Fortinet FortiADC vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer comparison

Fortinet and Broadcom are both solutions in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category. Fortinet is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.0, while Broadcom is ranked #12 with an average rating of 7.8. Fortinet holds a 8.4% mindshare in ADC, compared to Broadcom’s 4.7% mindshare. Additionally, 86% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 78% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.

Fortinet FortiADC

Read 25 Fortinet FortiADC reviews

5,841 Views
4,614 Comparison Views

86% willing to recommend

VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Read 14 VMWare Avi Load Balancer reviews

2,559 Views
2,533 Comparison Views

78% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiADC

VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 17, 2024

Fortinet FortiADC and VMWare Avi Load Balancer compete in the network management sector, each acquiring specific strengths. VMWare Avi Load Balancer holds an edge with its advanced features, particularly benefiting organizations focused on performance.

Features: Fortinet FortiADC offers application delivery and robust security capabilities like DDoS protection and SSL offloading, utilizing advanced load management. VMWare Avi Load Balancer stands out with dynamic service scaling, predictive insights, and complex traffic pattern handling, alongside automation options.

Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiADC could enhance its advanced features and integration capabilities. There is potential for more sophisticated automation and scaling options. Interface complexity may be another area to refine. VMWare Avi Load Balancer can improve ease of use, particularly for users with less technical expertise. Simplifying initial deployment and offering more cost-effective solutions could also be beneficial.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiADC offers a straightforward deployment process and dedicated customer service, aiding smaller teams. VMWare Avi Load Balancer provides flexible cloud-native architecture that allows seamless integration and scalability but may require more technical knowledge initially.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiADC is cost-effective with lower setup costs and high ROI, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. Despite higher initial costs, VMWare Avi Load Balancer delivers notable ROI through enhanced performance and efficiency, favoring organizations that prioritize comprehensive solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer Report (Updated: June 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer

June 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 900,747 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:

ROI

Sentiment score

5.0

Fortinet FortiADC offers reliable web traffic management with strong support, but users find WAF functionality could improve usability.

Sentiment score

4.4

VMWare Avi Load Balancer offers mixed ROI, with benefits in security, cost savings, and efficiency, but varied financial impacts.

The alert system is efficient, sending alerts within a fraction of a second if any power issues arise.

Anil Gujja

Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

VMWare Avi Load Balancer has created a smoother failover process without issues, keeping the state normal, where typically there would be manual intervention.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

I have not found any return on investment so far, as it does not really lend itself to that; it is more about not having to stand up another data center for redundancy.

Lee Prior

Vdi Consultant at Garbutt Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Customer Service

Sentiment score

6.2

Fortinet FortiADC's support experiences vary, with praise for professionalism but issues with response times and license-related impacts.

Sentiment score

6.1

VMWare Avi Load Balancer support is mixed, excelling in tool integration but challenged by documentation and response times post-Broadcom.

The support team is knowledgeable and efficiently assists with automation and configuration problems.

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at novonordisc

It varies depending on the engineer assigned; in most cases, we resolve issues on the first attempt.

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

Fortinet technical support is very good, and they provide us with better support.

Suraska Sanjaya

Team Lead at Adapt Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

The solution architect from VMware side told me that there would be no issue adding them. Here we are with an RFP, and we cannot add them easily.

reviewer2273484

Pre Sales at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The support for VMWare Avi Load Balancer is really good, and the integration with other tools is really effective, which makes the overall experience smoother.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

They are quite responsive, taking the necessary time to address our issues.

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score

7.4

Fortinet FortiADC is scalable with virtual, cloud, and hardware models, but accurate initial sizing is crucial for expansion.

Sentiment score

6.7

VMWare Avi Load Balancer is scalable, favored for application workload management, but requires engineering for optimal failover solutions.

For those opting for a SaaS or cloud solution, there is scalability and flexibility.

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

It is scalable for some versions, however, as components reach their end of support, upgrades are necessary to maintain scalability.

