Akamai App & API Protector vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Comparing Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Radware Cloud WAF Service 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 Radware Cloud WAF Service Review

Overview

Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Radware Cloud WAF Service 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.

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.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Akamai App & API Protector	Cloudflare Web Application Firewall	Radware Cloud WAF Service
Overall Rating	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.4/5
Free Tier	No	Yes	No
Pricing Model	Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features	Per domain / Per feature tier	OPEX-based subscription
Ease of Use	3.3/5	4.8/5	3.6/5
Value for Money	3.5/5	4.5/5	3.8/5
Support	4.7/5	4.0/5	4.6/5
Platforms	Any web application (cloud-based reverse proxy)	Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes	Any web application, AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, on-premises
Compliance	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, FedRAMP, HIPAA	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA
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	Mid-market to enterprise organizations, companies needing integrated WAF and DDoS, hybrid cloud environments, organizations valuing managed services

Pricing Comparison

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

View full pricing →

Radware Cloud WAF Service

Model: OPEX-based subscription

Standard

Custom pricing

Advanced

Custom pricing

Premium

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.

Radware Cloud WAF Service

Automatic Policy Generation
Patented technology automatically creates and optimizes security policies for new applications.
Positive and Negative Security
Combines signature-based detection with positive security model for comprehensive protection.
Bot Manager
Advanced bot detection using behavioral analysis, device fingerprinting, and CAPTCHA challenges.
API Protection
Discover and protect APIs with schema validation, rate limiting, and anomaly detection.
DDoS Protection
Integrated network and application layer DDoS mitigation backed by Radware''s global scrubbing network.
Geo-Fencing
Block or allow traffic based on geographic location with granular country-level controls.

Our Verdict

Akamai App & API Protector, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall and Radware Cloud WAF Service 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
Radware Cloud WAF Service is well-suited for: Mid-market to enterprise organizations, companies needing integrated WAF and DDoS, hybrid cloud environments, organizations valuing managed services

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 Radware Cloud WAF Service?

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.