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

Comparing CrowdSec 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 CrowdSec Web Application Firewall Review

View Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) Review

View Radware Cloud WAF Service Review

Overview

CrowdSec 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.

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.

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	CrowdSec Web Application Firewall	Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences)	Radware Cloud WAF Service
Overall Rating	4.3/5	4.5/5	4.4/5
Free Tier	Yes	No	No
Pricing Model	Open source (MIT) + commercial blocklists and CTI	Custom pricing based on requests and features	OPEX-based subscription
Ease of Use	-	4.0/5	3.6/5
Value for Money	4.7/5	3.8/5	3.8/5
Support	-	4.5/5	4.6/5
Platforms	Linux, Docker, Kubernetes, FreeBSD, Windows (beta)	Any web application, AWS, GCP, Azure, Kubernetes, Docker, Serverless, Nginx, Apache	Any web application, AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes, on-premises
Compliance	Supports PCI DSS compliance, SOC 2 workflows	SOC 2 Type II, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR	SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA
Best For	-	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

CrowdSec Web Application Firewall

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

Free Tier Available

Community

Free

Premium Blocklists

From $900/month

CTI

Custom

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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 →

Radware Cloud WAF Service

Model: OPEX-based subscription

Standard

Custom pricing

Advanced

Custom pricing

Premium

Custom pricing

View full pricing →

Features Comparison

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.

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

CrowdSec 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:

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: CrowdSec Web Application Firewall or Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) or Radware Cloud WAF Service?

CrowdSec Web Application Firewall offers a free tier.

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?

Fastly Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) leads with an overall rating of 4.5/5.