3-year cost calculator
Pre-filled for F5 BIG-IP → NGINX. Adjust every figure with your own numbers.
Every figure here is an illustrative estimate, not a vendor quote. Defaults are editable starting points compiled from public information; real, binding pricing comes from the vendor or an authorized distributor. See our methodology.
Recommended for your requirements: Recommended class: Small virtual appliance (≤10 Gbps) — size for 10 Gbps L7 throughput and ~50k SSL/TLS TPS. Confirm: SSL offload, WAF, GSLB, and health-check needs; deploy active/standby for HA.
All figures are illustrative and fully editable — adjust the cost-per-instance and migration inputs with your own numbers. Not guaranteed vendor pricing (defaults reviewed May 2026). For a binding quote, use the request form below to reach an authorized distributor or partner.
Quick comparison: F5 BIG-IP vs NGINX
Common trade-offs teams weigh when staying on F5 BIG-IP versus moving to NGINX. These are general, commonly-reported considerations — not statements of fact about any vendor — so check them against your own contract and the vendors' current terms.
- Already in production — no migration effort or risk
- Mature ecosystem with vendor support and SLAs
- Per-instance licensing plus throughput tiers
- Premium appliance hardware costs
- Modules (LTM, ASM, APM) billed separately
- Costly annual support renewals
- Ongoing per-instance + throughput cost to budget for
- Higher vendor lock-in to weigh
- Open source — no license fees
- No vendor lock-in
- Cost model: Free OSS / Plus
- Requires a migration (~15 weeks, medium effort)
- Community support by default — paid support optional
Why teams evaluate alternatives to F5 BIG-IP
Reasons commonly cited by users and in public industry coverage for re-evaluating F5 BIG-IP. These are general, reported considerations — not statements of fact about F5 — and may not reflect your situation or the vendor's current terms. Verify against your own contract before deciding.
- Per-instance licensing plus throughput tiers
- Premium appliance hardware costs
- Modules (LTM, ASM, APM) billed separately
- Costly annual support renewals
The migration plan
Roughly 15 weeks for a mid-size estate, in six phases.
Tooling & automation
Map virtual servers to NGINX server/upstream blocks; port iRules to config/njs; migrate certs; validate health checks; swing traffic.
OffVendor's wizard pre-fills these scripts with your environment — inventory export, disk/schema conversion, bulk provisioning, and validation.
Frequently asked
Is migrating from F5 BIG-IP to NGINX worth it?
For most teams facing rising F5 BIG-IP costs, yes — NGINX (free oss / plus) typically lowers 3-year total cost of ownership, though the right answer depends on workload complexity and in-house skills. Use the calculator to model your own numbers.
How long does a F5 BIG-IP to NGINX migration take?
A typical mid-size estimate is around 15 weeks across six phases — discovery, design, pilot, waved production migration, validation, and decommission. Larger or more complex estates take longer.
What tools are used to migrate from F5 BIG-IP to NGINX?
Map virtual servers to NGINX server/upstream blocks; port iRules to config/njs; migrate certs; validate health checks; swing traffic.