Path.net vs F5 BIG-IP
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Path.net and F5 BIG-IP.
Quick Verdict
3.4/5
Path.net
0 reviews
3.2/5
F5 BIG-IP
0 reviews
Path.net is rated higher (3.4 vs 3.2). 12 Tbps of network capacity across 22 internet hubs F5 BIG-IP provides hardware and software load balancing, application delivery, and DDoS mitigation for large-scale enterprise networks. Best for organizations requiring advanced traffic management and security.
Path.net BGP DDoS protection with anycast routing | F5 BIG-IP Enterprise load balancing and DDoS protection for mission-critical infrastructure | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.4 (0 reviews)✓ | 3.2 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Game hosts, VoIP providers, web hosts and network operators facing volumetric L3/L4 attacks who need BGP scrubbing without buying hardware. | Large enterprises, financial services, healthcare, government and service providers consolidating high-traffic application delivery, WAF, SSL offload and DDoS mitigation on one audited platform |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Tags | ||
| Tags | ddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | ddos protectionteam features |
| Visit Path.net → | Visit F5 BIG-IP → | |
Path.net
Pros
- + Pure-play BGP scrubbing with 12 Tbps published capacity over 22 hubs
- + Stateful patented firewall plus XDP/eBPF line-rate filtering, layers 3-7
- + No under-attack fees; same-day setup with no hardware
- + Tier 3 24x7 support and an engineering-led sales process
- + Customer base of hosts, VoIP and infrastructure operators signals real mitigation experience
Cons
- - No public price list and no published SLA we could find
- - Small company (11-50 employees) — probe support depth and references
- - Narrow scope: scrubbing and BGP, not WAF/CDN/application security
- - Region map unpublished; EU and APAC node locations unverified
F5 BIG-IP
Pros
- + Consolidates load balancing, SSL/TLS offload, WAF, firewall/DoS mitigation, access/VPN and DNS on one policy engine
- + Thirty-year reliability track record in banks, carriers and governments; mature HA clustering
- + Full-proxy architecture with programmable iRules for traffic logic that generic load balancers cannot express
- + Runs everywhere: hardware appliances, VIPRION/VELOS chassis, and Virtual Edition on VMware, KVM, Hyper-V and major clouds
- + Dual-stack IPv6 support and ICSA-certified firewall with automatic and dynamic DoS signature handling
Cons
- - Very expensive: throughput-tiered licenses, module add-ons and six-figure support contracts
- - No public list pricing — real cost only emerges through partner sales processes
- - Steep learning curve: its own OS (TMOS), its own DSL (iRules/TCL, AS3) and its own upgrade rituals
- - Overkill for simple HTTP load balancing where cloud-native or open-source options cost a fraction
- - Company is steering toward subscription and Distributed Cloud; multi-year renewal terms need pinning down
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