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F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Fortinet FortiDDoS comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 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

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall...
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
12th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiDDoS
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
15th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
15
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiDDoS is 1.8%, down from 2.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)2.0%
Fortinet FortiDDoS1.8%
Other96.2%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
 

Featured Reviews

Nawapol Boonlerd - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
Comprehensive network protection has mitigated DDoS risks and supports secure on-prem operations
Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identified. It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they could have in the future to make it even better. For example, I have thoughts about the price. Currently, it does not integrate, and I would assess the importance of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s integration with cloud services as significant. Currently, I use only one site, and I cannot tell you about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) centralized security policies. I have not used F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s Threat Intelligence capabilities. I have not used their dynamic traffic shaping feature. So far, the only thing that could be improved is the pricing of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM).
MO
IT Analyst at Evapco, Inc.
Reliable protection and smooth setup enhance company security
Currently, I have two firewalls, with one located in Sorocaba, model 90D, and the other in São Paulo, model 30D. They are connected by VPN. I use the firewalls for VPN and final protection for my company, and my equipment is maintained by an internet company called Multiprox The equipment works…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product helps us provide security validation by protecting various applications from getting hacked."
"The web application firewall has been very helpful. We purchased F5 when we were migrating our applications to the cloud."
"It excels in preventing downtime and maintaining application performance, which is crucial for our clients' security and operational continuity."
"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP AFM is the iRules where I can customize the configuration."
"What I find most impressive about F5 is that, as long as you know what you want to do, as long as we know what you want to achieve, you find the solution there."
"It blocks various attacks and mitigates disasters from occurring."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is the blocking of IPs and F5 has many advantages."
"It is stable."
"It allows me to see all the traffic on my network."
"Among its key features: Detects and mitigates DDoS attacks at L3 to L7; negligible to zero false-positives; Generates and sends reports without the need for an expensive third-party solution."
"We have researched them all, and it's a good solution all around."
"We've been completely satisfied with the product."
"The product's initial setup phase was really easy."
"This solution can protect Layer 3, Layer 4 and Layer 7 attacks of applications for us, and this is important."
"The most valuable feature is the cloud DDoS scrubbing capability."
"The equipment works very well, and I have not encountered any issues with it. It is a good solution for my company."
 

Cons

"The product is a little expensive but it is such a good solution and unified that the cost is worth the price."
"There should be simplified and better integration with BIG-IQ."
"For configuring the firewall, every single vendor on the planet has pretty much the same logic when it comes to firewalls, and F5 has a completely different approach and completely different behavior."
"F5 should increase its capability to prevent zero-day attacks. Having advanced technology similar to other vendors like Palo Alto for zero-day attack prevention would be valuable."
"There is room for improvement in Advanced Firewall Manager's dashboard statistics, especially during attacks."
"If you compare it with the next-generation firewalls, then definitely this tool is not comparable."
"The initial setup of F5 BIG-IP AFM in a complex environment was simple. However, the full deployment took us approximately one year."
"Firstly, geolocation currently relies on manual updates. It has to move to automatic updates."
"Technical support isn't too good with Fortinet. They could be more responsive and helpful overall."
"I find that there have been issues in the past year with the solution hanging. It freezes often."
"The main improvement would be to change the firewall model, however, currently, everything is fixed and working well."
"Earlier versions of firmware had bugs that limit my options."
"The web interface could be much better."
"There aren't really any aspects of the solution we are unhappy with. It's been a positive experience overall."
"The tool needs to focus more on the area of application traffic management, where it currently has some shortcomings."
"All those thresholds that need to be configured should be included in the default so that user will not forget or misconfigure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The price of F5 BIG-IP AFM is a little more expensive than other firewalls on the market."
"It's very expensive, and you pay extra for the models."
"F5 BIG-IP AFM is an affordable solution. There were not any additional fees other than the standard licensing."
"It is somewhat on the expensive side although it is worth the additional cost."
"We need to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."
"The solution is slightly on the higher priced side."
"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is an expensive solution. They are one of the best in the market, but the price could be cheaper."
"We have purchased a five-year licensing package for the product."
"The product’s pricing needs improvement."
"It's quite pricey."
"The solution is reasonably priced."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
11%
Engineering Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
14%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business10
Large Enterprise6
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
The standard license is reasonably priced, but additional features like the WAF can be more expensive. There are plenty of technical documents and a supportive community available, which helps mana...
What needs improvement with F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identified. It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they cou...
What is your primary use case for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
I am starting to learn and working with F5 team to conduct a proof of concept, and I do have experience with F5 Rules for AWS WAF. I have experience with BIG-IP, not BIG-IQ, and I may have experien...
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiDDoS?
Fortinet FortiDDoS offers lower costs compared to other solutions. The licensing costs are annually renewed.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiDDoS?
There is a need for more features that protect personal information, especially given the PDP issue in Indonesia.
 

Also Known As

F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager
Fortinet DDoS, FortiDDos
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.