This page's audience our own tag's counts — open to see them

Period

–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

AWS Shield

Freemium#4 of 36 in DDoS Protection Software

AWS Shield: A layered AWS-native option with free baseline coverage and a $3,000 Advanced tier. Ranked #4 of 36 in DDoS Protection Software by our editors (9.0/10); pricing: Free plan; best for AWS-native teams needing layered protection.

9.0/10Editor score

Visit AWS Shield

AWS Shield9.0 Visit AWS Shield

At a glance

Editor score
9.0 / 10
Pricing
Free plan
Best for
AWS-native teams needing layered protection
Free plan
Yes
Attack layers
Both
Facts checked
20 Sep 2026

Where it wins
- Free Standard tier covers common network and transport-layer attacks
- Advanced adds AWS WAF application-layer protection and monitoring
- Integrates with EC2, CloudFront, Route 53, and other AWS services
Where it doesn't
- Shield Advanced starts at $3,000 per month
- Advanced requires a one-year subscription commitment
- Response Team access requires Business or Enterprise AWS Support

Our verdict on AWS Shield

AWS Shield is a managed DDoS protection service for applications and networks hosted on AWS. Shield Standard automatically protects AWS customers against common network and transport-layer DDoS events at no additional charge. Shield Advanced extends coverage across network, transport, and application layers for resources such as Amazon EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, CloudFront, Route 53, and Global Accelerator. It supports web and API workloads and is designed for teams already operating within the AWS environment.

Pricing creates a clear split between baseline coverage and managed protection for more demanding workloads. Shield Standard provides automatic protection without an additional charge. Shield Advanced costs $3,000 per month and adds continuous monitoring, automatic mitigation, application-layer protection through AWS WAF, event visibility, notifications, diagnostics, and DDoS cost protection for scaling-related usage spikes. Advanced also includes up to 50 billion AWS WAF requests per subscribed payer ID per calendar month. The plan requires a one-year subscription commitment and may include usage-based data-transfer charges.

AWS Shield fits organizations that want always-on mitigation tied closely to AWS infrastructure and services. Protection groups can bundle resources, while network topology visualization and security configuration analysis are available in preview. Shield Advanced also offers Shield Response Team assistance for eligible customers, with Business or Enterprise AWS Support required for access. Teams seeking broad multi-cloud coverage, or those needing only basic protection against common network and transport-layer attacks, may prefer the Standard tier or an alternative with a different deployment model. AWS-centric teams managing layered application risk are the clearest fit for Advanced.

Your product? Our editors can test AWS Shield in depth and publish a review, labelled as paid · from $149/mo →

AWS Shield pricing

Plans Free planFreemium A usable free plan; paid tiers unlock the limits above. Prices checked 20 Sep 2026.

See plans on aws.amazon.com

All 2 AWS Shield plans and prices →

AWS Shield fact sheet

Free plan	Yes
Paid from	Not verified
Attack layers	Both
Mitigation mode	Always-on
Deployment model	Cloud
Protection capacity	Not verified
Managed mitigation	Yes
WAF included	Yes
Deployment	Cloud
Platforms	Web
Support	Community, Docs
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate)
Integrations	5 integrations: Amazon EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, Amazon CloudFront, AWS Global Accelerator, Amazon Route 53
Pricing	Free plan (source)
Website	aws.amazon.com
Facts checked	20 Sep 2026

AWS Shield integrations

AWS Shield lists 5 integrations on its own site.

Amazon EC2
Elastic Load Balancing
Amazon CloudFront
AWS Global Accelerator
Amazon Route 53

Alternatives to AWS Shield

See all AWS Shield alternatives →

AWS Shield vs the competition

Compare AWS Shield with any tool side by side →

Used AWS Shield? Be the first to review it

The editor score above is our own research. What this page doesn't have yet is a reader's view — what you used AWS Shield for, what worked and what didn't. No stars are seeded and no review is paid for; an editor reads every one before it appears.

Write a reviewTwo minutes · verified accounts only · read by an editor before it appears

Reviews come only from verified accounts. Sign in or create an account first — your e-mail is never shown.

Title

Your review

0 characters · at least 80, up to 3,000

Pros (optional · one per line)

Cons (optional · one per line)

Your name (shown with your review)

Role (optional)

Company (optional)

How long have you used it?

I've used AWS Shield myself and this is my honest opinion — nobody paid or asked me to write it.

Posted from your verified account. Reviews appear after an editor reads them, usually within two working days.

Featured on iTechGuides

AWS Shield is listed in our DDoS Protection Software directory. Add the badge to your site — it links back to this page.

<a href="https://www.itechguides.com/products/aws-shield/"><img src="https://www.itechguides.com/best/badge/aws-shield.svg" alt="Featured on iTechGuides" width="230" height="46"></a>

Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026

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.

Last updated 7 Oct 2026 · How we research and update