WAFPlanet

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs CrowdSec Web Application Firewall vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Comparing Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, CrowdSec 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.

Overview

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, CrowdSec 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.

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall: Industry-leading WAF with global CDN integration, offering robust protection against OWASP threats with easy setup and generous free tier.

CrowdSec Web Application Firewall: Open-source, crowd-powered WAF that combines traditional rule-based filtering with community-driven threat intelligence. Integrates with Nginx, Traefik, HAProxy, and Kubernetes. Compatible with ModSecurity SecLang rules.

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
Cloudflare Web Application Firewall
CrowdSec Web Application Firewall
Radware Cloud WAF Service
Overall Rating 4.5/5 4.3/5 4.4/5
Free Tier Yes Yes No
Pricing Model Per domain / Per feature tier Open source (MIT) + commercial blocklists and CTI OPEX-based subscription
Ease of Use 4.8/5 - 3.6/5
Value for Money 4.5/5 4.7/5 3.8/5
Support 4.0/5 - 4.6/5
Platforms Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, FreeBSD, Windows (beta) Any web application, AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, on-premises
Compliance SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP Supports PCI DSS compliance, SOC 2 workflows SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA
Best For 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

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 →

CrowdSec Web Application Firewall

Model: Open source (MIT) + commercial blocklists and CTI

Free Tier Available

Community

Free

Premium Blocklists

From $900/month

CTI

Custom

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

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.

CrowdSec Web Application Firewall

  • Crowd-Sourced Threat Intelligence

    Network of 200,000+ installations sharing attack signals in real-time. Blocks malicious IPs 7-60 days before other vendors detect them.

  • ModSecurity Rule Compatibility

    Load existing ModSecurity SecLang rules directly. Teams migrating from ModSecurity can reuse their rule sets without rewriting.

  • Virtual Patching

    Block exploitation attempts at the WAF layer before application patches are deployed. Protect against known CVEs without code changes.

  • Advanced Behavior Detection

    Goes beyond single-request analysis. Generates internal events to build complex multi-request scenarios before triggering blocks.

  • Proxy Integration

    Native integration with Nginx, Traefik, HAProxy, Apache, and Envoy. No separate appliance needed.

  • Kubernetes Ready

    Runs as a sidecar or within ingress controllers. Fits containerized and microservice architectures.

  • Console Dashboard

    Web-based management console for monitoring alerts, managing blocklists, and configuring the security engine.

  • Community Blocklists

    Free access to crowd-sourced IP blocklists updated in real-time from the CrowdSec network.

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

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, CrowdSec Web Application Firewall and Radware Cloud WAF Service are all capable web application firewalls that can protect your applications from common threats.

Key considerations:

  • 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: Cloudflare Web Application Firewall or CrowdSec Web Application Firewall or Radware Cloud WAF Service?

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, CrowdSec Web Application Firewall offer 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.