Best Azure Application Gateway Alternatives in 2026
The top Azure Application Gateway alternatives are AWS Elastic Load Balancing, Google Cloud Load Balancing and Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer: 15 load balancer services our editors would look at instead of Azure Application Gateway, in our ranking order.
Azure Application Gateway: A capable Azure gateway for Layer 7 routing, TLS handling, and WAF-enabled traffic management. Where it falls short: paid service with no free plan.
Switching from Azure Application Gateway? For most load balancer services buyers the best Azure Application Gateway alternative is AWS Elastic Load Balancing, built for aWS-native applications needing broad load balancing. On a budget, DigitalOcean Load Balancers starts at $15/mo. Traefik Proxy has a free plan, which Azure Application Gateway does not. Huawei Cloud Elastic Load Balance offers the most backend target limit (500).
Why People Look for an Azure Application Gateway Alternative
- Paid service with no free plan
- Backend target limit of 1,200
- Does not provide DNS traffic steering
- No free plan — 2 of the alternatives below have it
- No dNS traffic steering — 1 of the alternatives below has it
Quick Picks by What You Need
- Best overallAWS Elastic Load Balancing9.4
AWS-native applications needing broad load balancing
Visit AWS Elastic Load Balancing - Lowest priceDigitalOcean Load Balancers7.7
Paid plans from $15/mo
Visit DigitalOcean Load Balancers - Best free optionTraefik Proxy8.6
Has a free plan (Azure Application Gateway has none)
Visit Traefik Proxy - Most backend target limitHuawei Cloud Elastic Load Balance8.2
500
Visit Huawei Cloud Elastic Load Balance - Best for dns traffic steeringF5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing8.4
DNS traffic steering (Azure Application Gateway: no)
Visit F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing
All 15 Azure Application Gateway Alternatives, Ranked
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.
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Best forAWS-native applications needing broad load balancing
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Editor score 9.4 vs 8.3
A broad AWS-native load balancing service with usage-based pricing and multiple traffic layers.
- TLS termination
9.4/10★★★★★Visit AWS ELB -
Best forGlobal, multi-backend Google Cloud workloads
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Editor score 9.2 vs 8.3
A broad managed load balancer for global, hybrid, and multi-backend workloads.
- TLS termination
9.2/10★★★★★Visit Google Cloud -
Best forCost-conscious Alibaba Cloud deployments
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Editor score 9.0 vs 8.3
A broad managed balancing service with a clear ALB entry price and Alibaba Cloud integrations.
- TLS termination
9.0/10★★★★☆Visit Alibaba Cloud -
Best forTeams needing advanced self-hosted proxying
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Editor score 8.8 vs 8.3
Advanced Layer 4/7 traffic management for teams operating self-hosted applications and APIs.
- TLS termination
8.8/10★★★★☆Visit NGINX Plus -
Best forEnterprises needing self-hosted L4/L7 control
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Editor score 8.7 vs 8.3
A broad self-hosted load balancer for enterprises that need L4/L7 and global traffic control.
- TLS termination
8.7/10★★★★☆Visit HAProxy -
Best forDevelopers wanting a flexible free proxy
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Free plan
- Editor score 8.6 vs 8.3
A flexible free proxy for teams running self-hosted, cloud-native infrastructure.
- TLS termination
8.6/10★★★★☆Visit Traefik -
Best forEngineers needing powerful open-source proxying
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- Free plan
- Editor score 8.5 vs 8.3
A capable self-hosted Layer 7 proxy for teams that want control over traffic management.
- TLS termination
8.5/10★★★★☆Visit Envoy -
Best forHybrid and multicloud enterprise delivery
- Better than Azure Application Gateway:
- DNS traffic steering
- Editor score 8.4 vs 8.3
Layer 4/7 balancing and global traffic steering for distributed application estates.
- DNS traffic steering
- Sticky sessions
- TLS termination
8.4/10★★★★☆Visit F5 -
Best forCloud teams needing broad L4/L7 routing
A feature-rich ELB for teams needing both Layer 4 and Layer 7 traffic control.
