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Kemp LoadMaster vs NGINX Plus comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Kemp LoadMaster
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
7th
Average Rating
9.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.5
Number of Reviews
49
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX Plus
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
5th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
7.8
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Kemp LoadMaster is 7.5%, up from 7.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 8.5%, down from 9.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

PeterForster - PeerSpot reviewer
A highly stable and scalable load-balancing software that offers great technical support
My company is really happy with Kemp LoadMaster as a product. My company is also happy with the support we receive from Kemp LoadMaster. I want Kemp LoadMaster to provide users with better reporting capabilities in relation to TCP packets. In general, the connections that are present in the system require improvement. Feature-wise, Kemp LoadMaster has everything that our company's customers require. Kemp LoadMaster also has features that have supported our company's past projects.
Ritesh-Bakhru - PeerSpot reviewer
Quick installation and very easy to manage while doing orchestration or automation
NGINX cannot be a replacement for your traditional load balancer with what we use in the network today. However, with applications going toward microservices, NGINX is definitely a way forward. F5 has many traditional load balancing features, so they still need to bring some of those features to NGINX. NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5. I think F5 is trying to implement those features in NGINX so they can improve the balancing on NGINX, but I think that will take some time. With the traditional F5 set up, the same OS can do load balancing, firewalls, and even policy enforcement. If we are able to bring some of those capabilities to NGINX, I think it would become a versatile solution and usage would definitely increase.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features for us are the Load Balancing and Web Application Firewall, as we have a lot of web applications."
"I like that this is a Network Load Balancer that can be used practically with any application in the backend. They have how-to guides on how to set up Kemp NLB with Exchange, but you can use it as well for Sharepoint, RDS, or any other back end server."
"The security features are the most valuable features of this solution."
"LoadMaster is easy to deploy and understand."
"There is a simplicity to the setup and configuration."
"The DNS Load Balancer makes it so that I don't have to worry about site failures."
"Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...I rate the technical support a ten out of ten...The initial setup of Kemp LoadMaster is very simple."
"Managing and maintaining multiple servers is done in a single place."
"This solution has everything."
"Nginx is extremely efficient in terms of the connection rate to the CPU cycles ratio, and in terms of the bandwidth to CPU cycles."
"​Zero Downtime has always been a strength in recommending infrastructure web services. NGINX allows me to execute such infrastructure with less complications and the ability to switch from server to server easily.​"
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is simple to configure."
"Using NGINX Plus for web traffic distribution is fantastic. It offers performance similar to physical load balancers but with added flexibility."
"Valuable features include authentication, caching, reverse proxy routing, and load balancing."
"Its versatility and capabilities make it invaluable for implementing patches and fixes when necessary."
"The robust software architecture allows for it to be scalable and very stable."
 

Cons

"SNMP and/or RESTCONF management, in order to collect many counters, for plotting in a central application need to be improved."
"The only thing that I miss is that the TMG server was giving me live information about who is connected and what is the request about."
"The product could be improved by making the SSL Offloading easier."
"Some documentation is out of date versus the new version, and things have been moved​."
"The configuration of the basic services is pretty straight forward but for more complex solutions, there needs to be better documentation or knowledge base articles."
"I think there should be more visual instructions on how to configure advanced features."
"I really don't like the way the logs are presented in the software."
"In my opinion, the layer seven loads balancing that we're mainly using for web servers, doesn't seem to pick up when there are issues at the application level."
"The solution needs to be easier to setup and deploy."
"The center management system could be improved."
"The solution's GUI is an area with certain shortcomings that need improvement."
"Only improvement needed that I would point to is scalability. With it, I mean clusterized organisation on a low level. At the moment, the best alternative is RHEL HA."
"The scalability could be improved."
"NGINX is a very basic load balancer and cannot do as many customizations as F5."
"They should do in the open source version of what they did to Advanced HTTP, TCP, and UDP load balancing."
"The KPI should be more focused on load balancing and the latency in application calling from the end system."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Currently, no cost is involved with a virtual load balancer. They have used open source. We did not pay for software. We paid for the expertise. We are only paying the consulting charges, which are very reasonable, that is, around a thousand dollars."
"The price of the solution is cheap."
"It has a great price for the solution they offer."
"Nowadays, going with the virtual appliance is the easiest way and the cost is reasonable."
"The product definitely provides what the organization needs and its cost is reasonable considering the value it brings."
"The license varies according to the number of megabits."
"Download Kemp's VLM trial and take it for a test drive; you will be impressed."
"The Kemp LoadMaster is a tremendous value."
"The price is the cost to contract support with a specialized company, usually during consulting hours.​"
"NGINX Plus is an open-source solution with limited additional features. When you try to get additional features in the solution, then you need to pay an extra amount to NGINX Plus."
"I use the solution's community edition which is free of cost."
"Nginx is free. I don't have experience with the Plus version."
"It's an open source solution, so it's free."
"​NGINX Plus is worth it, if you need it. If you do not need the features or support, the free and open source package is more than capable. ​"
"The solution is free, but you can spend a lot of money with a complex solution."
"I am not so happy with their pricing policy, but this is not the worse thing in my life. I can tolerate it."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
64%
Computer Software Company
7%
Government
4%
Financial Services Firm
3%
Computer Software Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
17%
Government
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Kemp LoadMaster?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten...I rate the technical support a ten out of ten...The initial setup of Kemp LoadMaster is very simple.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Kemp LoadMaster?
LoadMaster is cheaper than some other solutions. It has a perpetual license, so it's a one-time cost.
What needs improvement with Kemp LoadMaster?
My company is really happy with Kemp LoadMaster as a product. My company is also happy with the support we receive from Kemp LoadMaster. I want Kemp LoadMaster to provide users with better reportin...
Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?
IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...
What do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX Plus?
There's an open-source version of NGINX that is free. There's also NGINX Plus, which is a paid version with additional features.
 

Also Known As

LoadMaster Load Balancer
NGINX
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Kent County Council, KEMP, SMA Solar Technology AG, RT€ Player , Victrix (Quebec, Canada), Texas A&M, Macmillan Cancer Support, Cisco, Austin Bank
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about Kemp LoadMaster vs. NGINX Plus and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.