Best Load Balancing Software in 2026
Updated
In short: VMware Workstation Pro is ranked #1 of 25 as of 4 October 2026, ahead of F5 BIG-IP APM and AWS Elastic Load Balancing. The best-ranked option with a free plan is AWS Elastic Load Balancing. The lowest first paid tier on this page is Alibaba Cloud Server Load Balancer at $0.01/mo.
For distributing application traffic, compare the routing and service capabilities that match your environment. Layer 4 and Layer 7 routing, global traffic management and TLS termination cover distinct parts of the comparison; backend limits may also be relevant. Check whether a managed service is available, and consider free-plan access and paid-from pricing alongside those features. VMware Workstation Pro leads the ranking, followed by F5 BIG-IP APM and AWS Elastic Load Balancing. HAProxy Community Edition, Loadbalancer.org Enterprise and Progress Kemp LoadMaster are also among the early entries. The order and listed criteria offer different ways to review the 25 options for your workload.
25 load balancing software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
#1 VMware Workstation Pro Top pick · 7.0 Free plan · Free
#2 F5 BIG-IP APM Runner-up · 6.9 #3 AWS Elastic Load Balancing Also great · 6.8 Free plan · Free
- Free plan Linuxself-hostedWindows
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial AndroidapiiOSLinuxmacOSself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan apiWeb
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free plan Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 150 /mo
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- Yes
- Managed service
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Free trial apiLinuxself-hostedWebWindows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiLinuxself-hostedWeb
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiLinuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiWeb
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - apiLinuxself-hosted
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$0.01/mofirst paid tier About Alibaba Cloud Server Load BalancerVisit site - WebLinux
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 5 /mo
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$5/mofirst paid tier About Cloudflare Load BalancingVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 12 /mo
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- No
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms$12/mofirst paid tier About DigitalOcean Load BalancersVisit site - Web
- Free plan
- No
- Paid from
- 10 /mo
- Managed service
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
- Global traffic management
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Windows
- Free plan
- Yes
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 7 routing
- No
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Free plan
- Yes
- Layer 7 routing
- Yes
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms - Linux
- Managed service
- No
- Layer 4 routing
- Yes
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms -
- Free plan
- No
RecognisedDocumentedFree planPlatforms
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 Everything Xiaomi?
VMware Workstation Pro is ranked #1 of 25 with a score of 7.0. F5 BIG-IP APM is second and AWS Elastic Load Balancing third.
How many of these have a free plan?
3 of the 25 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 on what each maker publishes: documentation depth, a free tier and the platforms it runs on. Paid placements never change a rank.