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

See Related User Reviews

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

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

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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Cristian R.

Technical Leader

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/1/2025

"Balance Web Application Delivers an Exceptional Experience"

4.5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

This tool is useful for balancing web applications and acts as a reverse proxy. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Nothing to mention, it works fine. Every time I use it, it performs well. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thank you for reviewing HAProxy!

Stephen M.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/2/2025

"Effortless to Use and Always Reliable"

4.5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Ease of use. It just works. Lightweight and relaible. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Nothing. It has consistently solved porblems for me for years Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Great to hear!

Manimaran B.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/4/2025

"Open-Source Excellence Driving Impressive Growth"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Its open-source nature has been instrumental in its remarkable growth over the past decade. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

I can't really talk about it since I am a big open-source fan. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Mauro I.

Enterprise (> 1000 emp.)

12/2/2025

"Effortless Adoption for On-Prem and Cloud Kubernetes"

4/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Ease of adoption both for on prem instances and cloud kubernetes cluster Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Some custom probes can be hard to troubleshoot while integrating it Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Are there ways we could improve the probes, in cases you've seen?

Rashed A.

DevOps Manager

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

12/3/2025

"Excellent Load Balancer and Reverse Proxy, Open Source Advantage"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Great load balancer, and reverse proxy love the open source Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Not much great community support. I like how this offer os Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Balaji C.

Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.)

12/2/2025

"A Decade of Excellence—Highly Recommended!"

5/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

Using it for 10 years and can't recommend it enough Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

I don't think it lacks anything. It's great for every use case Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

This is great to hear!

Derek L.

Managing Partner

Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.)

1/24/2025

"Fantastic Value with Best In Class Customer Service"

4/5

What do you like best about HAProxy?

We've been using HAProxy for around a decade, initially starting with the Community Edition and gradually expanding its footprint. We used industry-standard SLBs from major vendors, but the exorbitant price tags and outrageous support costs were becoming unsustainable. Two years ago, we leaped HAProxy Enterprise Edition (HAPEE) with the Fusion Control Plane (FCP), and it's been a game-changer.

Here's what we love:

Performance: HAPEE's performance is impressive. Even without leveraging hardware acceleration (which they support through Xeon Platinum chips), it easily handles our traffic load.

Stability: Since migrating, we've experienced rock-solid stability. HAPEE has proven to be a reliable workhorse.

Full configurability: HAPEE offers complete control and customization, allowing us to tailor it precisely to our needs.

Fusion Control Plane (FCP): The FCP has revolutionized our workflow, enabling full transactional changes across our clusters. This was a huge pain point with our previous solutions.

Unbeatable Support: This is arguably HAPEE's strongest point. The support team is phenomenal. They're available through Slack, providing near-instantaneous responses and practical solutions. We've dealt with companies charging 10x or 30x more for support that pales in comparison. HAProxy's support team sets a new standard.

Cost-Effectiveness: The pricing for HAPEE is significantly lower than any other comparable solution on the market. It's a breath of fresh air after years of being squeezed by our previous vendors.

Community Edition: We also utilize the HAProxy Community Edition for simpler micro-deployments, and it also excels in that role.

We've moved to HAProxy EE, and the cost/performance/support are so good we are not looking back. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What do you dislike about HAProxy?

Honestly, there's not much to dislike, but the Fusion Control Plane (FCP) has some growing pains. While it does many things exceptionally well, it's still under active development, and occasional kinks need to be ironed out, or some things you would expect haven't been implemented yet. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Response from Nick Ramirez of HAProxy

edit

Thank you for writing this thorough review! It will help others to weigh the pros and cons.