Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) pros and cons

Vendor: F5

4.2 out of 5

26 reviews
95% willing to recommend

Pros & Cons summary

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) excels in network security, blocking attacks and enhancing performance with load balancing and web application firewall. Signature base and IP intelligence offer traffic monitoring, while DDoS safety and CGNAT strengthen network stability. Despite excellent customer service, AFM's high pricing and complex deployment challenges, coupled with the need for better zero-day attack prevention and geolocation updates, may limit accessibility for some users in intricate environments.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager excels in providing superior network security by blocking various attacks and mitigating potential disasters.

It offers valuable features such as load balancing and web application firewall, enhancing application performance and preventing downtime.

Signature base and IP intelligence are effective for monitoring traffic and providing crucial security validation.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager's DDoS safety feature and CGNAT enhance the protection and stability of networks.

Customer service is exceptional, highlighting the solution's reliability and effectiveness in managing multiple security aspects.

CONS

The pricing of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is considered high, making it less accessible for some users.

The feature for geolocation relies on manual updates, which can lead to incorrect permissions if IPs and countries move and the database is not updated automatically.

The initial deployment and configuration can be time-consuming due to complex requirements and the need for heavy customization.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) came with challenges in the deployment phase, as the full implementation in complex environments can take extensive time.

There is a need for enhanced capabilities to prevent zero-day attacks, with comparisons made to other vendors who offer advanced technology in this area.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Pros review quotes

Computer & Network Security Professional at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Jun 26, 2019

I find the signature base is very helpful to see traffic

Read full review

DG

IT Service Delivery Manager at Consys.it

Aug 12, 2019

It blocks various attacks and mitigates disasters from occurring.

Read full review

Systems Engineer at Datasure Solutions

Sep 2, 2019

This product excells in every aspect from installation and the interface to providing superior network security.

Read full review

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.

882,410 professionals have used our research since 2012.

reviewer1189323

Senior Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Dec 4, 2019

We use three main features. The first one is access control. The second feature we use is called IP intelligence. Finally, we have a DDoS safety feature.

Read full review

reviewer1003632

Founder / Senior Security Architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Mar 3, 2020

The solution is very straightforward. The usability is great.

Read full review

reviewer1306038

Contracted IP Development Engineer at a media company with 10,001+ employees

Mar 23, 2020

The decryption is great.

Read full review

reviewer1434246

Technology Consultant / Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Nov 1, 2020

The most valuable feature of this solution is that the blocking of IP's.

Read full review

JM

Head: Cyber and Information Research Centre at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

May 8, 2022

The most valuable features of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) are the web gateway, load balancing, services, and applications available.

Read full review

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

Jun 24, 2022

Its performance and ease of use are valuable.

Read full review

OB

Executive of the Telecommunications Area at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Jul 6, 2022

The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP AFM is all of my workers enjoy using it.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 26)

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Cons review quotes

Computer & Network Security Professional at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Jun 26, 2019

We would have preferred to have support when we first started

Read full review

DG

IT Service Delivery Manager at Consys.it

Aug 12, 2019

We needed to protect the database but the solution didn't offer a certain feature to do so.

Read full review

Systems Engineer at Datasure Solutions

Sep 2, 2019

This would be absolutely the best network security solution if the price were not so high.

Read full review

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM). Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2026.

882,410 professionals have used our research since 2012.

reviewer1189323

Senior Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

Dec 4, 2019

Firstly, geolocation currently relies on manual updates. It has to move to automatic updates. There are no automatic updates for this feature. If some IPs, countries, or service providers move to another country, now you will be allow IPs that you previously denied. This is because you depend on the database, which doesn't update automatically. This is really a very important area that they need to improve.

Read full review

reviewer1003632

Founder / Senior Security Architect at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

Mar 3, 2020

The pricing of the solution could be a little bit better.

Read full review

reviewer1306038

Contracted IP Development Engineer at a media company with 10,001+ employees

Mar 23, 2020

Deployment times vary according to the customer. It needs to be heavily configured. You need to look and you need to observe the behavior of the traffic before you can start configuring everything. It can take time.

Read full review

reviewer1434246

Technology Consultant / Cloud Security Architect at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

Nov 1, 2020

Currently, we have eighty F5s and we need some kind of management software. It would be very helpful.

Read full review

JM

Head: Cyber and Information Research Centre at Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

May 8, 2022

The web gateway feature could improve in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM).

Read full review

Sr. Architect at NBC Universal

Jun 24, 2022

There should be simplified and better integration with BIG-IQ.

Read full review

OB

Executive of the Telecommunications Area at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Jul 6, 2022

The initial setup of F5 BIG-IP AFM in a complex environment was simple. However, the full deployment took us approximately one year.

Read full review

Show 10 more reviews (out of 26)

Product Categories

Product Categories

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Cloudflare vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Cloudflare One vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Imperva Application Security Platform vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Arbor DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Akamai App and API Protector vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Radware DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

AWS Shield vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

A10 Thunder TPS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

See all alternatives

Product Categories

Product Categories

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Popular Comparisons

Popular Comparisons

Cloudflare vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Cloudflare One vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Imperva Application Security Platform vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Arbor DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Akamai App and API Protector vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Radware DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

AWS Shield vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

A10 Thunder TPS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

See all alternatives

Related questions

33

We are looking at managed DNS providers and want to know what others are using

51

Prolexic vs. Arbor Networks: How do they compare?

227

How does a WAF help to protect against DDoS attacks?

145

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

39

DDoS solutions: Any other solutions to consider aside from Radware DDoS Protection Service and F5 Silverline DDoS Protection?

31

Which is the best DDoS solution and why?

26

When evaluating DDoS Protection, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?

42

What is the difference between denial of service and distributed denial of service?

94

How does BGP routing help to mitigate DDoS attacks?

52

How does a CDN protect against DDoS attacks?