Google Cloud Load Balancing vs F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing

Google Cloud Load Balancing9.2Visit F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing8.4Visit

Higher score Google Cloud Load Balancing #2 in Load Balancer Services 9.2/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 3 features Visit Google Cloud

vs

F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing #8 in Load Balancer Services 8.4/10 Pricing on request ✓ 3 of 3 features Visit F5

• Google Cloud Load Balancing fits best

  Global, multi-backend Google Cloud workloads

• F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing fits best

  Hybrid and multicloud enterprise delivery

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Side by side

Feature	Google Cloud Load Balancing 9.2/10 Visit ↗	F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing 8.4/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.4
Ranking	#2 in Load Balancer Services	#8 in Load Balancer Services
Best for	Global, multi-backend Google Cloud workloads	Hybrid and multicloud enterprise delivery
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$0.01/unit usage-based	—
Free plan	Not checked yet	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs	Email, Phone, Tickets, Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Google Cloud Load Balancing 1/3 · F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing 3/3
TLS termination	✓	✓
Sticky sessions	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
DNS traffic steering	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Balancing layers	Not checked yet	Both
Global regions	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Backend target limit	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Supports Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic distribution Works with VM, container, serverless, hybrid, and external backends Includes TLS termination, health checks, and session affinity	Balances Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic with TLS termination and health checks Supports routing, failover, session persistence, and DNS-based global balancing Integrates load balancing with WAF, DDoS, API security, and bot protection
Cons	Usage-based pricing requires tracking forwarding rules and applicable charges Regional data-processing charges can apply in addition to forwarding rules A 50-backend limit applies to specified backend types per backend service	Public list pricing is not published; buying requires contacting sales Essentials targets public-facing web apps, not the advanced hybrid/multicloud scope Enterprise adds advanced security and behavioral analysis, making it a broader fit
Our verdict	Google Cloud Load Balancing is a fully managed service for distributing application and network traffic across backend resources. It suits organizations running scalable, distributed applications across Google Cloud, other public clouds,… Read the review →	F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing is a SaaS-based service for distributing application traffic across origins, sites, clusters, and cloud environments. It is aimed at mid-market and enterprise organizations managing public-facing and… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Google Cloud Load Balancing — where it wins

  • Supports Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic distribution
  • Works with VM, container, serverless, hybrid, and external backends
  • Includes TLS termination, health checks, and session affinity

  Where it doesn't

  • Usage-based pricing requires tracking forwarding rules and applicable charges
  • Regional data-processing charges can apply in addition to forwarding rules
  • A 50-backend limit applies to specified backend types per backend service

• F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing — where it wins

  • Balances Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic with TLS termination and health checks
  • Supports routing, failover, session persistence, and DNS-based global balancing
  • Integrates load balancing with WAF, DDoS, API security, and bot protection

  Where it doesn't

  • Public list pricing is not published; buying requires contacting sales
  • Essentials targets public-facing web apps, not the advanced hybrid/multicloud scope
  • Enterprise adds advanced security and behavioral analysis, making it a broader fit

• Google Cloud Load Balancing9.2/10 · Paid

  A broad managed load balancer for global, hybrid, and multi-backend workloads.

  Visit Google CloudFull verdict →
• F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing8.4/10 · Pricing on request

  Layer 4/7 balancing and global traffic steering for distributed application estates.

  Visit F5Full verdict →