F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services comparison

The compared F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition and F5 Distributed Cloud Services solutions aren't in the same category. F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is ranked #6 in ADC , with an average rating of 9.0, and holds a 1.3% mindshare in the category. F5 Distributed Cloud Services is ranked #6 in CDN , with an average rating of 9.0, and holds a 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 Distributed Cloud Services users who would recommend it.

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

Read 29 F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition reviews

3,209 Views
385 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Read 5 F5 Distributed Cloud Services reviews

4,642 Views
882 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition and F5 Distributed Cloud Services based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

June 2025

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Helped 893,244 peers since 2012

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 Virtual Edition

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (6th)

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Average Rating

9.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.5

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CDN (6th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (16th), API Security (6th)

Mindshare comparison

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition and F5 Distributed Cloud Services aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is designed for Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and holds a mindshare of 1.3%.
F5 Distributed Cloud Services, on the other hand, focuses on CDN, holds 2.4% mindshare, up 1.2% since last year.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition	1.3%
F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM)	13.0%
NetScaler	12.1%
Other	73.6%

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

CDN Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
F5 Distributed Cloud Services	2.4%
Cloudflare	16.4%
Akamai	12.6%
Other	68.6%

CDN

Featured Reviews

reviewer2800392

Network Architect at a pharma/biotech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Cloud deployment has simplified traffic distribution and now supports flexible multi-zone DR

Regarding F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition's improvement areas, the current dashboard is very useful, but I believe the registration process should be simplified in the virtual edition. Especially in the Azure environment, many features are not currently aligned and working with Azure. We need to make efforts to ensure it is well integrated with Azure. Currently, if we want to integrate route tables with the virtual F5 edition, we need to deploy scripting inside the virtual F5 instances, and then that script performs the virtual IP route table changes in the Azure environment. This feature should be auto-configured, and efforts are needed to ensure the virtual edition is very much aligned with the Azure environment. I am expecting this improvement in the next edition. The failover capability is also not as good as it should be. We have tested the failover functionality, and sometimes we have observed that failover fails. F5 does not successfully fail over to other instances perfectly, so that also needs to be improved. Security should also be enhanced, as in the past I have seen some security loopholes. Tightening of security should be included in the new software. These improvements should be present in near future editions.

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Mohan Janarthanan

Associate Vice President at Novac Technology Solutions

Centralized security has protected APIs and optimized multi‑cloud traffic management

F5 Distributed Cloud Services has been used for two years for DDoS protection, and there is a particular feature called API protection. Within API protection, there is malicious user mitigation, which is one particular technology that has been implemented. This is a kind of advanced bot attack prevention. Malicious user mitigation is an AI/ML-based technology that was introduced by the F5 team, and this particular MUG protects rate limiting. If some users are having anomaly detection or someone is trying to do a bot attack, it will create a CAPTCHA challenge for that particular user alone and not for all users. For example, if someone is trying to act as a rogue, it will create a CAPTCHA challenge in the backend system on that particular system, so they cannot try again and again at the same time. It is for a concurrent session, and it will give the CAPTCHA challenge. This MUG, malicious user mitigation, prevents bot attacks. F5 Distributed Cloud Services includes the real-time intelligence feature, which helps with threat response strategies from a threat intelligence perspective. For example, if there are geo-restrictions or geo-based restrictions, sometimes people may come in through proxy-based servers, and it will prevent that. The load balancing feature optimizes application performance. Observability is the basic piece where F5 got introduced. This observability piece provides end-to-end visibility on the application performance. It gives complete end-to-end visibility across network latency and application performance issues. Sometimes when it is getting more than 200 pages, it throws errors such as 300, 400, or whatever has been configured, including 500 errors. F5 Distributed Cloud Services has helped improve traffic management efficiency. Most applications are hosted in the Check Point and F5 firewall, F5 web application firewall, where applications and traffic management can be accessed in a single dashboard. Automated threat detection is a basic feature of F5 Distributed Cloud Services meant for that purpose. There are two scenarios with automated threat detection, which is provided by F5. It is a completely machine learning solution that came from the bot defense, and it automatically protects against sophisticated attacks.

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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 features that I like include LTM and Global Traffic Manager (GTM)."

"I have a specific issue with the network interface connector, the NIC. We're limited to a maximum of two NICs in a virtualized environment. It's a limitation of the tool."

"It's easy to use, and they have good support."

"I truly appreciate the power of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition compared to any other vendor we have used, and we have seen more use cases coming in, proving it to be better than other products."

"Before F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition, we were dealing with recurring service interruptions, sometimes multiple incidents in a month or a week, and after moving to F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition, those dropped to very rare occurrences, with outages happening once in a blue moon."

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition has positively impacted my organization in all three aspects: saving time, improving security posture, and complementing our appliances on our F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition."

"The tool's investment is less than a physical device."

"It's easy to use, and they have good support."

More F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition pros

"F5 Distributed Cloud Services is the market leader in load balancers and manages traffic really well."

"In a multi-cloud or distributed cloud, there are many protection possibilities from data to web application or API protection, including bot mitigation."

