Best Load Balancing Software in 2026
Updated
In short: AWS Elastic Load Balancing is ranked #1 of 20 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of HAProxy Community Edition and Google Cloud Load Balancing. The best-ranked option with a free plan is HAProxy Community Edition. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer at $0.01/mo.
Choosing load balancing software starts with the routing and traffic controls your applications require. Compare Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing, global traffic management, and TLS termination, while checking backend limits and whether a managed service is available. Free-plan access and paid-from pricing provide additional points of comparison. F5 BIG-IP APM, AWS Elastic Load Balancing, and VMware Workstation Pro are among the options covered. Think about your infrastructure’s routing needs and preferred service model, then weigh those against the capabilities and limits shown for each entry.
20 load balancing software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
Recognised 40% · Phone app 26% · Documented 20% · Free plan 14% of the score
- 1 AWS Elastic Load Balancing No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 8.2Free Managed service: YesLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 2 HAProxy Community Edition No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.8Free Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 3 Google Cloud Load Balancing No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.2 Managed service: YesLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 4 Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 7.0$0.01/mo Managed service: YesLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 5 Progress Kemp LoadMaster No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.8 Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 6 Cloudflare Load Balancing No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.7$5/mo Managed service: YesLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 7 HAProxy Enterprise No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.6 Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 8 Citrix ADC (now NetScaler) No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.5 Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 9 Radware Alteon No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.4 Layer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 10 MetalLB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.3Free Managed service: NoLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 11 FortiADC No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2 Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 12 Loadbalancer.org Enterprise No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.2 Layer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 13 Array APV No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 6.0 Layer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 14 DigitalOcean Load Balancers No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8$12/mo Managed service: YesLayer 7 routing: NoLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 15 kube-vip No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.8 Managed service: NoLayer 7 routing: NoLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 16 PureLB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Managed service: NoLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 17 OpenELB No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.6 Managed service: No
- 18 Linux Virtual Server No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.5 Layer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 19 A10 Thunder ADC No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 5.3 Layer 7 routing: YesLayer 4 routing: Yes
- 20 Oracle Cloud Infrastructure DNS No phone app RecognisedPhone appDocumentedFree plan 4.5
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored. They are labelled, and the editorial order and scores never change for payment.
Questions about this list
Which load balancing software is ranked first on Samsung Mobile US Press?
AWS Elastic Load Balancing is ranked #1 of 20 with a score of 8.2. HAProxy Community Edition is second and Google Cloud Load Balancing third.
How many of these have a free plan?
3 of the 20 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer has the lowest first paid tier we found: $0.01/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked mobile-first: a phone app alongside the web or desktop product, a free tier and the depth of its documentation. Paid placements never change a rank.