Imperva Web Application Firewall vs Barracuda Web Application Firewall

Imperva Web Application Firewall9.1Visit Barracuda Web Application Firewall8.8Visit

Higher score Imperva Web Application Firewall #3 in Web Security Software 9.1/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 4 features Contact Thales

vs

Barracuda Web Application Firewall #6 in Web Security Software 8.8/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Barracuda

• Imperva Web Application Firewall fits best

  Enterprises needing managed WAF policies and automation

• Barracuda Web Application Firewall fits best

  Teams needing a self-hosted WAF with SIEM integrations

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Side by side

Feature	Imperva Web Application Firewall 9.1/10 Visit ↗	Barracuda Web Application Firewall 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.8
Ranking	#3 in Web Security Software	#6 in Web Security Software
Best for	Enterprises needing managed WAF policies and automation	Teams needing a self-hosted WAF with SIEM integrations
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	—
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Tickets, Docs	Email, Live chat, Phone, Community, Docs · 24/7
Compliance	GDPR, PCI DSS	PCI DSS, SSO/SAML, 2FA
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Imperva Web Application Firewall 0/4 · Barracuda Web Application Firewall 0/4
Phishing/malware blocking	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Web app firewall	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
DDoS protection	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Bot protection	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Deployment	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Websites covered	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Managed rules update daily, with real-time updates for critical threats Combines web/API protection, bot controls, and behavior-based rate thresholds Automates policy creation and rule propagation, with Terraform deployment	Protects web apps and REST, JSON, and XML APIs against OWASP Top 10 and zero-day attacks Offers bot defenses, rate controls, and application-layer DoS mitigation Exports logs to SIEM tools and supports centralized management
Cons	No public WAF plan prices; buying requires contacting sales No free plan, though a Cloud WAF trial is advertised Multiple deployment variants may require choosing among different operating models	Pricing is quote-based, with no numeric price shown Advanced retains firewall and traffic logs for 30 days Machine-learning bot detection and automated API discovery require Premium
Our verdict	Imperva Web Application Firewall protects web applications and APIs against application-layer attacks, including SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other OWASP Top 10 threats. Thales offers it to mid-market and enterprise… Read the review →	Barracuda Web Application Firewall protects websites, web applications, APIs, and mobile application backends against OWASP Top 10 attacks, zero-day threats, data leakage, bots, and application-layer denial-of-service attacks. It is aimed… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Imperva Web Application Firewall — where it wins

  • Managed rules update daily, with real-time updates for critical threats
  • Combines web/API protection, bot controls, and behavior-based rate thresholds
  • Automates policy creation and rule propagation, with Terraform deployment

  Where it doesn't

  • No public WAF plan prices; buying requires contacting sales
  • No free plan, though a Cloud WAF trial is advertised
  • Multiple deployment variants may require choosing among different operating models

• Barracuda Web Application Firewall — where it wins

  • Protects web apps and REST, JSON, and XML APIs against OWASP Top 10 and zero-day attacks
  • Offers bot defenses, rate controls, and application-layer DoS mitigation
  • Exports logs to SIEM tools and supports centralized management

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing is quote-based, with no numeric price shown
  • Advanced retains firewall and traffic logs for 30 days
  • Machine-learning bot detection and automated API discovery require Premium

• Imperva Web Application Firewall9.1/10 · Pricing on request

  Managed WAF rules, bot controls and deployment automation for hybrid environments.

  Contact ThalesFull verdict →
• Barracuda Web Application Firewall8.8/10 · Pricing on request

  A self-hosted and cloud WAF with API, bot, and application-layer DoS defenses.

  Visit BarracudaFull verdict →