The G2 on HAProxy

HAProxy Pros and Cons: Top Advantages and Disadvantages

Quick AI Summary Based on G2 Reviews

Generated from real user reviews

Users praise HAProxy for its highly effective load balancing capabilities, ensuring robust and scalable traffic management. (100 mentions)

Users value the ease of use of HAProxy, simplifying workflows with its lightweight and reliable design. (99 mentions)

Users value the reliability of HAProxy, appreciating its consistent performance and ease of use in load balancing. (88 mentions)

Users praise HAProxy for its unmatched performance, appreciating its low resource usage and straightforward configuration options. (73 mentions)

Users value the configuration ease of HAProxy, noting its simplicity and dependable performance during setup. (59 mentions)

Users value the cost reduction offered by HAProxy compared to traditional load balancers, enhancing overall efficiency. (25 mentions)

Users find difficult configuration challenging, especially with complex syntax and the lack of a built-in interface. (47 mentions)

Users note a high complexity and steep learning curve, which can challenge newcomers to HAProxy. (43 mentions)

Users find the complex setup of HAProxy challenging, especially for beginners lacking prior experience or tools. (35 mentions)

Users find configuration complexity challenging, especially for beginners, leading to time-consuming troubleshooting and a lack of graphical interface. (31 mentions)

Users find complex configuration challenging, often requiring extra effort and resources for effective management and troubleshooting. (30 mentions)

Users find the difficult setup of HAProxy challenging, often struggling with the web UI and steep learning curve. (24 mentions)

Users find a steep learning curve with HAProxy, making initial setup and understanding challenging compared to alternatives. (18 mentions)

Top Pros or Advantages of HAProxy

1. Load Balancing

Users praise HAProxy for its highly effective load balancing capabilities, ensuring robust and scalable traffic management.

See 100 mentions

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Dr. Dastgeer S.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

5.0/5

"Best load balance"

What do you like about HAProxy?

Load balance part is the most effective way

Verified User

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.5/5

"Great loadbalancer and WAF"

What do you like about HAProxy?

It's a REALLY fast load balancer with almost limitless functionality. It's very easy to use with Fusion, which is getting more features every now and

2. Ease of Use

Users value the ease of use of HAProxy, simplifying workflows with its lightweight and reliable design.

See 99 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Badri B.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

3.5/5

"Quick migration fron f5 device to haproxy. With minimum issues"

What do you like about HAProxy?

Ease of use, lite weight software app. Patch maintenance.

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"Efficiency and reliability"

What do you like about HAProxy?

The simplicity, efficiency and reliability

3. Reliability

Users value the reliability of HAProxy, appreciating its consistent performance and ease of use in load balancing.

See 88 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Merve C.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Increase Efficiency Across Your Platforms"

What do you like about HAProxy?

HAProxy is a powerful and lightweight load balancer, and Windows users can also run it easily using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) or Docker. The c

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"Efficiency and reliability"

What do you like about HAProxy?

The simplicity, efficiency and reliability

4. Performance

Users praise HAProxy for its unmatched performance, appreciating its low resource usage and straightforward configuration options.

See 73 mentions

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Gavin R.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Most robust and flexible load balancer there is"

What do you like about HAProxy?

Customizations and performance are unmatched, requires additional config compared with managed services like ALB but significantly more powerful

Merve C.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Increase Efficiency Across Your Platforms"

What do you like about HAProxy?

HAProxy is a powerful and lightweight load balancer, and Windows users can also run it easily using WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) or Docker. The c

5. Configuration Ease

Users value the configuration ease of HAProxy, noting its simplicity and dependable performance during setup.

See 59 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Oluwatobi J.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"My review"

What do you like about HAProxy?

My earliest use of Ha Proxy was an easy one to set up. It’s high performance is noteworthy.

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

3.5/5

"Great product"

What do you like about HAProxy?

It is east to configure and «just» works

6. Open Source

Users value the cost reduction offered by HAProxy compared to traditional load balancers, enhancing overall efficiency.

See 25 mentions

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ŠA

Šarūnas A.

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.5/5

"No issues running it at home"

What do you like about HAProxy?

Open source nature, ease of self hosting at home

Verified User

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"My review"

What do you like about HAProxy?

Its open! I like that this iniciativas are full open

Top Cons or Disadvantages of HAProxy

1. Difficult Configuration

Users find difficult configuration challenging, especially with complex syntax and the lack of a built-in interface.

See 47 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Ricardo R.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Powerful, Reliable, and Flexible—But with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration syntax can be complex for beginners. No built-in graphical interface — management requires manual edits or third-party tools. Trou

Raul B.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.5/5

"Great tool"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It cannot be setup with CLI or scripts. It will be to have a templates for different instances. And multi tenancy

2. Learning Difficulty

Users note a high complexity and steep learning curve, which can challenge newcomers to HAProxy.

See 43 mentions

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Verified User

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"HAProxy review"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It can have a slightly steeper learning curve than eg. nginx.

Blanca L.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"HAProxy: Reliable, High-Performance Load Balancing with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

While its power is undeniable, the learning curve for its more advanced features can be somewhat steep for newcomers. Furthermore, its primary relianc

3. Complex Setup

Users find the complex setup of HAProxy challenging, especially for beginners lacking prior experience or tools.

See 35 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Ricardo R.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Powerful, Reliable, and Flexible—But with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration syntax can be complex for beginners. No built-in graphical interface — management requires manual edits or third-party tools. Trou

Raul B.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.5/5

"Great tool"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It cannot be setup with CLI or scripts. It will be to have a templates for different instances. And multi tenancy

4. Complexity

Users find configuration complexity challenging, especially for beginners, leading to time-consuming troubleshooting and a lack of graphical interface.

