AWS Web Application Firewall vs Akamai App & API Protector vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Comparing AWS Web Application Firewall, Akamai App & API Protector and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall across pricing, features, ease of use, and more. Each WAF has different strengths — the right choice depends on your specific requirements.

View AWS Web Application Firewall Review

View Akamai App & API Protector Review

View Cloudflare Web Application Firewall Review

Overview

AWS Web Application Firewall, Akamai App & API Protector and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall are popular web application firewall solutions. This comparison will help you understand the key differences and choose the right one for your needs.

AWS Web Application Firewall: Native AWS security service providing scalable WAF protection for applications hosted on AWS infrastructure with pay-per-use pricing.

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.

Quick Comparison

Feature	AWS Web Application Firewall	Akamai App & API Protector	Cloudflare Web Application Firewall
Overall Rating	4.3/5	4.5/5	4.5/5
Free Tier	No	No	Yes
Pricing Model	Pay-per-use (rules + requests)	Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features	Per domain / Per feature tier
Ease of Use	3.5/5	3.3/5	4.8/5
Value for Money	4.0/5	3.5/5	4.5/5
Support	4.0/5	4.7/5	4.0/5
Platforms	AWS CloudFront, ALB, API Gateway, AppSync, Cognito, App Runner, Verified Access	Any web application (cloud-based reverse proxy)	Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes
Compliance	SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, FedRAMP, HIPAA	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP
Best For	AWS-native applications, organizations already invested in AWS ecosystem, variable traffic workloads, multi-account AWS environments	Large enterprises, high-traffic websites, organizations facing sophisticated bot attacks, companies needing managed security services	Small to medium websites, WordPress sites, developers wanting easy setup, organizations needing integrated CDN+WAF

Pricing Comparison

AWS Web Application Firewall

Model: Pay-per-use (rules + requests)

Small (1 ACL, 10 rules)

$15/month + $0.60/M requests

Medium (2 ACL, 25 rules)

$35/month + $0.60/M requests

Large (5 ACL, 50 rules)

$75/month + $0.60/M requests

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Akamai App & API Protector

Model: Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features

Standard

Custom pricing

Premium

Custom pricing

Enterprise

Custom pricing

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Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Model: Per domain / Per feature tier

Free Tier Available

Free

$0/month

Pro

$20/month

Business

$200/month

Enterprise

Contact Sales

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Features Comparison

AWS Web Application Firewall

AWS Managed Rules
Pre-configured rule groups maintained by AWS and AWS Marketplace sellers for common threats.
Custom Rules
Build your own rules using conditions like IP addresses, HTTP headers, URI strings, and more.
Rate-Based Rules
Automatically block IPs that exceed defined request thresholds.
Bot Control
Managed rule group for detecting and managing bot traffic (additional cost).
Fraud Control
Account takeover prevention and creation fraud detection for login/signup pages.
Firewall Manager Integration
Centrally configure and manage WAF rules across multiple AWS accounts.

Akamai App & API Protector

Adaptive Security Engine
Machine learning automatically tunes WAF rules for each application, reducing false positives over time.
API Discovery & Protection
Automatically discover API endpoints and apply security policies with schema validation.
Bot Manager
Industry-leading bot management using behavioral analysis, device fingerprinting, and ML detection.
Account Protector
Detect and prevent credential stuffing, account takeover, and fraud attempts.
Client Reputation
Leverage Akamai's global threat intelligence to score and act on suspicious client behavior.
Managed Security Services
Optional 24/7 security monitoring and incident response from Akamai's SOC.

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Managed Rulesets
Pre-configured rules from Cloudflare and OWASP that are automatically updated to protect against emerging threats.
Custom Rules
Create your own firewall rules using Cloudflare's expression language to block, challenge, or allow specific traffic patterns.
Rate Limiting
Protect against brute force attacks and API abuse by limiting request rates from specific IPs or patterns.
Bot Management
Advanced bot detection and mitigation using machine learning to distinguish good bots from malicious ones.
API Shield
Protect API endpoints with schema validation, mutual TLS, and anomaly detection.
Page Shield
Monitor and control third-party JavaScript to prevent supply chain attacks and data theft.

Our Verdict

AWS Web Application Firewall, Akamai App & API Protector and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall are all capable web application firewalls that can protect your applications from common threats.

Key considerations:

AWS Web Application Firewall is well-suited for: AWS-native applications, organizations already invested in AWS ecosystem, variable traffic workloads, multi-account AWS environments
Akamai App & API Protector is well-suited for: Large enterprises, high-traffic websites, organizations facing sophisticated bot attacks, companies needing managed security services
Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is well-suited for: Small to medium websites, WordPress sites, developers wanting easy setup, organizations needing integrated CDN+WAF

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is the cheapest: AWS Web Application Firewall or Akamai App & API Protector or Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall offers a free tier.

Which WAF is easiest to set up?

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall has the highest ease of use rating at 4.8/5 in our review.

Which WAF has the highest overall rating?

Akamai App & API Protector leads with an overall rating of 4.5/5.