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

Comparing Akamai App & API Protector, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) and Imperva 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 Akamai App & API Protector Review

View Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) Review

View Imperva Web Application Firewall Review

Overview

Akamai App & API Protector, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) and Imperva 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.

Akamai App & API Protector: Enterprise-scale WAF from the CDN pioneer, delivering comprehensive application security with unmatched global infrastructure and advanced threat intelligence.

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.

Quick Comparison

Feature	Akamai App & API Protector	Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)	Imperva Web Application Firewall
Overall Rating	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.4/5
Free Tier	No	No	No
Pricing Model	Custom enterprise pricing based on traffic and features	Custom pricing based on requests and features	Custom enterprise pricing
Ease of Use	3.3/5	4.0/5	3.5/5
Value for Money	3.5/5	3.8/5	3.7/5
Support	4.7/5	4.5/5	4.5/5
Platforms	Any web application (cloud-based reverse proxy)	Any web application, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless, Nginx, Apache	Any web application, AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, on-premise
Compliance	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018, FedRAMP, HIPAA	SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR	SOC 2, PCI DSS, HIPAA, ISO 27001, ISO 27017, ISO 27018
Best For	Large enterprises, high-traffic websites, organizations facing sophisticated bot attacks, companies needing managed security services	Modern DevOps teams, API-heavy applications, organizations frustrated with false positives, companies needing flexible deployment options	Large enterprises, organizations with sophisticated security requirements, companies needing advanced bot management, regulated industries

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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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 →

Imperva Web Application Firewall

Model: Custom enterprise pricing

Pro

Starting ~$59/month

Business

Starting ~$299/month

Enterprise

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.

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.

Imperva Web Application Firewall

Advanced Bot Protection
Machine learning-powered bot detection that distinguishes between legitimate users, good bots, and malicious automation.
API Security
Discover, classify, and protect APIs with schema validation, anomaly detection, and positive security model.
Account Takeover Protection
Detect and prevent credential stuffing and account takeover attacks using behavioral analysis.
Client-Side Protection
Monitor and protect against client-side attacks like Magecart, formjacking, and supply chain compromises.
Attack Analytics
AI-powered analysis of security events to identify attack campaigns and reduce alert fatigue.
Virtual Patching
Immediate protection against known vulnerabilities while you work on permanent fixes.

Our Verdict

Akamai App & API Protector, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) and Imperva Web Application Firewall 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
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
Imperva Web Application Firewall is well-suited for: Large enterprises, organizations with sophisticated security requirements, companies needing advanced bot management, regulated industries

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 Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) or Imperva Web Application Firewall?

None of these providers offer a free tier. Contact each vendor for pricing.

Which WAF is easiest to set up?

Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) has the highest ease of use rating at 4.0/5 in our review.

Which WAF has the highest overall rating?

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