"The main benefit is Web App Security, offering a complete security package from DDoS to web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation."

"F5 is known for being the best load balancer in the market. Customers with an existing module can easily adopt additional modules without investing in new hardware."

"Technical support from F5 is good compared to Cisco and HP."

"F5 Distributed Cloud Services provides a single unified console for security operations, network operations, and DevOps across all environments."

"Elastic environments are the most valuable features because I can pull these apps and migrate the on-premises environment to the Distributed Cloud environment, and this capability is very strong and the security regarding the apps is really very powerful."

Cons

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition could be improved by enhancing the GUI, as I think it should be more user-friendly."

"The tool has limitations with respect to code and RAM."

"It's expensive and could be cheaper."

"The customer support for F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition has been satisfactory. While getting a trial license, I communicated with the customer support team, and they responded in a timely manner. However, there was a wait time of two or three days, which could be improved."

"BIG-IP could improve in supporting microservices, for example, in Docker and Kubernetes environments."

"As per my understanding, there is a need to improve support. Sometimes it is very critical to get support for that."

"A downside of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is that to capture TCP dump, in Palo Alto, we can do it within the UI itself. However, here, to capture the TCP dump, we need to log in into the CLI and be familiar with the commands."

"To improve F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition, specifically LTM, I believe that when creating an LDAP server, there is only one option to add an LDAP."

More F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition cons

"For small players, it is completely not worth it."

"The main issue is integration with other parts or products of F5, like on-premise WAF. There are some problems, mainly from the perspective of implementation and customer expectations, which sometimes differ from reality."

"The pricing could be adjusted to better meet the needs of typical customers in regions like Poland, where the product is considered too expensive."

"The main issue is integration with other parts or products of F5, like on-premise WAF."

"The worst experience is that with so many solutions available, it is very complicated to know all of the solution modules, and the offers from F5 Distributed Cloud Services are vast."

"Last year there was a downtime of 30 minutes across the cloud distributed console, and that was the only impact observed."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the pricing a three out of ten, with ten being expensive."

"The pricing is standard."

"My company's customers need to make payments for the licensing charges attached to the product. It is an expensive product."

"F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is an expensive solution, but it's worth the price."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Construction Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Computer Software Company

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	5
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	19

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

The integration capabilities of the product are easy to use, and there is no complexity involved in it.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

Improvements for F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition could include a more straightforward process for major updates where we could pre-schedule upgrades to avoid downtime.

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition did not impact anything positively, as during core network activities, backend servers stopped responding due to being legacy servers, which may create issues. F5 BIG-IP V...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

F5 Distributed Cloud Services is affordable. I think it is very affordable. I do not think it is expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

I need to think about this for the future. F5 Distributed Cloud Services needs to create links with Amazon and Google Cloud or other platforms. At this moment, it does not have integrated steps to ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

I collect reviews for F5 Distributed Cloud Services and F5 Silverline Managed Services. I work with F5 Distributed Cloud Services as a consultant in the implementation environment. I have already i...

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition

May 2026

Download F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 Distributed Cloud Services

May 2026

Download F5 Distributed Cloud Services product report

Overview

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition provides SSL offloading, load balancing, and high availability, enhancing security and performance. It supports advanced traffic management and monitoring tools, integrating easily and cost-effectively for flexible deployments across data centers.

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is renowned for its security and performance integration. The platform's customization capabilities via iRules, combined with comprehensive traffic management tools, enable organizations to fine-tune their data management processes. Users benefit from load balancing and a robust application delivery infrastructure, ensuring high availability and application security. With strong documentation and a user-friendly interface, deployment and configurations are simplified. Although the platform offers significant benefits, there are opportunities to enhance areas such as load management, support, training, and licensing. Expansion of security features, particularly for SD-WAN and Azure integration, alongside improved logging and failover functions, would enhance its utility even further.

What are the standout features of F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition?

SSL Offloading: Reduces burden on servers and improves efficiency.
iRules Customization: Enables users to tailor traffic handling.
Load Balancing: Ensures optimal application distribution and uptime.
High Availability: Guarantees uninterrupted service.
Advanced Traffic Management: Utilizes tools for effective monitoring and control.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Provides protection against cyber threats.
Performance Improvement: Offers stability and efficient resource use.
Scalable Solutions: Adapts to changing organizational demands.
Cost-Effectiveness: Flexible deployment options reduce overall expenses.

In financial services, F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition is used to secure and optimize transaction flows, ensuring compliance and performance. Healthcare organizations employ it to manage sensitive data traffic securely and efficiently. Retailers balance e-commerce traffic, improving user experience and reliability during peak sales periods. Education institutions leverage it for web application protection and to support increasing online traffic demands.

F5 Distributed Cloud Services excel in enhancing security, optimizing web application delivery, and ensuring robust network performance. Users value its integrated Web Application Firewall, DDoS protection, global server load balancing, and intuitive management interface. It boosts organizational efficiency, reduces operational costs, and scales seamlessly, making it essential for businesses operating in distributed environments.

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

June 2025

Free Report: F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Find out what your peers are saying about F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services and other solutions. Updated: June 2025.

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