Find the Right WAF for Your Business
Compare Web Application Firewalls, read expert guides, and make informed decisions. Built for mid-market companies who need security without enterprise complexity.
Covering 60 providers, from free options like Cloudflare and ModSecurity to enterprise solutions from Akamai, Imperva, and Fastly. 26 with a free tier, 11 fully open source.
What are you looking for?
Free WAFs
Solid protection without spending a dime. Cloudflare, ModSecurity, and more.
Compare side by side
Pick any two WAFs and see features, pricing, and ratings compared.
Best WAF for your stack
Laravel, WordPress, AWS, e-commerce. Curated picks by use case.
Browse all providers
The full list. Filter by price, features, platform, or deployment model.
Top-rated WAF providers
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Akamai App & API Protector
Enterprise-scale WAF from the CDN pioneer, delivering comprehensive application security with unmatched global infrastructure and advanced threat intelligence.
Cloudflare Web Application Firewall
Industry-leading WAF with global CDN integration, offering robust protection against OWASP threats with easy setup and generous free tier.
Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)
Developer-friendly WAF using proprietary SmartParse technology, offering low false positives and seamless DevOps integration for modern application security.
Imperva Web Application Firewall
Enterprise-grade cloud WAF with industry-leading threat research, offering comprehensive application security with advanced bot protection and API security.
Radware Cloud WAF Service
Fully managed cloud WAF combining automatic policy generation, advanced bot mitigation, and 24/7 expert support with industry-leading DDoS protection.
Sansec Shield Web Application Firewall
Magento-specific WAF with real-time threat protection, zero false positives, and deep Adobe Commerce integration for e-commerce stores.
Best WAF For Your Stack
Popular Comparisons
All comparisons →Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Google Cloud Armor
Cloudflare Web Application Firewall edges out in this comparison, offering Small to medium websites, WordPress sites, developers wanting easy setup, …
Read comparison →Akamai App & API Protector vs AWS Web Application Firewall
Akamai App & API Protector edges out in this comparison, offering Large enterprises, high-traffic websites, organizations facing sophisticated bot attacks, …
Read comparison →Azure Web Application Firewall vs Google Cloud Armor
Both Azure Web Application Firewall and Google Cloud Armor are excellent choices. The right pick depends on your specific infrastructure, …
Read comparison →All WAF providers
Frequently asked questions
What is the best WAF in 2026?
It depends on your stack and budget. For most sites, Cloudflare WAF offers strong protection with a generous free tier and trivial DNS-based setup. For AWS-native workloads, AWS WAF integrates directly with ALB and CloudFront. Enterprises needing advanced bot management and API protection typically choose Akamai, Imperva, or Fastly Next-Gen WAF. See our full provider list for detailed ratings across all 60 WAFs we cover.
What is the best free WAF?
Cloudflare's free plan includes basic WAF rules and DDoS protection, making it the most popular free option. For self-hosted setups, ModSecurity (works with Apache and Nginx) and Coraza (modern Go-based alternative) are solid open-source choices. BunkerWeb and SafeLine add web-based management on top. We cover all 26 free options in our free WAF guide.
How do I choose a WAF?
Start with your deployment model. Cloud WAFs like Cloudflare and Sucuri require only a DNS change. Reverse proxy WAFs like ModSecurity need server-level configuration. Then consider pricing (per-request, per-site, or bandwidth-based), compliance requirements (SOC2, PCI-DSS, HIPAA), and how it integrates with your existing stack. Our best-for guides break this down by framework and use case.
How much does a WAF cost?
WAF pricing ranges from free (Cloudflare free tier, ModSecurity, Coraza) to $3,000+/month for enterprise solutions. Cloud-managed WAFs typically run $20 to $200/month for small and mid-size sites. Enterprise WAFs from Akamai, Imperva, and F5 usually require custom quotes. The biggest cost variable is traffic volume, since most providers charge by request count or bandwidth.
What is the difference between a WAF and a traditional firewall?
A traditional firewall operates at the network layer (layers 3 and 4), filtering traffic by IP address, port, and protocol. A web application firewall (WAF) operates at the application layer (layer 7), inspecting HTTP and HTTPS traffic to block attacks like SQL injection, XSS, and CSRF. Most modern web applications need both: a network firewall for infrastructure protection and a WAF for application-level security.
Do I need a WAF if I already use Cloudflare?
Cloudflare's free plan includes basic WAF protection, but it has limits. The free tier covers a subset of OWASP rules and lacks custom rules, advanced rate limiting, and bot management. If you handle payments, store user data, or need compliance certifications, upgrading to Cloudflare Pro ($20/month) or evaluating alternatives like AWS WAF or Sucuri is worth considering.
Resources
Recommended reading
Best Free WAF Solutions in 2026
Cloud and open source WAFs you can deploy for free. Cloudflare, ModSecurity, Coraza, BunkerWeb, and SafeLine compared.
Read the guide →Best Cloudflare WAF Alternatives
Looking beyond Cloudflare? We compare Akamai, Imperva, AWS WAF, Fastly, and Sucuri with honest pros and cons.
Read the comparison →AI Agent Improved OWASP CRS by 80%
How we used an AI agent to run 20 experiments on OWASP CRS detection rules, improving balanced accuracy from 63% to 97.6%.
Read the research →Want your WAF featured on WAFPlanet?
Sponsored placements and detailed reviews for WAF providers. Reach people actively comparing solutions.