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Citrix Intelligent Traffic Management [EOL] vs NetScaler comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 25, 2025

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

Citrix Intelligent Traffic ...
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NetScaler
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Network Management Applications (4th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (10th)
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer982137 - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager IT Technical Teams / Organizational Consulting at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
It's a robust and proven solution that we've been working with for many years
Citrix solutions are increasingly complex. I think this is a disadvantage for Citrix now. One or two weeks is long enough to implement Citrix's core products. However, you have to set up all features and user parameters, which takes one or two months. We need about 30 people to deploy and maintain this solution.
LD
Information Technology Division Director at Ethiopian Roads Administration
Offers better visibility into user sessions compared to other solutions
Improvements are needed to address the issue of machines becoming unregistered, ensuring stability for end users. Troubleshooting with Citrix support can be challenging, so clearer diagnostics would be beneficial. As for global server load balancing, it works well on-premises, depending on user volume and service stability. Overall, it's satisfactory for us.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"We use the HDX protocol, a high-performing component of the Citrix solutions. We also use provisioning to generate VM and NetScaler ADC solutions to propose access to applications for our customers."
"Content Switching provides flexibility for routing traffic as desired to designated real servers. It also provides good geo capabilities through its GSLB feature."
"Unified Gateway allows me to provide secure external access to applications for suppliers and customers while requiring Multi-Factor Authentication."
"The most valuable feature is load balancing."
"Citrix NetScaler offers robust security features, including SmartAccess and customizable policies, making it a reliable choice for safeguarding user data."
"I would say the rewriting and redirection functions are must-have's for us."
"This solution increases the backend network service performance, which is one of the things that we like the most."
"SSL Offload"
"The flexibility in configuration options is impressive."
 

Cons

"We discussed problems with the network products with the Indian teams. The support center for network products is located in India. There are language barriers and issues with the time difference, so we sometimes face restrictions when dealing with this team."
"I would like to see them make it easier to do some of the more complex things. For example, a web re-direct requires two pieces to it. You have two ports and when people want to go to a web page, they just type in the webpage that on the backend it will redirect them to a secure link. The initial setup of that is cumbersome because you have to do it twice. There are things that can be replicated. The IP address, for example, is the same. This change would go a long way. Don't make me do it twice and don't make me have to read tons of documentation to figure out how to do it. Ease of configuration for some of the more complex processes would be a good improvement."
"Technical support sometimes takes a little longer because of the multilevel ticket priority."
"They can improve the scalability and the multi-tenancy feature. We recently tried to configure an authentication, and we ran into some issues while using the web-based GUI. It was very slow when you log in with your credentials in the web-based GUI. Each time we clicked on the menu, it tried to do the authentication. It works properly in the console."
"It can be difficult to setup."
"I feel that Citrix NetScaler's customer support needs to improve."
"I am not an expert in this solution, but simplicity and user-friendly interfaces are crucial for me. I would appreciate advice from Citrix, particularly in the form of an interactive guide for API protection. It would be helpful if they could provide specific points and recommendations for cybersecurity, indicating areas that need attention or improvement. I find such interactive guidance valuable."
"Needs configuration processes like disabling LB VIPs, automatically disabling the IPs used."
"The product provides some templates to integrate with applications like MS Exchange, MS SharePoint, SAP Enterprise Portal, and others. However, the last update for these templates was 2013 (lots of applications are running on versions newer then 2013)."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"Ninety day free trial makes it easy to try out this solution."
"The solution's pricing is very high compared to its competitors."
"You get the value for your money. There aren't any hidden fees."
"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten since it is expensive."
"We have been evaluating F5, Citrix, and other ADC products. Citrix is the most expense of all of them."
"Citrix ADM costs us approximately $5000 per month."
"NetScaler does the same thing as an F5 and it's cheaper."
"I rate the tool's pricing an eight out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
No data available
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business45
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise57
 

Questions from the Community

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What do you like most about Citrix ADC?
The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?
After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.
What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?
Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...
 

Comparisons

No data available
 

Also Known As

Citrix ITM
Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall, NetScaler VPX - Customer Licensed
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Dataport, Bet365, VFLI, Rhode & Schwartz
ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk
Find out what your peers are saying about NetScaler, F5, HAProxy and others in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC). Updated: January 2026.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.