Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Load Balancing Software

Progress Kemp LoadMaster vs NGINX Plus

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 6 checks side by side
Higher score 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
NGINX Plus #6 in Load Balancing Software 8.8/10 Pricing on request · 30-day trial Free trial✓ 4 of 5 features Visit NGINX Plus

Progress Kemp LoadMaster leads on 1 check, NGINX Plus on 0, and 5 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 scoreProgress Kemp LoadMaster · 8.9/10
  • Free planonly Progress Kemp LoadMaster
  • Free trialboth

Progress Kemp LoadMaster scores higher on our rubric for load balancing software: 8.9 against 8.8 out of 10; our editors rank them #5 and #6.

Progress Kemp LoadMaster offers free plan; NGINX Plus doesn't.

Progress Kemp LoadMaster is the better fit for enterprise teams wanting a free starting option. NGINX Plus is the better fit for API-heavy self-hosted environments.

  • Progress Kemp LoadMaster fits best

    Enterprise teams wanting a free starting option

  • NGINX Plus fits best

    API-heavy self-hosted environments

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 Progress Kemp LoadMaster 8.9/10 Visit ↗ NGINX Plus 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 8.9 8.8
Ranking #5 in Load Balancing Software #6 in Load Balancing Software
Best for Enterprise teams wanting a free starting option API-heavy self-hosted environments
Pricing model Free plan + paid Paid
Starting price — Pricing on request · 30-day trial
Free plan ✓ (best) —
Free trial 30 days 30 days
Free trial length 30 days 30 days
Deployment Cloud, Self-hosted Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web, Linux, Windows Linux
Support Community, Docs, Phone Phone, Tickets, Community, Docs
Integrations 9 integrations 12 integrations
Built for Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Enterprise, Mid-market
Features Progress Kemp LoadMaster 4/5 · NGINX Plus 4/5
Managed service — —
Layer 7 routing ✓ ✓
Layer 4 routing ✓ ✓
Global traffic management ✓ ✓
TLS termination ✓ ✓
Specs
Backend limit Not checked yet Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • 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
  • Layer 4 and Layer 7 balancing with advanced traffic routing
  • Dynamic API configuration without reloads and active health checks
  • High availability, TLS management, and 200+ monitoring metrics
Cons
  • 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
  • Commercial software rather than an open-source option
  • Subscription pricing requires contact with sales
  • Not offered as a managed service
Our verdict

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 →

NGINX Plus is F5’s commercial application delivery software for organizations operating applications, APIs, Kubernetes environments, and AI workloads. It combines Layer 4 and Layer 7 load balancing with reverse proxying, API gateway…

Read the review →
  1. Progress Kemp LoadMasterLoad Balancing Software 8.9Free plan · 30-day trial
  2. NGINX PlusLoad Balancing Software 8.8Pricing on request · 30-day trial

Strengths and trade-offs

  • 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

  • NGINX Plus — where it wins

    • Layer 4 and Layer 7 balancing with advanced traffic routing
    • Dynamic API configuration without reloads and active health checks
    • High availability, TLS management, and 200+ monitoring metrics

    Where it doesn't

    • Commercial software rather than an open-source option
    • Subscription pricing requires contact with sales
    • Not offered as a managed service
  • 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 →
  • NGINX Plus8.8/10 · Pricing on request · 30-day trial

    A capable commercial choice for API-heavy teams running self-hosted application infrastructure.

    Visit NGINX PlusFull 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