See 31 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Ricardo R.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Powerful, Reliable, and Flexible—But with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration syntax can be complex for beginners. No built-in graphical interface — management requires manual edits or third-party tools. Trou

Verified User

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"Haproxy"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It's a bit hard to know all the configurations, but it's still worthwhile to look them up at least once.

5. Complex Configuration

Users find complex configuration challenging, often requiring extra effort and resources for effective management and troubleshooting.

See 30 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Ricardo R.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Powerful, Reliable, and Flexible—But with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration syntax can be complex for beginners. No built-in graphical interface — management requires manual edits or third-party tools. Trou

Verified User

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"Haproxy"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It's a bit hard to know all the configurations, but it's still worthwhile to look them up at least once.

6. Difficult Setup

Users find the difficult setup of HAProxy challenging, often struggling with the web UI and steep learning curve.

See 24 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

4.0/5

"Great product"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Somethings when the set up with PFSense, it doesn't work

Gary O.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"Excellent, highly scalable, secure load balancer"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration is difficult for first timers but there are tons of resources to help.

7. Steep Learning Curve

Users find a steep learning curve with HAProxy, making initial setup and understanding challenging compared to alternatives.

See 18 mentions

See Related User Reviews

Verified User

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

4.0/5

"HAProxy review"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It can have a slightly steeper learning curve than eg. nginx.

Blanca L.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

5.0/5

"HAProxy: Reliable, High-Performance Load Balancing with a Steep Learning Curve"

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

While its power is undeniable, the learning curve for its more advanced features can be somewhat steep for newcomers. Furthermore, its primary relianc

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Brendan B.

Senior Network Specialist

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

10/16/2025

"Intuitive UI with a Steep Setup Process"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

The UI is very intuitive. It has both complexity but ease of use. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

There is a lot to setup and refine. Possibly adding better steps throughs for creating rules could help? Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thank you for this feedback! We're working to add more tools that make setup easier.

Verified User in Research

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/3/2025

"Powerful Load Balancing, But Complex Setup and Missing Features"

2.5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

High performance and can handle large amounts of traffic efficiently.

• Stable and reliable, even under heavy load.

• Flexible configuration, allowing detailed routing rules and traffic control.

• Supports both L4 and L7 load balancing.

• Provides useful health checks and monitoring tools. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration can be complex, especially for new users.

• Dynamic scaling and service discovery require additional tools.

• Lacks some API gateway or WAF features in the open-source version.

• Advanced features often require more operational expertise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Sonali .

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/4/2025

"Ha proxy got app delivery controller"

4/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Software LB and app delivery controllers Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Enterprise version has all features and not standard Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Verified User in Hospital & Health Care

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/4/2025

"Rock-Solid Performance and Advanced Features in a Purpose-Built Load Balancer"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Love its rock‑solid reliability and performance, powerful L4/L7 features, precise configuration control, excellent observability, and security capabilities like TLS termination and rate limiting—all in a focused, purpose‑built load balancer. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Configuration syntax can be steep initially, complex rulesets get hard to reason about, no built‑in WAF or API gateway layer, and advanced features demand deep expertise to operate safely and confidently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Mahesh B.

Sr Solutions Architect

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/3/2025

"Outstanding Performance and Reliability with Flexible Configuration"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

This is a great service, offering impressive performance and reliability. It manages high traffic loads efficiently and provides flexible configuration options. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

The configuration file syntax is challenging for newcomers, as it demands precise formatting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Tae M.

12/1/2025

"Aws reinvent review"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

It is very fast. I think it can be a great contender in this space where the fast agents can respond in real time. There is a lot of opportunity in this industry where this tool will be able to help multiple use cases such as contact centers Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Nothing yet! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thank you for reviewing HAProxy! I hope it works well for you.

Sumeet C.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

11/11/2025

"Effortless Simplicity That Delivers"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

The product stands out for its simplicity, both in terms of consideration and configuration. It is easy to understand and set up, making the overall experience straightforward. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

The deployments are stateless and diversified, which I find beneficial. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thank you for reviewing HAProxy!

Raj B.

Lead Site Reliability Engineer(SRE)

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

6/4/2025

"HaProxy with multiple workloads behind kubernetes"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

The orchestration at web front end layer that HaProxy does in order to route proper rules to its backed at enterprise level is absolutely amazing Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Keeping up with latest extensions in security and AI tooling Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thanks for leaving feedback on HAProxy!

Qin T.

Sr. Manager, Web Middleware & Integration Services, Information Technology

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

10/22/2025

"Easy Implementation and Outstanding Support from HAProxy Team"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

It is easy to implement and support. HAProxy Support (especially its Slack Channel) is excellent. They like our extended team to closely work with us. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

It will be helpful if we can version feature in haproxy config. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

We actually do have version "snapshots" and rollbacks in HAProxy Fusion. It might be what you're looking for? Thank you for leaving this review!

Verified User in Computer Software

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/2/2025

"Impressive Performance at Scale with Minimal Latency"

4.5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

The performance at scale is truly impressive. Even with a complex rate limiting algorithm and 50,000 concurrent requests on a small node, the additional latency is less than 5ms. I absolutely love it. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Upgrading of the Fusion Control Plane could have been completely automated, right now it's needs some manual work. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

The upgrade process should become better in Fusion, as it is a target for improvement. Thanks for this review!