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at novonordisc

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

I would rate the scalability of VMWare Avi Load Balancer a perfect ten out of ten because it senses traffic and scales automatically, also scaling down when there is no need, making it very elastic, resulting in zero costs when there is no traffic, which is excellent.

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

In my role as a database engineer, scalability works in two layers and rarely becomes a bottleneck.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

Scalability-wise, VMWare Avi Load Balancer is good.

Vishal Bhatia

Trainer/Consultant at Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Stability Issues

Sentiment score

8.2

Fortinet FortiADC is highly stable and reliable, with responsive support, despite minor bugs occasionally introduced by firmware updates.

Sentiment score

7.9

VMWare Avi Load Balancer provides stable performance and efficient operations, excelling in uptime with varying results under heavy traffic.

The support system is reliable when issues like automation or configuration arise.

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at novonordisc

Overall, it has been good; in the past it was very good, and now it is still performing well.

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

We have two applications in two ESXi hosts that I integrated into our ADC, and I created one virtual IP in the virtual server pool.

Suraska Sanjaya

Team Lead at Adapt Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

VMWare Avi Load Balancer is very reliable and stable.

Lee Prior

Vdi Consultant at Garbutt Ltd

VMWare Avi Load Balancer is stable based on my experience.

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

From a stability point of view, VMWare Avi Load Balancer is stable.

Vishal Bhatia

Trainer/Consultant at Koenig Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiADC users seek better support, documentation, and features, including load-balancing, security, interface, and resource optimization improvements.

VMware Avi Load Balancer needs improved documentation, integrations, and security, with complex setup and high pricing deterring smaller businesses.

Fortinet has been a pioneer for enterprise solutions, such as firewalls, SASE, ZTNA, and SD-WAN solutions, and they are in a leader quadrant.

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

The limitation of managing all components and the differing versions pose challenges.

OusaidAbaz

Security Network Architect at novonordisc

If I need design help, they do not assist; they say it is a design issue they cannot support, and I must approach the system integrator.

Anil Gujja

Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

Multi-cloud capability comes from a configuration called NSX Extended.

reviewer2273484

Pre Sales at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

The need for policy execution tracing to simplify debugging is evident because if connections are routed incorrectly, for example, directly to a replica, debugging can become painful in production.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

It would also be beneficial to have true VMWare Avi Load Balancer failover at the VMWare Avi Load Balancer level.

Lee Prior

Vdi Consultant at Garbutt Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiADC offers competitive, predictable pricing with flexible licensing options, appealing to both small businesses and large enterprises.

VMWare Avi Load Balancer offers cost-effective scalability; perceived as pricier than some alternatives but justifies the cost with functionality.

This solution is quite expensive compared to Kemp.

Anil Gujja

Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

The experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that its pricing is quite pricier compared to Anthos Service Mesh.

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

it operates on a capacity and consumption model, unlike traditional appliances that charge based on hardware.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiADC offers features like SSL offloading and load balancing, valued for simplicity, scalability, affordability, and integration.

VMWare Avi Load Balancer provides high availability, scalability, advanced security, and cost-efficient traffic management with multi-cloud support and robust analytics.

I use server load balancing and employ layer seven features, which provide more granular traffic shaping and detailed logs.

Anil Gujja

Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.

When integrated with FortiAnalyzer, it has much more significance.

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

The implementation process is straightforward, and cluster implementation is also very easy.

Suraska Sanjaya

Team Lead at Adapt Information Technologies (Pvt) Ltd

For more quotes and insights, download the Fortinet FortiADC report

Since implementing VMWare Avi Load Balancer, we no longer need to manually change IP addresses in our configuration, as Avi automates this process, which controls traffic and network appropriately, adding a layer of security and assurance.

Suleiman Mohammed

Senior Database Engineer, SRE at Interswitch Group

The special capability I appreciate about VMWare Avi Load Balancer is its ease of use; it is very lightweight and quite inexpensive to deploy.

