# AWS Elastic Load Balancing vs Citrix ADC (NetScaler)

| Attribute | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | Citrix ADC (NetScaler) |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 85.2 (28% (low)) | 10.8 (12% (low)) |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"hybrid":true,"on_prem":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A managed load balancing service that distributes incoming traffic across multiple targets and availability zones. Supports application, network, gateway, and classic load balancer types with automatic scaling and security features. | NetScaler is an application delivery controller designed to manage traffic, security, and performance for applications deployed across on-premises data centers, cloud environments, and hybrid infrastructures. It includes integrated web application firewall and API security capabilities, plus real-time analytics for monitoring and troubleshooting. |
| integrations.count | - | 13 |
| integrations.list | - | `[{"name":"Red Hat OpenShift"},{"name":"Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform"},{"name":"Red Hat Enterprise Linux"},{"name":"Kubernetes"},{"name":"Splunk"},{"name":"Prometheus"},{"name":"Elasticsearch"},{"name":"Terraform"},{"name":"AWS CloudFormation"},{"name":"Let's Encrypt"},{"name":"Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops"},{"name":"Citrix DaaS"},{"name":"Microsoft 365"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"hqCountry":"US","primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"usage","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Application Load Balancer","summary":"Pay per Load Capacity Unit (LCU) used. Free tier includes 750 hours/month and 15 LCUs for new AWS customers (6 months)","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"LCU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.008,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-LCU model for application layer load balancing","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_tier_hours":"750 hours/month","free_tier_data_processing":"15 LCUs"}},{"free":true,"name":"Network Load Balancer","summary":"Pay per Network Load Capacity Unit (NLCU) used","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"NLCU-hour"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.006,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Pay-per-NLCU model for high-performance network layer load balancing","contactSales":false},{"free":true,"name":"Classic Load Balancer","summary":"Free tier: 750 hours/month + 15 GB data processing. Then $0.025 per GB processed","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.025,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Legacy load balancer with usage-based pricing","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"free_tier_hours":"750 hours/month","free_tier_data_processing":"15 GB"}},{"free":false,"name":"Gateway Load Balancer","description":"Deploy third-party virtual appliances at scale","contactSales":false}],"summary":"Free tier for 6 months (750 hours/month classic+ALB, 15 LCUs for ALB). After free tier, usage-based pricing per LCU or NLCU processed. New customers receive up to $200 in free credits.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://aws.amazon.com/elasticloadbalancing/pricing/?nc=sn&loc=3","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T13:40:49.357Z","freeTrialDays":180,"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Citrix Universal Hybrid Multi-Cloud License","features":["Citrix and NetScaler software entitlements","All NetScaler instance types (single tenant, multi-tenant, virtualized, containerized, bare metal)","Unlimited NetScaler software instances","Premium application and API protection","End-to-end observability with NetScaler Console","Software support included","On-demand training"],"description":"Comprehensive license supporting Citrix applications and NetScaler across any deployment environment with 1 Tbps throughput capacity","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"throughput":"1,000 Gbps","virtual_ips":"Unlimited","netscaler_instances":"Unlimited"}},{"free":false,"name":"Citrix Platform License","features":["Unlimited Gbps throughput capacity","End-to-end observability via NetScaler Console"],"description":"Extended license providing unlimited throughput capacity with all Universal License benefits","contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"throughput":"Unlimited Gbps"}},{"free":false,"name":"NetScaler Fixed-Capacity License","features":["Defined number of NetScaler software instances","NetScaler Console not required"],"description":"License for a defined number of NetScaler instances scaled to specific throughput requirements","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Web-Scale Application Deployments","features":["Rapid scaling capabilities","Support for large concurrent user loads"],"description":"Custom subscription options for applications requiring rapid scaling and high concurrent user support","contactSales":true}],"summary":"Subscription-based licensing with multiple capacity options; contact sales for pricing details","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://www.netscaler.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-19T13:43:02.024Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | no |
| pricing.model | freemium | quote |
| pricing.price_level | low | unknown |
| pricing.transparent | yes | no |
| security.fedramp | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Load Balancers)

| Capability | AWS Elastic Load Balancing | Citrix ADC (NetScaler) |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Layer | - | - |
| Deployment form | - | - |
| Tls termination | - | - |
| Http2 http3 support | - | - |
| Gslb multi region | - | - |
| K8s ingress or gateway API | - | - |
| WAF bundled | - | - |
| Autoscaling integration | - | - |
| Health check depth | - | - |
| Session persistence | - | - |
| Fips 140 validated | - | - |
| Open source | - | - |
| Pricing model | - | - |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T12:53:32.169Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*