AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) vs F5 BIG-IP Pricing (2026)
Compare / AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) vs F5 BIG-IP
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Team size
25 seats

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) vs F5 BIG-IP

Load Balancers pricing comparison · 2026

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) pricing ranges from $0.0225–$0.0225/per month (varies by usage), while F5 BIG-IP uses custom pricing.

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2 products · Load Balancers
Side-by-side · live
AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB)
Load Balancers pricing intelligence
verified 10w ago
$230 $1.9K
View pricing →
F5 BIG-IP
F5 BIG-IP pricing is fully custom-quoted across three tiers: Good Bundle, Better Bundle, a
verified 5w ago
$230 $1.9K
View pricing →
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
F5 saves $1.7K vs AWS · 25 seats
Cheapest $230
Spread 88%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
Pricing model unknown
Pricing model unknown
no public list price found
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$1.9K/yr
Vendr · n=5 · limited data
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$230/yr
Vendr · n=291
REF · 01

Sources & confidence

Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.

Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources 13 sourced facts
10 hidden-cost · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified 2mo ago
Confidence Medium confidence
Sources 11 sourced facts
9 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median
Last verified 1mo ago
Confidence Limited confidence
REF · 02

Plans at a glance

Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.

Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 03

Hidden costs

Each cost is severity-ranked, with the dollar range quoted from its source (Vendr, Reddit, TrustRadius, BBB, official docs) — never our estimate.

Beyond the sticker
Severity-ranked, sourced
5 documented
  • Cross-Availability Zone (AZ) Data Transfer
    $0.01 per GB in each direction
    1 source
  • Default Cross-Zone Load Balancing (ALB)
    1 source
  • Internet Egress Data Transfer
    $0.05 and $0.09 per GB
    1 source
  • Load Balancer Capacity Unit (LCU/NLCU) Usage Charges
    $0.008 per LCU-hour
    1 source
  • ALB LCU Calculation Complexity
    1 source
5 documented
  • Professional Services
    $10,000 to over $100,000
    1 source
  • Support and Maintenance
    17-22%
    1 source
  • Training
    $2,000–$5,000 per person per course
    1 source
  • High Availability (HA) Deployments
    1 source
  • Add-on Modules
    1 source
REF · 05

What users say

Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.

User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
TrustRadius
9.3out of 5 (738)
G2
4.5out of 5 (95)
Best for
HTTP/HTTPS applications with advanced routing
Watch out
Complexity and High Learning Curve
No public ratings yet
Best for
Basic load balancing needs
Watch out
iRules complexity requires expensive specialist expertise or pro services
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats). Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges. Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
Load Balancers

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB)

$0.0225–$0.0225
/per month (varies by usage)
4 plans
Full pricing breakdown →
VS
Load Balancers

F5 BIG-IP

Custom pricing
/per year
3 plans
Full pricing breakdown →

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) and F5 BIG-IP both operate in the load balancers category. This page compares their list pricing.

Plan-by-Plan Pricing

Plan AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) F5 BIG-IP
Application Load Balancer (ALB) Custom Custom
Network Load Balancer (NLB) Custom Custom
Gateway Load Balancer (GWLB) Custom Custom
Classic Load Balancer Custom

Market Intelligence

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB)

Median annual cost
$1,945
Based on
5 deals

F5 BIG-IP

Median annual cost
$230
Based on
291 deals

Hidden Costs

Beyond the sticker price — what catches buyers off guard.

AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) 10 hidden costs

high
Cross-Availability Zone (AZ) Data Transfer $0.01 per GB in each direction
medium
Default Cross-Zone Load Balancing (ALB)
medium
Internet Egress Data Transfer $0.05 and $0.09 per GB
medium
Load Balancer Capacity Unit (LCU/NLCU) Usage Charges $0.008 per LCU-hour
medium
ALB LCU Calculation Complexity
See all AWS Elastic Load Balancing (ALB/NLB) hidden costs →

F5 BIG-IP 9 hidden costs

high
Professional Services $10,000 to over $100,000
high
Support and Maintenance 17-22%
medium
Training $2,000–$5,000 per person per course
high
High Availability (HA) Deployments
medium
Add-on Modules
See all F5 BIG-IP hidden costs →

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