A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs Barracuda Load Balancer ADC comparison

A10 Networks and Barracuda Networks are both solutions in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category. A10 Networks is ranked #11 with an average rating of 9.0, while Barracuda Networks is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.0. A10 Networks holds a 5.4% mindshare in ADC, compared to Barracuda Networks’s 2.0% mindshare. Additionally, 90% of A10 Networks users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 80% of Barracuda Networks users who would recommend it.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Read 23 A10 Networks Thunder ADC reviews

1,975 Views
1,876 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Read 5 Barracuda Load Balancer ADC reviews

722 Views
700 Comparison Views

80% willing to recommend

A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

A10 Networks Thunder ADC and Barracuda Load Balancer ADC are competing products in the application delivery controller market. A10 Networks holds an advantage in robustness and scalability, while Barracuda is favored for its feature-rich interface.

Features: A10 Networks Thunder ADC is valued for its high performance, flexible device management, efficient SSL offloading, and global server load balancing. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC shines with comprehensive security features, traffic monitoring, and DDoS protection.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Deployment of Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is straightforward, with responsive support. A10 Networks Thunder ADC may require more specialized setup, potentially leading to a steeper learning curve.

Pricing and ROI: A10 Networks Thunder ADC typically involves a higher initial setup cost but is justified over time for larger enterprises. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC offers competitive pricing with a clear ROI, appealing to small to medium-sized businesses.

To learn more, read our detailed A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC Report (Updated: February 2026).

Buyer's Guide

A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

February 2026

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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)

11th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

14th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of A10 Networks Thunder ADC is 5.4%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Barracuda Load Balancer ADC is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
A10 Networks Thunder ADC	5.4%
Barracuda Load Balancer ADC	2.0%
Other	92.6%

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Featured Reviews

Nuwan Chathuranga

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.

Read full review

Moges Bekru

Network and Security Engineer at Malam Engineering PLC

Balances loads efficiently and saves costs but could improve initial setup

The typical use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC involves managing and distributing network traffic efficiently to maintain system performance. Clients use Barracuda Load Balancer ADC for its ability to handle and balance loads across servers I have seen improvements in Barracuda Load…

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution is flexible."

"The solution is user-friendly and the CLA troubleshooting is easier compared to other solutions."

"It is very useful to have a simple dashboard where you can login and look into what your traffic patterns are, then look and see what times of day you're experiencing the heaviest traffic. You can quickly identify if you are possibly having a security issue or security breach. It makes it very easy to use the box."

"It helps with the efficiency of application deployments and data security."

"Feature-wise, A10 Networks Thunder ADC is better for troubleshooting...Stability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten."

"The solution is stable."

"A10 Networks Thunder ADC is an easy-to-use and flexible solution."

"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."

More A10 Networks Thunder ADC pros

"The solution is simple and powerful. I find the Barracuda Load Balancer ADC's load balancing function most valuable. It balances the traffic well. The security features, like the Web Application Firewall, are also very helpful."

"The price is very good, and it's not very expensive."

"The most useful features in Barracuda Load Balancer are its security capabilities, load balancing efficiency, and scalability."

"Barracuda's technical support is good - whenever we have an issue, they immediately connect and resolve it."

"I would rate the stability of Barracuda Load Balancer as a ten out of ten; it has high stability."

Cons

"They need to make the user interface (GUI) a bit more usable and intuitive. Some features can be a little difficult to find at times. Sometimes, the workflow in the GUI doesn't match the workflow of an actual workflow. E.g., if I want to create a load balancer application, sometimes you've got to do things a bit out of order in the GUI in order to make it work right."

"A10 Networks Thunder ADC could improve on the Application Delivery Controller. it's not a fully-fledged web application firewall solution. For example, application data and support need to improve."

"It scaled well for our numbers, up to 3 million subscribers for our most crowded region but I would like to see the same scalability numbers for the virtualized version as well."

"Currently, the solution's WAF features are fewer. They should consider increasing their WAF features."

"In future updates, I would like to see better speed in the features of A10 Networks Thunder ADC."

"The costs can be quite high."

"The setup depends on certain situations. In certain scenarios, it may be more complex than others. For example, while the initial configuration may be easy, the environment itself may be complex and that may limit the ease of deployment. It is easy for those who understand their environment."

"The tool's load-balancing feature should improve."

More A10 Networks Thunder ADC cons

"Load Balancer ADC is competitively priced, but it's not feature-rich, and its technology is not that advanced."

"The Barracuda Load Balancer ADC could be improved with more customization features. For example, F5 uses iRules for custom configurations. I haven't found something similar in Barracuda yet. The load balancer and WAF's basic and common features are enough, but we need more customization options."

"There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic."

"The quality of the solution's performance could be improved."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There were budgetary constraints that keep us from investing in the single pane of glass traffic management feature. We saw a demo of this feature about a year to a year and a half ago."

"The price is good they are very comparative."

"The price of A10 Networks Thunder ADC depends on capacity and the customer's requirement. They have several offerings. They have different price models and options to choose from. Additionally, you need to subscribe to support for the hardware appliances."

"It is $7000 per unit for the support annually."

"The solution costs less than its competitors."

"You get a lot more for your dollar with A10."

"As for the initial investment in the hardware, F5 and A10 are quite similar now. For the current A10 solution, the initial cost was about $36,000. As for annual support, the F5 solution would be between $10,000 and $12,000, while the A10 is $2,200 a year for support."

