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F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs Link11 comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 18, 2026

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
6.4
F5 BIG-IP AFM offers cost-effective returns with F5 bundles, though standalone returns are moderate, providing practical daily value.
Sentiment score
7.3
Link11 delivers high ROI by reducing costs, personnel needs, enhancing e-commerce uptime, and surpassing competitors in security efficiency.
There is no need to have redundant people when we have a system like Link11 set up in the background.
Community Manager at Lightsource bp
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.8
F5 BIG-IP AFM support is responsive and praised, though expertise varies; customer service is excellent, communication needs improvement.
Sentiment score
8.5
Link11 provides responsive, expert customer service with multiple support levels and effective communication, despite lacking 24/7 availability.
The responses are generally fast and effective.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The customer service is excellent, and I rate it ten out of ten.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
I rate the technical support by F5 a ten from one to ten.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is scalable and flexible, supporting diverse environments and thousands of users daily.
Sentiment score
7.5
Link11 ensures seamless scalability and robust performance during traffic surges, supporting diverse industries by leveraging public cloud infrastructure.
The solution is highly scalable, allowing me to add or remove nodes and manage traffic without interruption, which is essential for meeting application demands.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.4
F5 BIG-IP AFM is highly rated for stability, reliability, and efficient logging, with no major bugs or issues reported.
Sentiment score
8.3
Link11 is highly stable, with minimal issues that are quickly resolved, allowing users to handle high traffic confidently.
 

Room For Improvement

F5 BIG-IP AFM needs better GUI, cloud integration, pricing, support, reporting, and zero-day prevention to enhance user experience.
Link11 aims to improve automation, user interface, reporting, and pricing, focusing on better management and user alignment.
Having advanced technology similar to other vendors like Palo Alto for zero-day attack prevention would be valuable.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
I would assess the importance of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s integration with cloud services as significant.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
The appliance and features could be enhanced further, especially in terms of security.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The dashboard is somewhat clunky, which is the primary area I would want Link11 to improve.
Community Manager at Lightsource bp
 

Setup Cost

F5 BIG-IP AFM is costly yet valued for its stability, functionality, and perceived value for money despite high pricing.
Link11 offers negotiable pricing starting at $3,000 monthly, including features and potential discounts up to 40%.
The standard license is reasonably priced, but additional features like the WAF can be more expensive.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
If considering a one-stop solution that provides load balancing, DNS security, AAA authentication, and firewalling on the same hardware, the cost is reasonable.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
 

Valuable Features

F5 BIG-IP AFM provides robust security and performance with features like DDoS protection and AI-driven traffic analysis.
Link11 delivers comprehensive DDoS protection and real-time monitoring, excelling in automated threat responses and customizable security features.
The solution provides behavioral analysis via AI to detect malicious traffic.
Network Security Engineer at IIPL
The scalability feature also allows me to manage and allocate resources dynamically without disrupting production traffic.
System Advisor at a tech services company with 5,001-10,000 employees
The product is stable, scalable, and easy to use.
Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.
The automated responses have helped my team and my workflow by reacting to threats in real time and helping mitigate attacks within moments instead of relying on manual alerts and manual response processes.
Community Manager at Lightsource bp
 

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
Link11
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
20th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
CDN (14th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (33rd), Bot Management (9th), API Security (19th)
 

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 Link11 is 3.0%, up from 2.0% 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%
Link113.0%
Other95.0%
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).
Chandler Elmore, MBA - PeerSpot reviewer
Community Manager at Lightsource bp
Automated threat detection has reduced staffing needs but dashboard design still needs improvement
Link11 offers high-performing platform capabilities and automated responses. The system operates on its own cloud infrastructure without requiring my input. The automated responses have helped my team and my workflow by reacting to threats in real time and helping mitigate attacks within moments instead of relying on manual alerts and manual response processes. Link11 has positively impacted my organization by helping analyze all incoming traffic continuously, functioning like an employee operating in the background. This background analysis has affected my organization's security and efficiency in that I do not have to worry about it. It operates on the back end automatically, taking care of things that I do not have to worry about or think about, but I know it is working.
report
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913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
14%
Construction Company
11%
Engineering Company
7%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Construction Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
12%
Outsourcing Company
9%
 

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 Business5
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise2
 

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...
What needs improvement with Reblaze?
The dashboard is somewhat clunky, which is the primary area I would want Link11 to improve. I wish that it was a little easier on the eyes, as green is a difficult color for me to see.
What is your primary use case for Reblaze?
My main use case for Link11 is to employ artificial intelligence to detect bot-driven attacks cybersecurity-wise, effectively. A specific example of how I have used Link11 to detect bot-driven atta...
 

Also Known As

F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager
Reblaze
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
CBC, Hermes, Gartner
Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) vs. Link11 and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
913,683 professionals have used our research since 2012.