- Sticky sessions
- TLS termination
8.2/10★★★★☆Visit Huawei Cloud -
Best forTencent Cloud applications needing L4 and L7
A capable Tencent Cloud load balancer for mixed protocol, routing, and resilience needs.
- TLS termination
8.1/10★★★★☆Visit Tencent Cloud -
Best forGlobal web apps needing edge delivery and security
Global load balancing, edge delivery, and security for Azure-hosted web apps and APIs.
8.0/10★★★★☆Visit Front Door -
Best forEnterprises needing appliance-style global balancing
A broad appliance-style ADC for enterprises balancing critical applications across complex environments.
- TLS termination
7.9/10★★★★☆Visit site -
Best forIBM Cloud users needing standard managed LB
A managed IBM Cloud load balancer with broad traffic controls and multi-zone support.
- TLS termination
7.8/10★★★★☆Visit IBM Cloud -
Best forSmall teams wanting simple affordable managed LB
A transparent managed LB service for teams running regional or multi-region workloads.
- TLS termination
7.7/10★★★★☆Visit DigitalOcean -
Best forOVHcloud users wanting global managed balancing
A capable managed balancer for OVHcloud workloads, with clear entry pricing and a 10-backend limit.
- TLS termination
7.6/10★★★★☆Visit OVHcloud
Azure Application Gateway Alternatives: Common Questions
What is the best alternative to Azure Application Gateway?
AWS Elastic Load Balancing: #1 in our Load Balancer Services ranking, with an editor score of 9.4 out of 10. A broad AWS-native load balancing service with usage-based pricing and multiple traffic layers.
Is there a free alternative to Azure Application Gateway?
Yes. Traefik Proxy and Envoy Proxy have a free plan or a free tier.
What is the cheapest paid alternative to Azure Application Gateway?
Of the alternatives here that publish a price, DigitalOcean Load Balancers starts lowest, at $15/mo.
Why do people look for Azure Application Gateway alternatives?
Paid service with no free plan; Backend target limit of 1,200; Does not provide DNS traffic steering.
Which Azure Application Gateway alternative has the most backend target limit?
Huawei Cloud Elastic Load Balance, with 500.
How do I switch from Azure Application Gateway?
Export your data from Azure Application Gateway (most tools have an export in their settings). Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one. Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on. Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Azure Application Gateway.
How to Switch from Azure Application Gateway
- Export your data from Azure Application Gateway (most tools have an export in their settings).
- Sign up for the alternative; start on its free plan or trial if it has one.
- Import your export and set up the integrations your team relies on.
- Run both side by side for a short while, then cancel Azure Application Gateway.
Azure Application Gateway vs Each Alternative
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | TLS termination | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Azure Application Gateway | No | Yes | 8.3 | |
| 1 | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | No | Yes | 9.4 | |
| 2 | Google Cloud Load Balancing | $0.01/unit usage-based | Yes | 9.2 | |
| 3 | Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer | No | $0.007/unit usage-based | Yes | 9.0 |
| 4 | NGINX Plus | No | Yes | 8.8 | |
| 5 | HAProxy Enterprise | No | Yes | 8.7 | |
| 6 | Traefik Proxy | Yes | Free | Yes | 8.6 |
| 7 | Envoy Proxy | Yes | Free | Yes | 8.5 |
| 8 | F5 Distributed Cloud Load Balancing | No | Yes | 8.4 | |
| 9 | Huawei Cloud Elastic Load Balance | No | Yes | 8.2 | |
| 10 | Tencent Cloud CLB | No | Yes | 8.1 | |
| 11 | Azure Front Door | No | $35/unit/mo | 8.0 | |
| 12 | Loadbalancer.org Enterprise | No | $150/mo | Yes | 7.9 |
| 13 | IBM Cloud Load Balancer | No | Yes | 7.8 | |
| 14 | DigitalOcean Load Balancers | No | $15/mo | Yes | 7.7 |
| 15 | OVHcloud Load Balancer | No | $22.99/mo | Yes | 7.6 |
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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