expensive solution."

"The concept of hyper-convergence is smart. I don't know if it can be applied with less cost to be more affordable for small or medium-sized companies. The cost is a very important factor for it. We are currently depending on SAN storage. However, the hyper-converged solutions are depending on the storage within the hosts, such as vSAN in the VMware. It is a smart solution."

"My organization didn't have to pay extra for vCenter Orchestrator. It was already included, so it's basically free. Even VMware regular support is included."

More vCenter Orchestrator pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

No data available

Computer Software Company

20%

Manufacturing Company

Performing Arts

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	4

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	18
Midsize Enterprise	13
Large Enterprise	20

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IQ?

F5 BIG-IQ is a central management system for the BIG-IP.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 BIG-IQ?

F5 BIG-IQ is a cheap solution.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IQ?

The product is really good with no significant downsides. However, better and simpler integration with ACI could improve the product.

See all answers

What do you like most about vCenter Orchestrator?

The stability of the product is very good.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for vCenter Orchestrator?

We're running a low-profile budget. This is not our main focus on investment technology, so we're trying to reduce costs due to the change from perpetual to subscription licenses.

See all answers

What needs improvement with vCenter Orchestrator?

For our environment, I do not see any areas of vCenter Orchestrator that could be improved or enhanced. We are currently satisfied with the orchestrator. If any improvements are needed, I will prov...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 100% of the time

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VMware Cloud Director vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 23% of the time

Microsoft System Center Orchestrator vs vCenter Orchestrator

Compared 12% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ

October 2025

Download F5 BIG-IQ product report

Buyer's Guide

vCenter Orchestrator

September 2025

Download vCenter Orchestrator product report

Overview

F5® BIG-IQ® Centralized Management provides a unified point of visibility and control for the entire F5 portfolio, ensuring administrators remain aware on the pulse of F5 devices, modules, and licenses and enabling them to deliver optimal application availability, performance, and security.

BIG-IQ manages policies,licenses, SSL certificates, BIG-IP images, and configurations for F5 appliances and for the following BIG-IP moduals across hardware and virtual editions:

BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager™ (LTM)
F5 Advanced Web Application Firewall™ (WAF)
BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager™ (AFM)
F5 SSL Orchestrator®
F5 DDoS Hybrid Defender®
BIG-IP Access Policy Manager® (APM)
F5 Secure Web Gateway Services
BIG-IP DNS

VMware vCenter Orchestrator simplifies the automation of complex IT tasks and integrates with VMware vCloud Suite components to adapt and extend service delivery and operational management, effectively working with existing infrastructure, tools and processes.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Beiersdorf Shared Services

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IQ vs. vCenter Orchestrator

September 2025

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