Lee Prior

Vdi Consultant at Garbutt Ltd

It enables flexible deployment across environments and elastic auto-scaling, automatically scaling load balancer capacity based on traffic, then adding and removing service engines dynamically without over-provisioning, which leads to lower infrastructure costs and efficient handling of sudden traffic spikes.

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

For more quotes and insights, download the VMWare Avi Load Balancer report

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiADC

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

5th

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.7

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

12th

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.6

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2026, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiADC is 8.4%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of VMWare Avi Load Balancer is 4.7%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiADC	8.4%
VMWare Avi Load Balancer	4.7%
Other	86.9%

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Featured Reviews

GANESAN K

Senior Technical Engineer at Safezone Secure Solutions Private Limited

Has supported load balancing for medical applications and could benefit from more custom configuration options

Some customers need custom management for handling their applications across the servers. Instead of having a predefined solution, if we had space for custom-based algorithms to load balance the traffic, it would be better. We have faced such cases with A10, where we can leverage many custom scripts and do much more. Even though A10 primarily focuses on SMBs, they have also ventured into the enterprise market. Fortinet has been a pioneer for enterprise solutions, such as firewalls, SASE, ZTNA, and SD-WAN solutions, and they are in a leader quadrant. Therefore, they should have more options. From a pricing perspective, it is expensive.

Read full review

ParthasarathyT

Senior Associate Infrastructure at Publicis Sapient

Multi-cloud traffic has been routed intelligently while security and cost model still need improvement

VMWare Avi Load Balancer can be improved in various ways, as it follows a pay-as-you-go model, which still makes it quite pricey and a little expensive for startups or small-scale industries. They have to pay a lot to use it, and they may not find it reliable for their environment, but for enterprise-level or larger organizations, this tool is excellent. The product's stability has some bugs, and there are reports suggesting quick upgrades. New releases may require patches and fixes. The learning curve for new users is quite tough since the architecture controller and service engine differ from traditional ADCs, requiring an understanding of cloud concepts and networking, plus DevOps. It also has limited advanced traffic control compared to F5 due to a lack of flexibility with F5 rules. It can accept all traffic routes and paths, but when using an advanced setting like an F5 rule, it is not highly flexible with traffic scripting.

Read full review

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

11%

Computer Software Company

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

18%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	13
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	6
Midsize Enterprise	4
Large Enterprise	7

Questions from the Community

Is Citrix ADC (formerly Netscaler) the best ADC to use and if not why?

For ADC, any ADC can do a good job. But in case if you want to add WAF functionality to the same ADC hardware you have to look for other ADC's like F5, Imperva, Radware, Fortinet, etc.

See all answers

Do you recommend Fortinet FortiADC?

I recommend Fortinet FortiADC. My experience with Fortinet has been very positive. Our company has been using it for around five years. We mainly use FortiADC for the load balancing of application ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiADC?

Pricing is not considered on our side since we are the implementation team. Our pre-sales team considers the pricing and all the details.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Avi Networks Software Load Balancer?

I did not participate directly in pricing, setup cost, and licensing for VMWare Avi Load Balancer, as that responsibility falls to another functional team. However, I know that it was an internal d...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Avi Networks Software Load Balancer?

In my opinion, VMWare Avi Load Balancer is a complicated tool with many advanced features that can be beneficial, but policies are powerful yet difficult to debug when traffic behaves unexpectedly ...

See all answers

What advice do you have for others considering Avi Networks Software Load Balancer?

My advice for others looking into using VMWare Avi Load Balancer is to assess the environment and what you aim to achieve. VMWare Avi Load Balancer is powerful and delivers great value when designe...

