Cloudflare Web Application Firewall vs Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Comparing Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) 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 Cloudflare Web Application Firewall Review

View Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) Review

View Radware Cloud WAF Service Review

Overview

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) 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.

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.

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	Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)	Radware Cloud WAF Service
Overall Rating	4.5/5	4.5/5	4.4/5
Free Tier	Yes	No	No
Pricing Model	Per domain / Per feature tier	Custom pricing based on requests and features	OPEX-based subscription
Ease of Use	4.8/5	4.0/5	3.6/5
Value for Money	4.5/5	3.8/5	3.8/5
Support	4.0/5	4.5/5	4.6/5
Platforms	Any web application, WordPress, Shopify, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes	Any web application, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless, Nginx, Apache	Any web application, AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, on-premises
Compliance	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, FedRAMP	SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA
Best For	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	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

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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

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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.

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.

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, Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) 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
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
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 Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) 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?

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