Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs NetScaler comparison

Microsoft Azure Application...

Read 107 NetScaler reviews

6,425 Views
4,740 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Apr 20, 2025

NetScaler and Microsoft Azure Application Gateway compete in the application delivery and security space. Based on features, deployment flexibility, and ROI, NetScaler appears to have the upper hand, especially for those utilizing Citrix products.

Features: NetScaler offers flexible deployment with TriScale architecture, SSL offload, load balancing, GSLB, and SSL VPNs. Microsoft Azure Application Gateway provides ease of use with WAF, traffic management, and integration with Azure services.

Room for Improvement: NetScaler is criticized for complex configuration, inconsistent support, and high licensing costs. Azure Application Gateway needs enhancements in flexibility, advanced security integrations, and improves support response times.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NetScaler is available for on-premises, private, and hybrid clouds. Initial deployment is complex but integrates features well. Azure Application Gateway's cloud-based setup is simple, but support can be lacking in expertise and timeliness.

Pricing and ROI: NetScaler has high pricing due to additional features and licensing complexity but offers strong ROI. Azure Application Gateway offers competitive pricing and cost efficiency in Azure but may be costly compared to some alternatives.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NetScaler Report (Updated: May 2025).

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs. NetScaler

May 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 860,168 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

Microsoft Azure Application...

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

3rd

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

3rd

Average Rating

7.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NetScaler

Ranking in Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

1st

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

14th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Network Management Applications (5th)

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) category, the mindshare of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is 7.6%, down from 10.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NetScaler is 14.6%, down from 16.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC)

Featured Reviews

Bonieber Orofeo

IT Manager at Chong Hua Hospital

Application gateway optimizes performance and simplifies cloud transitions

There are a lot of things I appreciate about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway. Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is beneficial for us as it helps in publishing our website, providing us comfort when it comes to the availability of our applications. The autoscaling feature in Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is very obvious, and I have no issues with it; it is well planned and organized. Microsoft Azure Application Gateway impacts our cost savings while maintaining higher performance. The Web Application Firewall (WAF) in Microsoft Azure Application Gateway has been very effective in protecting applications from security threats. Microsoft Azure Application Gateway helps us manage our AI-driven applications by enabling faster transactions, improving our work.

Read full review

DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Cloud Consultant at Migros Ticaret A.Ş.

A tool for centralized management including inventory and sales tracking

Citrix ADM has the ability to implement policies to tighten security. For instance, you can restrict access to your network from outsiders or lack necessary security measures such as antivirus programs. Additionally, there's the Delivery Controller, which allows for comprehensive monitoring and management tasks such as remote restarts, maintenance, and registration. Another essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Microsoft has a vast variety of tools, and it blends very well."

"The production is a valuable feature."

"The load balancing features are valuable."

"Microsoft has a vast variety of tools, and it blends very well."

"The solution was very easy to configure. It wasn't hard at all to adjust it to our needs."

"Microsoft Azure Application Gateway gives us a lot of benefits, including domain mapping."

"The product's initial setup phase was easy."

"It is a scalable solution...The installation phase of Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is very easy."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway pros

"The load balancing feature and the fact that you can do context switching in the WAF are the most valuable. We majorly use it for load balancing, but we also use it for context switching in the WAF. It is also robust and very easy to work with and manage."

"The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment."

"The analytics are a great feature."

"The most valuable feature of Citrix ADC is its ease of use."

"The feature that I have found most valuable is its load balancing."

"The solution can be configured very granularly and has good control over security."

"I found that the GUI was very easy to to navigate. If you were looking for something, it was fairly easy to find. There's a lot of third-party documentation and information available online as well."

"High availability, performance, and security are the main pillars. It enhances the security for accessing the applications."

More NetScaler pros

Cons

"Microsoft Azure Application Gateway's first deployment is complex. It needs to improve its pricing."

"Implementing and standardizing the solution across the IT landscape in a heterogeneous environment is painful."

"The solution is easy to use overall, but the dashboard could be updated with a better layout and graphical design so that we can see the data a bit easier. Microsoft could also add more documentation. The documentation Microsoft provides doesn't tell us about resource requirements. We found that the instances we had weren't sufficient to support the firewall, so we had to increase them."