See all answers

Comparisons

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs Fortinet FortiADC

Compared 24% of the time

NetScaler vs Fortinet FortiADC

Compared 13% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiADC

Compared 8% of the time

A10 Networks Thunder ADC vs Fortinet FortiADC

Compared 7% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs Fortinet FortiADC

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiADC Competitors

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Compared 18% of the time

NetScaler vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Compared 15% of the time

NGINX Plus vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Compared 14% of the time

HAProxy vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Compared 9% of the time

Barracuda Load Balancer ADC vs VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Compared 6% of the time

More VMWare Avi Load Balancer Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiADC

June 2026

Download Fortinet FortiADC product report

Buyer's Guide

VMWare Avi Load Balancer

May 2026

Download VMWare Avi Load Balancer product report

Also Known As

FortiADC Application Delivery Controller, FortiADC

Avi Software Load Balancer

Overview

Fortinet FortiADC offers reliable load balancing and server management with significant security features, ensuring streamlined traffic control. Its cost-effectiveness and integration with Fortinet platforms make it a compelling choice for businesses seeking scalability and enhanced network operations.

Fortinet FortiADC is designed to deliver streamlined application delivery and manage server traffic effectively. It integrates seamlessly with Fortinet technologies like FortiGate and FortiMail, enabling enhanced security features such as SSL offloading and certificate management. While its load balancing and traffic control are strong, improvements in algorithm precision and technical support are needed. The platform's licensing flexibility and high-level services like failover and redundancy underscore its scalability. However, revisions in configuration interfaces and performance optimizations indicate areas for future updates. A focus on automation and integration with existing FortiManager components could enhance usability.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiADC?

SSL Offloading: Streamlines secure data handling.
Load Balancing: Manages traffic distribution efficiently.
Web Application Firewall: Ensures robust security compliance.
Content Caching: Enhances response speeds and reduces latency.
Traffic Control: Offers precise network management options.

What benefits should you look for in FortiADC reviews?

Affordability: Offers cost-effective licensing options.
Scalability: Adapts to growing business needs.
Integration: Works well with other Fortinet products for enhanced functionalities.
User Management: Simplified configuration and management processes.
Performance: Consistent and reliable load balancing with high availability.

Industries implement Fortinet FortiADC to improve application and data access, especially where high reliability and secure delivery are critical. It supports local and global content management, efficiently handling disaster recovery and ISP link balancing tasks, crucial for sectors requiring continuous, high-performance connectivity.

Fortinet

VMWare Avi Load Balancer is designed for seamless integration with host environments, providing a user-friendly interface, stable deployment, scalability, and reliable performance.

VMWare Avi Load Balancer offers a potent combination of advanced traffic management, application delivery, and network visualization tools tailored for cloud and modern infrastructures. Its core functionalities revolve around a robust web application firewall and comprehensive analytics, which make it a strong contender against competitors like NetScaler. Despite its expensive nature and certain integration challenges, it supports dispersed services with a single control plane. Its graphic interface aids in efficient network management, yet there's room for improvement in features like WAF, documentation, and multi-cloud environment support.

What are the key features of VMWare Avi Load Balancer?

Integration with Host Environments: Ensures seamless adoption across diverse infrastructure platforms.
User-Friendly Interface: Simplifies management and accelerates deployment processes.
Scalability: Adapts to growing network demands efficiently.
Robust Web Application Firewall: Provides enhanced security for web applications.
Powerful Analytics: Offers detailed insights for optimal traffic management and performance optimization.
Cluster Visualization: Visualizes network clusters for streamlined management.

What benefits do users find in VMWare Avi Load Balancer reviews?

Enhanced Network Performance: Users experience improved load balancing capabilities.
Simplified Management: The UI simplifies network and cluster operations.
Deployment Flexibility: Offers various options for deploying across cloud infrastructures.
Single Control Plane: Facilitates management of dispersed services effectively.

In the tech industry, VMWare Avi Load Balancer is primarily utilized for application delivery control, taking on roles such as web application firewalls and traffic visibility in cloud infrastructures. Its enhanced interface makes it a preferred choice for organizations transitioning from traditional load balancers, especially in roles like global load balancing and Kubernetes service mesh integration.

Broadcom

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Palo Alto Networks, DGDean, Swisslos

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer

June 2026

Free Report: Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer and other solutions. Updated: June 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

900,747 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Fortinet FortiADC vs. VMWare Avi Load Balancer report.

See our list of best Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) vendors.

We monitor all Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.