Radware vs F5 BIG-IP
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Radware and F5 BIG-IP.
Quick Verdict
3.1/5
Radware
0 reviews
3.2/5
F5 BIG-IP
0 reviews
F5 BIG-IP is rated higher (3.2 vs 3.1). Radware delivers DDoS mitigation, WAF, and bot management for enterprises. Protects web applications and infrastructure from volumetric attacks, Layer 7 exploits, and malicious automation at scale. 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.
Radware Enterprise DDoS protection and application security platform | F5 BIG-IP Enterprise load balancing and DDoS protection for mission-critical infrastructure | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.1 (0 reviews) | 3.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | paid |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Enterprises, financial services, government and service providers with an existing security function that need hybrid or on-premises DDoS enforcement and can fund an enterprise security contract. | 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 protectionteam features | ddos protectionteam features |
| Visit Radware → | Visit F5 BIG-IP → | |
Radware
Pros
- + Deploy on-premises, always-on cloud, on-demand or hybrid under one policy model
- + Emergency Response Team managed service included with the cloud DDoS tiers
- + 30 Tbps of scrubbing capacity across 25 fully connected centers with Anycast routing
- + DefensePro X keeps traffic inspection and TLS keys on premises while using cloud-scale attack intelligence
- + Long public track record — NASDAQ-listed since 1999, 12,500+ customers claimed across 80+ countries
Cons
- - No public pricing; published list prices put serious tiers in the six-figure annual class
- - Assumes an in-house security team for tuning, thresholds and policy management
- - Product sprawl — WAF, bot management and Web DDoS Protection are separate line items
- - Poor fit for startups and mid-market buyers who need self-service onboarding
- - Scrubbing center locations and contractual SLA numbers are not published
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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