Wallarm WAAP vs F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud

WWWallarm WAAP9.1Visit F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud8.6Visit

Higher score WW Wallarm WAAP #3 in Web Application Firewall Software 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Wallarm

vs

F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud #8 in Web Application Firewall Software 8.6/10 Pricing on request ✓ 4 of 4 features Visit F5

• Wallarm WAAP fits best

  API-heavy teams wanting a free security tier

• F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud fits best

  Organizations wanting flexible F5 hybrid deployment

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Side by side

Feature	WWWallarm WAAP 9.1/10 Visit ↗	F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.6
Ranking	#3 in Web Application Firewall Software	#8 in Web Application Firewall Software
Best for	API-heavy teams wanting a free security tier	Organizations wanting flexible F5 hybrid deployment
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	—	Pricing on request
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs	Email, Phone, Tickets, Docs · 24/7
Compliance	SSO/SAML	SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS
Integrations	16 integrations	7 integrations
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Wallarm WAAP 4/4 · F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud 4/4
Managed rule sets	✓	✓
API protection	✓	✓
Bot management	✓	✓
Rate limiting	✓	✓
Specs
Deployment model	Hybrid	Hybrid
Log retention	Not checked yet	7 days
Our review
Pros	Free tier supports up to 500,000 requests per month Protects REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSocket APIs Combines WAF, rate limiting, virtual patching, and DDoS controls	Hybrid coverage across public cloud, on-premises, edge, and F5 network PoPs AI risk scoring, managed signatures, bot protection, and API controls Terraform, public APIs, vesctl, and integrations with major operations tools
Cons	Paid WAAP plans use contact-sales pricing Advanced API security tools require a separate bundle The broad deployment model may require architecture planning	Pricing requires contact with F5 rather than a published product table No free plan is available Firewall and event log retention is stated as seven days
Our verdict	Wallarm WAAP is a web application and API protection platform for organizations securing internet-facing and internal applications. It supports web, API, and self-hosted environments, with cloud, Kubernetes, edge, on-premises, and… Read the review →	F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud protects web applications and APIs across public clouds, on-premises environments, customer-edge sites, and F5 global network points of presence. It is designed for organizations running distributed, hybrid, or… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Wallarm WAAP — where it wins

  • Free tier supports up to 500,000 requests per month
  • Protects REST, GraphQL, gRPC, SOAP, and WebSocket APIs
  • Combines WAF, rate limiting, virtual patching, and DDoS controls

  Where it doesn't

  • Paid WAAP plans use contact-sales pricing
  • Advanced API security tools require a separate bundle
  • The broad deployment model may require architecture planning

• F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud — where it wins

  • Hybrid coverage across public cloud, on-premises, edge, and F5 network PoPs
  • AI risk scoring, managed signatures, bot protection, and API controls
  • Terraform, public APIs, vesctl, and integrations with major operations tools

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contact with F5 rather than a published product table
  • No free plan is available
  • Firewall and event log retention is stated as seven days

• WWWallarm WAAP9.1/10 · Free plan

  A broad WAAP platform with a useful free tier for API-focused security teams.

  Visit WallarmFull verdict →
• F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud8.6/10 · Pricing on request

  A flexible hybrid WAF with strong automation, API, bot, and rate-limiting coverage.

  Visit F5Full verdict →