"We previously had F5 and switched because of costs."

More A10 Networks Thunder ADC pricing and cost advice

"Load Balancer ADC is cost-effective and is about half the price of F5."

"I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Media Company

10%

Financial Services Firm

University

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	11

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...

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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...

See all answers

What do you like most about A10 Networks Thunder ADC?

A10 Networks Thunder ADC is an easy-to-use and flexible solution.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?

Pricing for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC can be a consideration. However, it offers good value with its cost-saving benefits and efficient operation, balancing the initial financial outlay.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?

There are areas of Barracuda Load Balancer's security that have room for improvement, particularly concerning handling traffic. Also, more could be done to enhance the initial setup, as it can be c...

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What is your primary use case for Barracuda Load Balancer ADC?

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Comparisons

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Compared 21% of the time

NetScaler vs A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Compared 19% of the time

Fortinet FortiADC vs A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Compared 11% of the time

Radware Alteon vs A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Compared 9% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs A10 Networks Thunder ADC

Compared 2% of the time

More A10 Networks Thunder ADC Competitors

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Compared 24% of the time

NetScaler vs Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Compared 24% of the time

Kemp LoadMaster vs Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Compared 12% of the time

VMWare Avi Load Balancer vs Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Compared 11% of the time

More Barracuda Load Balancer ADC Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

A10 Networks Thunder ADC

February 2026

Download A10 Networks Thunder ADC product report

Buyer's Guide

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

January 2026

Download Barracuda Load Balancer ADC product report

Also Known As

Thunder ADC, AX Series

Barracuda Load Balancer

Overview

A10 Networks Thunder ADC is a dynamic application delivery controller and advanced load balancer. Thunder ADC is a value-added solution provided by A10 Networks specializing in robust, trusted, scalable application services for cloud, hybrid, edge cloud, and on-premise environments focused on improving business processes and keeping infrastructures safe. The solution consistently provides server availability, improves content delivery, and protects at-risk applications. A10 Networks Thunder ADC easily controls hybrid and multi-cloud deployments using a Polynimbus strategy to minimize difficulties and costs for IT processes, facilitating overall improved business results.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC is effective for small to medium businesses (SMBs) to large enterprises. Service providers and cloud operators are all using A10 Network ADC to manage their large and fast-growing group of business-critical applications.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC supplies L4-7 load balancing with numerous layers of security using DNS and web app firewalls, comprehensive support for advanced encryption, single sign-on (SSO) authentication, and high-performance Perfect Forward Secrecy and Error Correction Code (PFS/ECC). Thunder ADC is designed upon A10 Networks Advanced Core Operating System (ACOS®) platform to provide consistent, efficient application performance and trusted security for any environment.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC Benefits

Consistently accessible: A10 Networks Thunder ADC employs numerous load balancing protocols to evenly distribute workloads to all servers and works to ensure constant application functionality. User requests are monitored to ensure loads are directed to the appropriate server so that there is always a proper response delivery to content. This process ensures the applications are consistently available.
Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB): To ensure business processes are fully optimized at all times, A10 Networks Thunder ADC employs a dynamic Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB) process to augment server load balancing capabilities throughout global data centers for high availability and improved user experience and application tolerance.
Fast content delivery: A10 Networks Thunder ADC conquers the general WAN latencies, chatty policies, and redundant software programs to ensure quick and responsive service. Employees receive a fast, excellent end-user experience while the organization's business leaders get exceeded SLA mandates and increased productivity with teams working remotely and a step up on the competition.

A10 Networks Thunder ADC Features

Detailed Analytics: When deployed with A10 Networks Harmony Controller, Thunder ADC delivers a large selection of detailed aggregate and per-request reports in real time. The reports include popular URLs, error and health indicators, latencies, and end-to-end response times. The data is further dissected to deliver per-app reporting, availability alerts, and performance.
API Coverage: Thunder ADC utilizes A10 Networks REST-based aXAPIs to structure all features with 100 percent API coverage. The resulting interface is then used to seamlessly integrate custom or third-party management solutions, such as VMware or other SDN platforms, OpenStack, Microsoft SCVMM, or other cloud orchestration systems. There are also software plug-ins available for private clouds utilizing VMware’s vRealize Orchestrator.
Comprehensive Management Controls: Thunder ADC is fully supported by A10 Networks Harmony Controller and can be deployed in software or as a software-as-a-service (SaaS). This controller functions as a native management platform that organizes and distributes application-centric service protocols and configuration data to numerous Thunder appliances and device cluster infrastructures throughout numerous multi-cloud environments. Users can instantly identify, audit and track every appliance using critical operational metrics, such as CPU, disk usage, device partitions, and end users. The A10 Networks Harmony Controller will also complete configuration backups and restore operations, and will schedule regular software upgrades.

A10 Networks

Barracuda Load Balancer is ideal for organizations looking for a high-performance, yet cost-effective application delivery and security solution. With the broadest range of hardware and virtual models, Barracuda Load Balancer provides maximum flexibility for organizations looking to build highly secure and scalable application infrastructure, whether it's deployed on-premises or in the cloud.

Barracuda Networks

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

Fenwal Blood Technologies

Buyer's Guide

A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

February 2026

Free Report: A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC

Find out what your peers are saying about A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. Barracuda Load Balancer ADC and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.

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