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A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs NGINX Plus 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.9
A10 Networks Thunder ADC delivers cost-effective management and performance, simplifying configuration and reducing staffing needs for operational efficiency.
Sentiment score
7.5
NGINX Plus boosts website speed and reduces costs, offering superior flexibility and scalability, ensuring significant returns for organizations.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.4
A10 Networks Thunder ADC support is responsive and helpful, with quick resolutions and knowledgeable regional teams, despite occasional delays.
Sentiment score
6.9
NGINX Plus offers robust support with responsive engineers, though some lower-tier licenses experience delayed responses; documentation often suffices.
Response time is good because they have assigned and dedicated support engineers to us, and we have weekly cadence calls.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.3
A10 Networks Thunder ADC efficiently scales and integrates devices, managing traffic and business growth, but could improve some features.
Sentiment score
7.7
NGINX Plus is highly scalable and flexible, easily adapting to various enterprise needs and supporting multiple users and websites.
While some people use NGINX for web servers, my current use case focuses on networking and tunneling, which does not necessitate much scaling.
Senior Software Engineer at Checkit
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
A10 Networks Thunder ADC ensures high stability and uptime, supporting reliable performance for numerous users with minimal maintenance.
Sentiment score
7.8
NGINX Plus is highly stable and reliable, praised for connectivity and performance, despite some scalability challenges in clustering.
I require ninety-nine point nine percent uptime, and NGINX has been pivotal in helping me achieve this along with our other DNS services.
Senior Software Engineer at Checkit
 

Room For Improvement

A10 Networks Thunder ADC requires improvements in usability, security, integration, scalability, documentation, cloud support, automation, and pricing.
NGINX Plus users seek improved scalability, user-friendly interface, better integration, cost-effectiveness, advanced features, and enhanced support services.
NGINX could provide a means to generate self-signed SSL certificates.
Senior Software Engineer at Checkit
There were some vulnerabilities in F5.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
As with any application, there were initial issues, however, after receiving support, everything was rectified.
Executive Director at Geojit
 

Setup Cost

A10 Networks Thunder ADC is competitively priced with embedded licensing, easy setup, but variable ongoing support costs.
NGINX Plus has a modular licensing model with varying costs, offering value but can be expensive compared to alternatives.
My use case involves using the free and open-source version of NGINX, making it cost-effective as I haven't incurred any costs.
Senior Software Engineer at Checkit
The solution offers a cost advantage.
Executive Director at Geojit
 

Valuable Features

A10 Networks Thunder ADC provides high performance, robust security, and flexibility with easy configuration, supporting various cloud environments.
NGINX Plus excels in load balancing, security, and integration, praised for simplicity, efficiency, and superior traffic management features.
For API management, the WebSocket, and the WebServer, NGINX provides a cost advantage, value addition, and effective support.
Executive Director at Geojit
The web application firewall feature has helped enhance security for our applications because most of the attacks which are performed on our website are being blocked by it.
Senior Information Security Engineer at a tech company with 10,001+ employees
 

Categories and Ranking

A10 Networks Thunder ADC
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX Plus
Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
32
Ranking in other categories
Application Infrastructure (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of A10 Networks Thunder ADC is 5.6%, up from 5.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX Plus is 6.4%, down from 8.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
NGINX Plus6.4%
A10 Networks Thunder ADC5.6%
Other88.0%
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)
 

Featured Reviews

SD
Talent Acquisition Partner at Worldline Global
Provides flexibility and can be used for load balancing purposes
We use the solution for load balancing purposes A10 Networks Thunder ADC is an easy-to-use and flexible solution. The solution should add automation features in the next release. I have been using A10 Networks Thunder ADC for five to seven years. A10 Networks Thunder ADC is a stable solution.…
Michael Olayemi - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Software Engineer at Checkit
Enables public access and secure configurations through reverse proxy
The primary valuable feature of NGINX for me is its ability to provide a reverse proxy. I have found that this feature supports our local server, and I am able to connect through our DNS system, making it accessible publicly. Additionally, the integration with SSL certificates and the configuration capabilities make it a valuable solution for my use case. Without NGINX, users would not be able to access our application, which means there is positive ROI from using NGINX as it is crucial for the functioning of my organization.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions are best for your needs.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
7%
University
7%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
13%
Government
8%
Insurance Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business7
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise11
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business15
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise11
 

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 do you like most about A10 Networks Thunder ADC?
A10 Networks Thunder ADC is an easy-to-use and flexible solution.
Which is better - IIS or NGINX Plus?
IIS is a flexible, secure, and manageable web server to host anything on the web. IIS’s scalable and open architecture can handle the most demanding tasks. From media streaming to web applications,...
What do you like most about NGINX Plus?
It performs very well. That's one of the primary reasons we use NGINX.
 

Also Known As

Thunder ADC, AX Series
NGINX
 

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
Locaweb, AppNexus, Wix, Reliam, Montana Interactive, MuleSoft, Warpwire, Discovery Education, InkaBinka, WordPress.com, Gogo, GOV.UK, NASA
Find out what your peers are saying about A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs. NGINX Plus and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.
881,082 professionals have used our research since 2012.