AWS Application Load Balancer vs HAProxy
A detailed comparison to help you choose between AWS Application Load Balancer and HAProxy.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
AWS Application Load Balancer
0 reviews
4.5/5
HAProxy
0 reviews
HAProxy is rated higher (4.5 vs 4.0). AWS ALB provides Layer 7 load balancing with host and path-based routing, content-based routing, WebSocket support, and gRPC support. Integrates with ECS, EKS, and Lambda. HAProxy is a free, open source, high-performance TCP/HTTP load balancer. Handles 100,000+ concurrent connections. Used by Reddit, Tumblr, and AWS. Known for reliability over many years.
 AWS Application Load Balancer Layer 7 load balancer with path-based routing | HAProxy The reliable open source load balancer | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.5 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | usage-based | free |
| Starting price | From $0.0225/mo | Free✓ |
| Best for | AWS teams running microservices or containers who need Layer 7 routing with WAF integration and a contractual 99.99% Multi-AZ uptime commitment | Teams running their own infrastructure who want a proven, free, high-performance TCP/HTTP load balancer and are comfortable with configuration files |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | 39 AWS regions / 124 AZs across NA, SA, EU, ME, AF, APAC, ANZ | — |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | api accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit AWS Application Load Balancer → | Visit HAProxy → | |
AWS Application Load Balancer
Pros
- + Content-based routing (host, path, header, method) with HTTP/2, gRPC and WebSocket support
- + 99.99% Multi-AZ SLA with explicit 10/30/100% service credits — the strongest published in this category
- + Native IPv6, AWS WAF at the listener, Shield Standard DDoS protection at no extra charge
- + Deep ECS/EKS/Lambda/Auto Scaling integration with no glue code
Cons
- - LCU metering is hard to forecast — bills can double when traffic dimensions shift
- - An idle ALB still bills about $16.42/month before any traffic or data transfer charges
- - Requires AWS-specific knowledge (VPC, target groups, security groups, WAF rule groups)
- - Routing configuration does not port to other clouds — real vendor lock-in
HAProxy
Pros
- + Free and open source — no metering, no feature paywall
- + 25 years of production use at very large scale
- + Strong documented performance with lean memory use
- + Transparent LTS lifecycle with published end-of-life dates
- + Layer 4 and 7, HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, gRPC, Lua and a REST API
Cons
- - File-based configuration only — no GUI in the community edition
- - No support or SLA unless you buy HAProxy Enterprise
- - Advanced security (WAF, bot management) is an enterprise add-on or DIY
- - You bring the infrastructure — no managed service in the free tier
- - Linux-first; other platforms are second-class
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