Cloudflare WAF comparisons
Cloudflare WAF is compared head-to-head with AWS WAF, Wallarm WAAP and Akamai App & API Protector and more: 7 head-to-heads in Web Application Firewall Software, each with the specs and prices we checked.
Cloudflare WAF head-to-head
- Cloudflare WAF vs AWS WAF
- Cloudflare WAF vs Wallarm WAAP
- Cloudflare WAF vs Akamai App & API Protector
- Cloudflare WAF vs open-appsec
- Cloudflare WAF vs Google Cloud Armor
- Cloudflare WAF vs Azure Web Application Firewall
- Cloudflare WAF vs F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud
Cloudflare WAF vs each of them
| # | Tool | Free plan | Paid from | Deployment model | Managed rule sets | API protection | Bot management | Rate limiting | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloudflare WAF | Yes | $20/mo | Edge | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | 9.4 |
| 2 | AWS WAF | No | $1/unit/mo | Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.2 |
| 3 | Wallarm WAAP | Yes | Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.1 | |
| 4 | Akamai App & API Protector | Edge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 9.0 | ||
| 5 | open-appsec | Free | Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.9 | ||
| 6 | Google Cloud Armor | No | Edge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.8 | |
| 7 | Azure Web Application Firewall | No | $5/mo | Edge | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.7 |
| 8 | F5 WAF for Distributed Cloud | No | Hybrid | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 8.6 |
Compare Cloudflare WAF with any web application firewall
These are the matchups our editors wrote up. The compare tool pairs Cloudflare WAF with any other product in Web Application Firewall Software — and up to four at once — from the same checked specs.
Compare Cloudflare WAF with any tool side by side →
Every web application firewall software head-to-head →
Our full Cloudflare WAF verdict, pricing and fact sheet →
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Compared by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Last updated · How we research and update