Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer vs Progress Kemp LoadMaster

Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer9.1Visit Progress Kemp LoadMaster8.9Visit

Higher score Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer #3 in Load Balancing Software 9.1/10 Paid ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit Alibaba Cloud

vs

Progress Kemp LoadMaster #5 in Load Balancing Software 8.9/10 Free plan · 30-day trial Free planFree trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit Progress Kemp

• Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer fits best

  Alibaba Cloud deployments

• Progress Kemp LoadMaster fits best

  Enterprise teams wanting a free starting option

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Side by side

Feature	Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Progress Kemp LoadMaster 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.9
Ranking	#3 in Load Balancing Software	#5 in Load Balancing Software
Best for	Alibaba Cloud deployments	Enterprise teams wanting a free starting option
Pricing model	Paid	Free plan + paid
Starting price	$0.007/unit usage-based	—
Free plan	—	✓ (best)
Free trial	—	30 days
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web, Linux, Windows
Support	Tickets, Live chat, Phone, Community, Docs	Community, Docs, Phone
Integrations	13 integrations	9 integrations
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer 5/5 · Progress Kemp LoadMaster 4/5
Managed service	✓ (best)	—
Layer 7 routing	✓	✓
Layer 4 routing	✓	✓
Global traffic management	✓	✓
TLS termination	✓	✓
Specs
Backend limit	200 backends	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic, including QUIC and gRPC Multi-zone deployment, disaster recovery, and automatic traffic-based scaling Integrates with ECS, ACK, WAF, CEN, CDN, and other Alibaba Cloud services	Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing with SSL/TLS termination Global traffic management, security, authentication, and Kubernetes support Web, Linux, Windows, API, and self-hosted deployment options
Cons	No free plan or dedicated free trial Actual charges can include LCUs and transfer or IP-related fees Prices and availability vary by region	Free LoadMaster is capacity-limited for low-volume environments Paid tiers use quote-based pricing rather than public numeric prices Advanced capabilities require higher Enterprise tiers
Our verdict	Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer (SLB) is a managed service for distributing client traffic across backend servers. It brings together Network Load Balancer (NLB) for Layer 4 traffic, Application Load Balancer (ALB) for Layer 7… Read the review →	Progress Kemp LoadMaster is an application delivery controller for distributing traffic across web and application servers. It supports Layer 4 TCP/UDP balancing, Layer 7 content switching, application-aware routing, health checks, traffic… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer — where it wins

  • Supports Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic, including QUIC and gRPC
  • Multi-zone deployment, disaster recovery, and automatic traffic-based scaling
  • Integrates with ECS, ACK, WAF, CEN, CDN, and other Alibaba Cloud services

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan or dedicated free trial
  • Actual charges can include LCUs and transfer or IP-related fees
  • Prices and availability vary by region

• Progress Kemp LoadMaster — where it wins

  • Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing with SSL/TLS termination
  • Global traffic management, security, authentication, and Kubernetes support
  • Web, Linux, Windows, API, and self-hosted deployment options

  Where it doesn't

  • Free LoadMaster is capacity-limited for low-volume environments
  • Paid tiers use quote-based pricing rather than public numeric prices
  • Advanced capabilities require higher Enterprise tiers

• Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer9.1/10 · Paid

  A broad Alibaba Cloud balancing service with Layer 4/7 routing and a low published entry price.

  Visit Alibaba CloudFull verdict →
• Progress Kemp LoadMaster8.9/10 · Free plan · 30-day trial

  A broad Layer 4/7 load balancer with a free, capacity-limited starting option.

  Visit Progress KempFull verdict →