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Head-to-head · Load Balancing Software

AWS Elastic Load Balancing vs HAProxy Community Edition

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score AWS Elastic Load Balancing #1 in Load Balancing Software 9.3/10 Paid ✓ 5 of 5 features Visit AWS ELB
HAProxy Community Edition #7 in Load Balancing Software 8.7/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit HAProxy

AWS Elastic Load Balancing leads on 1 check, HAProxy Community Edition on 1, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 6 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreAWS Elastic Load Balancing · 9.3/10
  • Free planonly HAProxy Community Edition
  • Most featuresAWS Elastic Load Balancing · 5 of 5

AWS Elastic Load Balancing scores higher on our rubric for load balancing software: 9.3 against 8.7 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #7.

HAProxy Community Edition offers free plan; AWS Elastic Load Balancing doesn't. AWS Elastic Load Balancing offers managed service; HAProxy Community Edition doesn't.

AWS Elastic Load Balancing is the better fit for AWS-native production workloads. HAProxy Community Edition is the better fit for free, capable Linux self-hosting.

  • AWS Elastic Load Balancing fits best

    AWS-native production workloads

  • HAProxy Community Edition fits best

    Free, capable Linux self-hosting

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature AWS Elastic Load Balancing 9.3/10 Visit ↗ HAProxy Community Edition 8.7/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.3 8.7
Ranking #1 in Load Balancing Software #7 in Load Balancing Software
Best for AWS-native production workloads Free, capable Linux self-hosting
Pricing model Paid Free
Starting price — Free plan
Free plan — ✓ (best)
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Self-hosted
Platforms Web Linux
Support Docs Community, Docs
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features AWS Elastic Load Balancing 5/5 · HAProxy Community Edition 3/5
Managed service ✓ (best) —
Layer 7 routing ✓ ✓
Layer 4 routing ✓ ✓
Global traffic management ✓ (best) Not checked yet
TLS termination ✓ ✓
Specs
Backend limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Supports Layer 4, Layer 7, and gateway load balancing
  • Automatic scaling, health checks, and Availability Zone high availability
  • Deep integrations across AWS compute, networking, and observability services
  • Free and open source for self-managed deployments
  • Combines Layer 4, Layer 7, TLS, health checks, and persistence
  • Includes rate limiting, monitoring, rewriting, and high availability
Cons
  • Usage-based pricing varies by AWS Region and traffic dimensions
  • The AWS Free Tier is limited to eligible new AWS customers
  • Classic Load Balancer is intended for legacy workloads
  • Requires a Linux or self-hosted deployment model
  • Global traffic management is outside the community edition's scope
  • No AI features are provided
Our verdict

AWS Elastic Load Balancing is a managed cloud service that distributes incoming traffic across registered targets in one or more Availability Zones. It is designed for AWS-native web applications, APIs, container workloads, network…

Read the review →

HAProxy Community Edition is a free, open-source reverse proxy and software load balancer for TCP and HTTP applications. It is designed for teams managing their own infrastructure on Linux, including deployments across containers, virtual…

Read the review →
  1. AWS Elastic Load BalancingLoad Balancing Software 9.3Paid
  2. HAProxy Community EditionLoad Balancing Software 8.7Free plan

Strengths and trade-offs

  • AWS Elastic Load Balancing — where it wins

    • Supports Layer 4, Layer 7, and gateway load balancing
    • Automatic scaling, health checks, and Availability Zone high availability
    • Deep integrations across AWS compute, networking, and observability services

    Where it doesn't

    • Usage-based pricing varies by AWS Region and traffic dimensions
    • The AWS Free Tier is limited to eligible new AWS customers
    • Classic Load Balancer is intended for legacy workloads

  • HAProxy Community Edition — where it wins

    • Free and open source for self-managed deployments
    • Combines Layer 4, Layer 7, TLS, health checks, and persistence
    • Includes rate limiting, monitoring, rewriting, and high availability

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires a Linux or self-hosted deployment model
    • Global traffic management is outside the community edition's scope
    • No AI features are provided
  • AWS Elastic Load Balancing9.3/10 · Paid

    Broad Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing for AWS production environments.

    Visit AWS ELBFull verdict →
  • HAProxy Community Edition8.7/10 · Free plan

    A capable free choice for self-managed Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic distribution.

    Visit HAProxyFull verdict →

More comparisons

All load balancing software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update