AWS Web Application Firewall vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)

Comparing AWS Web Application Firewall, 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 AWS Web Application Firewall Review

View Cloudflare Web Application Firewall Review

View Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) Review

Overview

AWS Web Application Firewall, 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.

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

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	AWS Web Application Firewall	Cloudflare Web Application Firewall	Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)
Overall Rating	4.3/5	4.5/5	4.5/5
Free Tier	No	Yes	No
Pricing Model	Pay-per-use (rules + requests)	Per domain / Per feature tier	Custom pricing based on requests and features
Ease of Use	3.5/5	4.8/5	4.0/5
Value for Money	4.0/5	4.5/5	3.8/5
Support	4.0/5	4.0/5	4.5/5
Platforms	AWS CloudFront, ALB, API Gateway, AppSync, Cognito, App Runner, Verified Access	Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes	Any web application, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless, Nginx, Apache
Compliance	SOC 1/2/3, PCI DSS, HIPAA, FedRAMP, ISO 27001	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP	SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR
Best For	AWS-native applications, organizations already invested in AWS ecosystem, variable traffic workloads, multi-account AWS environments	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

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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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

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.

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

AWS Web Application Firewall, 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:

AWS Web Application Firewall is well-suited for: AWS-native applications, organizations already invested in AWS ecosystem, variable traffic workloads, multi-account AWS environments
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: AWS Web Application Firewall 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?

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall leads with an overall rating of 4.5/5.