WAFPlanet

Bunny Shield vs Kong Gateway WAF

Bunny Shield and Kong Gateway WAF serve different market segments. Your organization's size, budget, and security requirements will determine which is the better fit.

Note: Bunny Shield and Kong Gateway WAF target different market segments. This comparison highlights the trade-offs between solutions designed for different organizational sizes.

Overview

Bunny Shield and Kong Gateway WAF are both popular web application firewall solutions. This comparison will help you understand the key differences and choose the right one for your needs.

Affordable all-in-one web security from bunny.net, combining AI-powered WAF, DDoS protection, bot mitigation, and upload scanning with a generous free tier and simple pricing.

API gateway with built-in WAF plugin for enterprise customers. Kong is the most popular open source API gateway (35K+ GitHub stars, 312M+ downloads) built on NGINX, processing 400B+ API calls daily. The WAF plugin is an Enterprise-only add-on that protects API endpoints at the gateway layer.

Quick Comparison

Feature Bunny Shield Kong Gateway WAF
Overall Rating 4.1/5 3.8/5
Free Tier Yes No
Pricing Model Per feature tier + overage Tiered (Plus per-gateway + Enterprise custom)
Ease of Use 4.6/5 3.2/5
Value for Money 4.7/5 3.0/5
Support 4.2/5 4.2/5
Platforms Any web application, WordPress, static sites, APIs Linux (Ubuntu, RHEL, Debian, Amazon Linux, Alpine), Docker, Kubernetes (via Ingress Controller and Operator), AWS, Azure, GCP, ARM64, macOS (dev)
Compliance Contact vendor SOC 2 Type II, FIPS 140-2 (Enterprise data planes), supports PCI DSS and HIPAA compliance

Pricing Comparison

Bunny Shield

Model: Per feature tier + overage

Free Tier Available

Basic

$0/month

Advanced

$9.50/month

Business

$99/month

Enterprise

Contact Sales

View full pricing →

Kong Gateway WAF

Model: Tiered (Plus per-gateway + Enterprise custom)

Kong Gateway OSS

Free

Kong Konnect Plus

From $225/mo

Kong Konnect Enterprise

Custom (annual)

Dedicated Cloud Gateway

$500/mo per control plane + $0.15/GB

View full pricing →

Features Comparison

Bunny Shield

  • AI-Powered WAF

    Next-gen WAF engine that blocks zero-day exploits, OWASP Top 10, and emerging risks with AI recommendations and real-time logs.

  • DDoS Protection

    Volumetric and application-layer DDoS mitigation backed by 250+ Tbps network capacity across 119 global scrubbing centers.

  • Global Rate Limiting

    Set precise rate limits per IP, user, or path globally across your entire infrastructure to control abuse.

  • Bot Mitigation

    Detect, block, and neutralize malicious bots in real time using behavioral fingerprinting without impacting legitimate users.

  • Access Lists

    Block traffic using curated threat lists for VPNs, Tor nodes, and other threat sources, or create custom access controls.

  • Upload Scanning

    Automatically scan uploaded files for viruses, malware, and CSAM to prevent harmful content from reaching your platform.

Kong Gateway WAF

  • Gateway-Embedded WAF

    WAF runs as a plugin inside the Kong Gateway process, inspecting API traffic at the same layer where routing, authentication, and rate limiting occur. No separate WAF appliance or additional proxy hop needed.

  • OWASP Top 10 Protection

    Built-in protection against common web application attacks including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, command injection, and path traversal at the API gateway layer.

  • Plugin Ecosystem

    Over 100 plugins for security, traffic control, authentication, and observability. WAF works alongside bot detection, IP restriction, CORS, ACL, and rate limiting plugins in a configurable execution chain.

  • Third-Party WAF Integrations

    Open plugin architecture supports third-party WAF engines including open-appsec (ML-driven detection) and Wallarm (API security). Teams can choose the WAF engine that fits their threat model.

  • Kubernetes-Native Deployment

    Kong Ingress Controller and Kong Kubernetes Operator provide native Kubernetes integration. WAF policies can be managed declaratively through Kubernetes CRDs alongside gateway configuration.

  • Hybrid Mode

    Cloud-managed control plane with self-hosted data planes. WAF policies are centrally managed and distributed to data planes running in any environment, including air-gapped networks.

  • AI Gateway

    Dedicated AI gateway capabilities including LLM proxy, token-based rate limiting, semantic caching, PII sanitization, prompt guardrails, and MCP server proxy. WAF protects AI endpoints alongside traditional APIs.

  • Declarative Configuration

    Gateway and WAF configuration can be managed as code through declarative YAML/JSON, enabling GitOps workflows and CI/CD pipeline integration for security policy changes.

  • Advanced Rate Limiting

    Enterprise-grade rate limiting with sliding window counters, consumer groups, and cluster-wide synchronization. Works in conjunction with WAF to prevent both application-layer attacks and abuse.

Which One Is Right for You?

The best WAF depends on your specific requirements, infrastructure, and team expertise.

Bunny Shield

  • You need: Small to medium businesses, startups, developers, cost-conscious organizations wanting comprehensive security, sites already using bunny.net CDN
  • You want to start with a free tier
  • You're using: Any web application, WordPress, static sites, APIs
Learn more →

Kong Gateway WAF

  • You need: Organizations already using Kong as their API gateway, Kubernetes-native architectures needing gateway-level WAF, teams wanting unified API management and security in one platform, enterprises with microservices architectures routing all traffic through an API gateway
  • You're using: Linux (Ubuntu, RHEL, Debian, Amazon Linux, Alpine), Docker, Kubernetes (via Ingress Controller and Operator), AWS, Azure, GCP, ARM64, macOS (dev)
Learn more →

We recommend evaluating both options with a trial or free tier before committing. Consider your existing infrastructure, team expertise, compliance requirements, and budget.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is better for startups: Bunny Shield or Kong Gateway WAF?

Bunny Shield offers a free tier while Kong Gateway WAF does not, which may be important for early-stage startups. Bunny Shield scores higher for ease of use (4.6/5), which is valuable for smaller teams. Consider your immediate security needs and growth plans when choosing.

Which has better support: Bunny Shield or Kong Gateway WAF?

Kong Gateway WAF has a higher support rating (4.2/5) compared to Bunny Shield (4.2/5). However, support quality can vary based on your plan tier - enterprise customers typically receive more responsive support from both providers. Consider evaluating support during a trial period.

Which is easier to implement: Bunny Shield or Kong Gateway WAF?

Bunny Shield scores higher for ease of use (4.6/5) versus Kong Gateway WAF (3.2/5). The actual implementation effort depends on your existing infrastructure and team expertise.

Which is more cost-effective: Bunny Shield or Kong Gateway WAF?

Bunny Shield offers a free tier while Kong Gateway WAF requires a paid plan. Bunny Shield scores higher for value (4.7/5). Total cost depends on your traffic volume, required features, and support level needs.

Which works better with AWS: Bunny Shield or Kong Gateway WAF?

Kong Gateway WAF explicitly supports AWS while Bunny Shield's AWS integration may vary. Consider whether native AWS integration or cross-cloud portability matters more for your use case.