WAFPlanet

Akamai App & API Protector vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)

Comparing Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) across pricing, features, ease of use, and more. Each WAF has different strengths — the right choice depends on your specific requirements.

View Akamai App & API Protector Review View Cloudflare Web Application Firewall Review View Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) Review

Overview

Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) are popular web application firewall solutions. This comparison will help you understand the key differences and choose the right one for your needs.

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.

Quick Comparison

Feature
Akamai App & API Protector
Cloudflare Web Application Firewall
Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)
Overall Rating 4.5/5 4.5/5 4.5/5
Free Tier No Yes No
Pricing Model Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features Per domain / Per feature tier Custom pricing based on requests and features
Ease of Use 3.3/5 4.8/5 4.0/5
Value for Money 3.5/5 4.5/5 3.8/5
Support 4.7/5 4.0/5 4.5/5
Platforms Any web application (cloud-based reverse proxy) Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes Any web application, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless, Nginx, Apache
Compliance SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, FedRAMP, HIPAA SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR
Best For 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 Modern DevOps teams, API-heavy applications, organizations frustrated with false positives, companies needing flexible deployment options

Pricing Comparison

Akamai App & API Protector

Model: Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features

Standard

Custom pricing

Premium

Custom pricing

Enterprise

Custom pricing

View full pricing →

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

View full pricing →

Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)

Model: Custom pricing based on requests and features

Essential

Custom pricing

Professional

Custom pricing

Premier

Custom pricing

View full pricing →

Features Comparison

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.

Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)

  • SmartParse Technology

    Intelligent parsing technology that understands application context to reduce false positives by 90%+.

  • Power Rules

    Flexible rule language for creating custom detection and response logic based on any request attribute.

  • API Discovery

    Automatic discovery and cataloging of API endpoints with security assessment.

  • DevOps Integration

    Native integrations with CI/CD tools, infrastructure as code support, and developer-friendly APIs.

  • Multi-Environment Deployment

    Deploy as cloud service, agent, or edge module across diverse infrastructure.

  • Real-Time Dashboards

    Live visibility into attacks, decisions, and application health without sampling.

Our Verdict

Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) are all capable web application firewalls that can protect your applications from common threats.

Key considerations:

  • 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
  • Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) is well-suited for: Modern DevOps teams, API-heavy applications, organizations frustrated with false positives, companies needing flexible deployment options

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: Akamai App & API Protector or Cloudflare Web Application Firewall or Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)?

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.