shouldiuse.io

VERDICT

Should I use Free Load Balancer?

A free version of Kemp's popular VLM application load balancer is now available for unlimited use, making it easy for IT developers and open source technology users to benefit from all the features of a full commercial-grade product at no cost. - freeloadbalancer.com

Worth it. Homelabbers, developers, and small teams should grab it: commercial-grade load balancing and a WAF at $0. Skip it for production workloads that need vendor SLAs, or if you want true open source.

Confidence

Medium. Based on 20+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so some user claims are partial.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of use
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityNo support evidence in sources
  • Security posture

Pricing

$0

Free LoadMaster

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes

Best for

  • Homelab builders
  • Budget-constrained small teams
  • Dev and test environments
  • Developers wanting GUI, not CLI config

Not for

  • Production apps needing vendor SLA support
  • Open-source purists — use HAProxy or NGINX
  • Large enterprises needing HA clusters with paid support
  • Cloud-native teams better served by provider balancers

Gotchas - check before you buy

medium

Production support likely needs paid Kemp plans — budget for that before relying on it.

medium

Verify free-edition throughput and feature caps before production; users openly ask about them.

medium

Guess: proprietary appliance — config skills won't transfer to HAProxy or NGINX if you leave.

low

Free edition is the funnel into Progress Kemp paid trials and upgrades.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Genuinely free, unlimited-use commercial-grade load balancer
  • Called full-featured by independent reviewers
  • Includes a web application firewall
  • Runs on multiple hypervisors
  • LoadMaster leads G2 Grid for load balancing

Cons

  • Free-edition limitations unclear; users ask publicly what's restricted
  • 'Free' editions hide support and management costs, rival argues
  • Product site's own security page shows no content

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/20/2026 - 12 sources - No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

official x3review x7security x1news x1

Key stats

  • Value for money: 5/5

    Rating

  • $0

    Starting price

  • 12

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 5/5. Full commercial product, $0
  • Ease of use: 4/5. GUI included; homelab users adopt it readily
  • Feature depth: 5/5. Full-featured per reviewers; WAF included
  • Support quality. No support evidence in sources
  • Security posture: 4/5. WAF included; no CVEs found reviewed
  • $0 Starting price Free edition, unlimited use
  • Yes Free tier Perpetual free license reported
  • Grid leader G2 standing Load balancing, Summer 2025
  • Yes WAF included Web application firewall built in

Pricing

Free LoadMaster

$0

  • Unlimited use
  • Full commercial-grade feature set
  • WAF included

Security

No known vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.

What users say

Homelab and sysadmin communities call it a full-featured, proven free balancer, though some users are unclear on free-edition limits.

“The Kemp free load balancer is a full featured loa…”
Lawrence Systems forums
“Kemp's free load balancer comes with a perpetual…”
Reddit, r/homelab
“Does the free load balancer have any limitation…”
Reddit, r/selfhosted
Full analysis

Based on 20+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so some user claims are partial.

Genuinely free, full-featured commercial load balancer. Great for homelabs and small teams; thin if you need enterprise support.

Methodology

Based on 20+ public sources; many review snippets were truncated, so some user claims are partial.

Sources

  1. Free Load Balancer (official site)freeloadbalancer.com
    official
  2. Free Web Application Firewall (WAF)freeloadbalancer.com
    official
  3. Security pagefreeloadbalancer.com
    security
  4. Kemp Load Master - Free virtual load balancerforums.lawrencesystems.com
    review
  5. No, it's not a bloody free load balancer — and never will beloadbalancer.org
    review
  6. Kemp's free load balancer — Reddit r/homelabreddit.com
    review
  7. Kemp Free LoadMaster — Reddit r/sysadminreddit.com
    review
  8. Free load balancer limitations question — Reddit r/selfhostedreddit.com
    review
  9. LoadMaster Leads G2 Summer 2025 Grid for Load Balancingkemptechnologies.com
    news
  10. Boost Your Homelab Setup with FreeLoadBalancer.comfreeloadbalancer.com
    official
  11. Top Best Software Load Balancers: Free & Open Source In 2025openbankingforum.org
    review
  12. Progress Free Load Balancervirtualisedfruit.co.uk
    review

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