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A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs Akamai Ion comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

A10 Networks Thunder ADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
9th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Akamai Ion
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
15th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of A10 Networks Thunder ADC is 5.7%, up from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Akamai Ion is 2.0%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
A10 Networks Thunder ADC5.7%
Akamai Ion2.0%
Other92.3%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

NC
Head Of Technical And Network Security at Connex Information Technologies
Global load balancing has improved reliability and currently reduces latency across multi-cloud
I have experience with AWS, and I also have experience with both AWS and Azure, and sometimes GCP as well. We utilize multi-cloud support with A10 Networks Thunder ADC. We have customers utilizing A10 Networks Thunder ADC in the public cloud as well. I didn't technically involve myself with analytics in A10 Networks Thunder ADC because I haven't been involved in that part in the past few years. According to my team, the analytics tools are quite prominent, so there are no issues there. We have a distributorship with A10 Networks and are considered a partner. I would rate this review 9 out of 10.
HarshBhardiya - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Reliable bot management with valuable traffic analytics and good delivery configuration
We are using Akamai Ion primarily for CDN services. It is more about delivery configuration, and for security, we use Akamai WAF security controls and Botman Akamai Ion helps protect us from DOS, SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and scraping tools. Real-time analytics are very helpful for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The SLB and GSLB load balancing are the most valuable features. They meet our need to do server-side load balancing and global site load balancing so we can distribute traffic, not only intra-data center, but inter-data center."
"With A10, we have a very robust load balancing solution that is capable, like F5, of iRule or aFleX scripting."
"It solved the CGNAT performance issues and, within two years, it had no problems and no outages."
"Beyond the standard ADC feature, what really stands out to me about A10 Networks Thunder ADC is how customizable, performant, and automated the platform is."
"A10 Networks Thunder ADC fits quite seamlessly into my overall workflow, and once it is set up, it became more of a set-it-and-monitor-it, autopilot mode component rather than something I constantly have to tweak."
"Compared to F5, which I used about six years ago, the A10 is much easier when routing. You don't have to use the wildcard bits to route it between the different segments. It's much less troublesome to configure."
"The ADCs are pretty straightforward and easy to use. There is a GUI base where you can go in and see everything, but they also have a CLI base where you can use a command and get the information that you want, very fast."
"Feature-wise, A10 Networks Thunder ADC is better for troubleshooting...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."
"The most valuable feature is bot management."
"Akamai is easy to use and very effective."
 

Cons

"Maybe one concrete thing that they can improve on is their two-factor authentication."
"There is two-factor authentication built-in, but it could be more robust."
"There is room for improvement in the upgrading process. Sometimes we have to contact A10 for verification of some stuff."
"When it comes to support, there is always room for improvement. First call resolution is not always there for urgent issues. The first call resolution is something that could be improved upon."
"The solution should add automation features in the next release."
"A graphical dashboard for analyzing performance is needed."
"DDoS protection is one kind of extra feature in A10 Networks Thunder ADC solution, but I see that in the inbuilt solution, the data classification part is pending there, creating a gap between the DDoS and the data classification parts."
"There is room for improvement in the GUI. I just migrated from the 2.7 software train to the 4.1, and there are still people on 2.7. The latter is a very old GUI if you compare it to F5. It's not as easy to use and a lot of things are missing. They've made a lot of improvements in the 4.1 step, but compared to the ease of use of F5, it's still quite difficult. For people who haven't got a lot of experience, the GUI can be quite challenging."
"Log management should display data for more than two months."
"The product must provide more flexibility."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We just pay for support in addition to our licensing."
"We did try out the solution’s Harmony analytics and visibility controller for its one-year trial. Due to the cost, we chose not to keep it onsite."
"You get a lot more for your dollar with A10."
"The pricing is fine, considering the features they are providing. If you are an individual user, they'll price the product differently compared to how they price the product that is sold to an organization."
"It is $7000 per unit for the support annually."
"The solution costs less than its competitors."
"The price is good they are very comparative."
"The price of the maintenance support is too expensive."
"The tool is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
8%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Educational Organization
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business14
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise18
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
I would recommend A10 Networks due that it delivers high performance in a small form factor to reduce OPEX with significantly lower power usage, rack space, and cooling requirements compared to oth...
Do you recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
I do recommend A10 Networks Thunder ADC. It's very user-friendly, easy to configure, and flexible. It is a very useful solution - especially now, when a lot of employees are working remotely. I hav...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for A10 Networks Thunder ADC is a question for another department, not for me.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai Ion?
The billing cycle is monthly, however, payment is done yearly. While expensive, it provides value for the services offered.
What needs improvement with Akamai Ion?
Log management should display data for more than two months. The traffic report needs to be more flexible. The response time of technical support should be improved.
What is your primary use case for Akamai Ion?
We are using Akamai Ion primarily for CDN services. It is more about delivery configuration, and for security, we use Akamai WAF security controls and Botman.
 

Also Known As

Thunder ADC, AX Series
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

123inkt.nl, Bentley University, Box, Brainshark, Buienradar, Capgemini, CGN/LSN & NAT64, Chengdu Telecom, Club One, Code Ready, CRC Health Group, Cyso, Deutsche Telekom, Earth Class Mail, Excite, FFF Enterprises, Florence County, Framingham State University, From30
Eurail, Boston Scientific
Find out what your peers are saying about A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Akamai Ion and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.