"One of the challenges we faced was the solution does not support any other PCP protocols apart from HTTP and HTTPS."

"It takes a lot of time for a certificate to update in the system. That is a huge drawback, affecting the load-balancing side. And when there are changes to the load balancing, it affects the end-user."

"Microsoft needs to work on their documentation."

"The product could be easier to use and implement."

"It does not have the flexibility for using public IPs in version 2."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway cons

"There are some drawbacks, such as using EUG for specific configurations. It could be improved."

"Reducing the overhead required for AppFlow data collection, specifically for HDX Insight, would be a huge improvement."

"Citrix NetScaler has been recently acquired by another company and the support has been negatively impacted, the solution is at its end of life. The support for the solution could improve. The sales team needs to be improved."

"Should offer more flexible cost-effective licensing for small to medium sized organizations."

"I would like to see support for scripting, like "iRule", which gives you the option to implement any configuration which is not available out of the box."

"Some of our customers have questioned the security of this solution lately, wondering whether it is safe or not, so enhancements in this respect would be good."

"Citrix should improve the documentation. It is not really clear how to set up many features to our advantage. When we setup Citrix NetScaler ADC, we have to figure it out by ourselves without a lot of documentation."

"Getting to use some of the advanced tools, even with the assistance of Citrix support, can be challenging."

More NetScaler cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is reasonably priced compared to other solutions."

"We use the tool's basic subscription. Its licensing costs are monthly."

"I rate the pricing seven out of ten because some third-party solutions are even costlier than this."

"The cost is not an issue."

"Microsoft Azure Application Gateway has less price than other application gateway solutions."

"Microsoft Azure Application Gateway is expensive."

"The product is expensive. I rate the pricing a seven out of ten."

"It is not expensive."

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway pricing and cost advice

"You get the value for your money. There aren't any hidden fees."

"The firewall license is included by default, with no additional costs."

"There isn't much of a difference between the cost of Citrix and that of other similar solutions."

"The tool is cheap."

"It's not for startups or SOHO."

"When compared to other solutions, the cost is high."

"This product is more expensive than some of the competitors."

"You can do CapEx and then a yearly monthly fee, or you can do a subscription model, whether that's one month, month-to-month, or three-year subscription model."

More NetScaler pricing and cost advice

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

860,168 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What's the difference between Azure Front Door and Application Gateway?

We found Azure Front Door to be easily scaled and very stable. The implementation is very fast and Microsoft provides excellent support. Azure Front Door can quickly detect abnormalities before the...

How does AWS WAF compare to Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?

Our organization ran comparison tests to determine whether Amazon’s Web Service Web Application Firewall or Microsoft Azure Application Gateway web application firewall software was the better fit ...

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Application Gateway?

Application Gateway automatically redirects unwanted users and takes care of the security aspect. It also handles the performance side of things, which is why we use it.

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 ...

F5 Advanced WAF vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

Comparisons

Compared 12% of the time

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

HAProxy vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

Cloudflare vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

Compared 9% of the time

Imperva Web Application Firewall vs Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

Compared 8% of the time

More Microsoft Azure Application Gateway Competitors

HAProxy vs NetScaler

Compared 11% of the time

Fortinet FortiADC vs NetScaler

Compared 9% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NetScaler

Compared 8% of the time

NGINX Plus vs NetScaler

Compared 7% of the time

VMWare Avi Load Balancer vs NetScaler

Compared 6% of the time

More NetScaler Competitors

Product Reports

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway

June 2025

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway report

Download Microsoft Azure Application Gateway product report

Download NetScaler product report

June 2025

Also Known As

Azure Application Gateway, MS Azure Application Gateway

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall

Overview

Azure Application Gateway is a web traffic load balancer that enables you to manage traffic to your web applications. Traditional load balancers operate at the transport layer (OSI layer 4 - TCP and UDP) and route traffic based on source IP address and port, to a destination IP address and port.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

One platform for a consistent application delivery and security experience because nobody has time to learn multiple systems to manage ADC deployments. NetScaler is built with a single code base using a software-based architecture, so no matter which ADC form factor you choose — hardware, virtual machine, bare metal, or container — the behavior will be the same.

Sample Customers

Lilly, AccuWeather, AIRFRANCE, Honeywell

ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk