F5 BIG-IP APM vs Pomerium

F5 BIG-IP APM is now called F5 BIG-IP Zero Trust Access. The product secures and centralizes access to apps, APIs, and data across locations and hosting environments. Its identity-aware proxy applies context-based checks to each application request, while SAML, OAuth, and OIDC support authentication, federation, and single sign-on. Remote access options include per-app VPN, IPSec VPN, and end-to-end encrypted controls. Organizations can connect VMware Horizon ONE (AirWatch), Microsoft Intune, and IBM MaaS360 for mobile device management; REST API connectors can incorporate third-party UEBA and risk engines into access policies. It also integrates with Azure AD Conditional Access policies and F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management. Deployment options span virtual editions, hardware, and cloud environments. Pricing is on request, and there is no free plan. A 30-day BIG-IP VE trial includes Zero Trust Access with LTM, Advanced WAF, and Network Firewall (AFM). The trial supports several hypervisors and cloud platforms, including VMware ESXi, KVM, AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Pomerium is an open-source identity-aware proxy for controlling access to internal applications, servers, services, and workloads without requiring VPN client software. It checks identity, device state, and request context before granting access, and authenticates through identity providers that support OpenID Connect. Listed access scenarios include HTTP, MCP, SSH, gRPC, TCP, and UDP; supported app protocols also include HTTPS, HTTP/2, HTTP/3, and WebSocket. Pomerium removes its authentication cookies before forwarding requests upstream, and sensitive databroker data is encrypted at rest. Downstream TLS has a minimum of TLS 1.2. Deployment options include Linux and macOS binaries, packages, Docker images, source builds, and desktop clients for Windows, macOS, and Linux. The free Personal plan lists 10 users, 10 routes, five policies, and two service accounts. Business costs $7.00 per month, billed annually, and lists limits of 1,000 users, 100 routes, 100 policies, and 20 service accounts. A free trial is also listed.