Suggestions appear as you type. Use the up and down arrows to choose one and Enter to open it.

This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them
–Visits
–Page views
–Clicks to vendors
–Time on page
–Reading now
Clicks to vendors, by tool
  • –
Top countries
  • –
Devices
  • –

– · visits, page views and clicks counted by our own tag, which counts more than our checked analytics; every figure rounded down · how we count

Head-to-head · Web Application Firewall Software

Cloudflare WAF vs open-appsec

  • Updated Oct 2026
  • Both researched from official sources
  • 5 checks side by side
Higher score Cloudflare WAF #1 in Web Application Firewall Software 9.4/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 4 features Visit Cloudflare
open-appsec #5 in Web Application Firewall Software 8.9/10 Open source ✓ 3 of 4 features Visit open-appsec

Cloudflare WAF leads on 0 checks, open-appsec on 1, and 4 are even. Who comes out ahead on the 5 yes/no, price and count checks where we have data for both products. The editor score weighs everything else too.

Our verdict

  • Highest scoreCloudflare WAF · 9.4/10
  • Free planonly Cloudflare WAF

Cloudflare WAF scores higher on our rubric for web application firewall software: 9.4 against 8.9 out of 10; our editors rank them #1 and #5.

On deployment model, open-appsec gives you Hybrid where Cloudflare WAF offers Edge. open-appsec offers bot management; Cloudflare WAF doesn't.

Cloudflare WAF is the better fit for teams wanting broad WAF coverage with a free plan. open-appsec is the better fit for cloud-native teams wanting open-source ML protection.

  • Cloudflare WAF fits best

    Teams wanting broad WAF coverage with a free plan

  • open-appsec fits best

    Cloud-native teams wanting open-source ML protection

Advertiser disclosure: iTechGuides is reader-supported. Vendors can pay for top positions in our rankings and for a place on other products' pages, and we may earn a commission when you click some links. Bought places stand at the number bought; this page and our disclosure say so. Paying vendors may get a fuller, more detailed review from our editors, and that review can change their score. How we rank.

Side by side

Feature Cloudflare WAF 9.4/10 Visit ↗ open-appsec 8.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score 9.4 8.9
Ranking #1 in Web Application Firewall Software #5 in Web Application Firewall Software
Best for Teams wanting broad WAF coverage with a free plan Cloud-native teams wanting open-source ML protection
Pricing model Free plan + paid Free
Starting price $20/mo Open source
Free plan ✓ (best) Not checked yet
Free trial — —
Deployment Cloud Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms Web Web, Linux
Support Community, Tickets, Live chat, Phone, Docs Docs
Integrations 1 integrations 12 integrations
Built for Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Cloudflare WAF 3/4 · open-appsec 3/4
Managed rule sets ✓ (best) Not checked yet
API protection ✓ ✓
Bot management — ✓ (best)
Rate limiting ✓ ✓
Specs
Deployment model Edge Hybrid
Log retention 30 days Not checked yet
Our review
Pros
  • Free plan includes managed rules and one rate-limiting rule
  • Edge inspection covers web applications and APIs
  • Terraform management, analytics, and virtual patching support
  • Machine-learning protection for OWASP Top 10 and zero-day threats
  • API discovery, schema validation, anti-bot, and rate limiting
  • Integrates with Kubernetes, proxies, gateways, and service meshes
Cons
  • Bot management is a separate Cloudflare product
  • Paid managed rules begin with the Pro plan
  • Business pricing starts at $200 per month billed annually
  • Requires proxy, gateway, ingress, or service-mesh integration
  • Advanced capabilities may require more security configuration work
  • Central SaaS management is optional rather than the only operating model
Our verdict

Cloudflare WAF is a cloud-delivered web application firewall for websites and APIs. It inspects HTTP and HTTPS requests at Cloudflare’s edge, applying managed rulesets, custom rules, and protections for attacks such as SQL injection and…

Read the review →

open-appsec is an open-source web application firewall and API security solution from Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. It is designed for teams protecting web applications and APIs across Kubernetes, Docker, or Linux environments.…

Read the review →
  1. Cloudflare WAFWeb Application Firewall Software 9.4Free plan
  2. open-appsecWeb Application Firewall Software 8.9Open source

Strengths and trade-offs

  • Cloudflare WAF — where it wins

    • Free plan includes managed rules and one rate-limiting rule
    • Edge inspection covers web applications and APIs
    • Terraform management, analytics, and virtual patching support

    Where it doesn't

    • Bot management is a separate Cloudflare product
    • Paid managed rules begin with the Pro plan
    • Business pricing starts at $200 per month billed annually

  • open-appsec — where it wins

    • Machine-learning protection for OWASP Top 10 and zero-day threats
    • API discovery, schema validation, anti-bot, and rate limiting
    • Integrates with Kubernetes, proxies, gateways, and service meshes

    Where it doesn't

    • Requires proxy, gateway, ingress, or service-mesh integration
    • Advanced capabilities may require more security configuration work
    • Central SaaS management is optional rather than the only operating model

More comparisons

All web application firewall software comparisons → · Full ranking →

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

Last updated · How we research and update