AWS Shield vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) comparison

AWS Shield vs. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

AWS Shield

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall...

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

12th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of AWS Shield is 3.0%, down from 5.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is 2.0%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
AWS Shield	3.0%
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)	2.0%
Other	95.0%

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Featured Reviews

Pranav Telang

DGM at Airtel Digital

Has enabled multi-layered threat mitigation but still lacks deeper visibility for advanced application attacks

AWS Shield has limited coverage as it only protects against common and high-volume network and transport layer attacks, such as SYN floods. It does not provide inherent protection against more sophisticated layer 7 attacks such as HTTP floods. In such cases, integration with WAF is necessary, which results in additional costs for customers. To protect layer 7, layer 4, and layer 3, customers must implement both solutions. The service also has difficulties with static detection thresholds, which may not be sensitive enough to detect smaller application-specific attacks. While AWS Shield is a key security service, AWS should enhance their expert support with 24/7 response for complex attacks, which is currently limited.

Read full review

Nawapol Boonlerd

Information Security Engineer at BigFish Enterprise Ltd.

Comprehensive network protection has mitigated DDoS risks and supports secure on-prem operations

Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identified. It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they could have in the future to make it even better. For example, I have thoughts about the price. Currently, it does not integrate, and I would assess the importance of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s integration with cloud services as significant. Currently, I use only one site, and I cannot tell you about F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) centralized security policies. I have not used F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)'s Threat Intelligence capabilities. I have not used their dynamic traffic shaping feature. So far, the only thing that could be improved is the pricing of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM).

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The solution's ease of use is the most valuable feature."

"It is quite scalable, and we have not faced any issues with its scalability."

"The solution operates smoothly at its baseline level, and we do not encounter any issues at that level."

"The product has a good mechanism to analyze trends and trigger events."

"The automatic detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks in the product operates in real-time and provides satisfactory results."

"The product is easy to use."

"I am impressed with the product's multiple features like security."

"If most of your internet presence from your application side is in AWS, AWS Shield is a great option."

More AWS Shield pros

"The product’s most valuable features are LTM and WAF."

"I would say it's a good, stable solution; we haven't had a major issue with the AFM."

"The most valuable features for me are stability, availability, and security, along with the ability to manage multiple features to secure my applications."

"With controllers plus the firewall, you will only need one device to protect everything."

"The solution provides behavioral analysis via AI to detect malicious traffic."

"The solution is easily deployable and has great functionality."

"What I find most impressive about F5 is that, as long as you know what you want to do, as long as we know what you want to achieve, you find the solution there."

"The solution is very straightforward, and the usability is great."

More F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) pros

Cons

"The management of it is a bit hard. If you don't engineer it on the front side, it is hard to go back in and change it. It could be improved in terms of architecture requirements and then ongoing support requirements as a secondary component to it. People tend to set up things like this, and they just expect it to work without the care and feeding that needs to go back into it either from an application team or a network environment team."

"AWS Shield has limited coverage as it only protects against common and high-volume network and transport layer attacks, such as SYN floods."

"There is an area for improvement regarding health checks. AWS Shield does not come with its own health check functionality."

"The product needs to improve its logs and reports to make it read better."

"AWS Shield Standard requires improvement, particularly regarding its dashboard since it currently provides limited coverage against comprehensive DDoS attacks."

"We end up having to pay extra for features that AWS adds that we don't need."

"The management of it is a bit hard. If you don't engineer it on the front side, it is hard to go back in and change it."

"The time taken to detect anomalies must be reduced."

More AWS Shield cons

"Apart from the price, I feel no other areas need improvement."

"We would have preferred to have support when we first started"

"F5 BIG-IP AFM can improve the reporting interface in relation to advanced troubleshooting depending on CLI. They should have enhanced troubleshooting with the use of GUI."

"There should be simplified and better integration with BIG-IQ."

"Firstly, geolocation currently relies on manual updates. It has to move to automatic updates."

"The solution doesn't really meet our requirements for an edge firewall."

"The pricing of the solution could be a little bit better."

"The product is expensive."

More F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The cost depends on traffic each month, so on average, it costs us between US$200 and US$300 per month."

"The tool is cheap."

"It depends on your subscription level and the volume that you're spending with AWS. So, it is very relative to the consumption alignment in your subscription level. It is a well-constructed, scalable pricing option, but it is relative to how much you're spending on AWS. Because the more you spend, typically, the more you get off on services like this. I find it to be comparable to other solutions."

"We pay $3000 per month for the solution."

"The tool's pricing is good."

"We have purchased a five-year licensing package for the product."

"The price of F5 BIG-IP AFM is a little more expensive than other firewalls on the market."

"We need to pay a yearly licensing fee for the solution."

"F5 BIG-IP AFM is an affordable solution. There were not any additional fees other than the standard licensing."

"As per pricing, I would not say cheap, but little higher than cheap, but not very expensive. So you can say kind of value for money solutions."

"It is somewhat on the expensive side although it is worth the additional cost."

"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is an expensive solution. They are one of the best in the market, but the price could be cheaper."

"The product is expensive."

More F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions are best for your needs.

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913,076 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

17%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Construction Company

11%

Engineering Company

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	14

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Shield?

The pricing structure for AWS Shield is fair, yet it depends on the specific protections chosen. Enabling Shield Advanced on multiple services such as CloudFront, network load balancer, or Route 53...

What needs improvement with AWS Shield?

Services always benefit from improvements, including AWS Shield. With respect to the Web Application Firewall, current rule-based setups may not be adequately defined or classified. Enhancement of ...

What is your primary use case for AWS Shield?

What do you use it for? How do you use it?

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?

The standard license is reasonably priced, but additional features like the WAF can be more expensive. There are plenty of technical documents and a supportive community available, which helps mana...

What needs improvement with F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?

What is your primary use case for F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?

I am starting to learn and working with F5 team to conduct a proof of concept, and I do have experience with F5 Rules for AWS WAF. I have experience with BIG-IP, not BIG-IQ, and I may have experien...

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Product Reports

AWS Shield

Download AWS Shield product report

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Download F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) product report

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) report

Also Known As

No data available

F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager

Overview

AWS Shield offers robust DDoS protection with seamless integration into AWS services, providing users with enhanced security without impacting performance. Its intuitive dashboard and integration with tools like WAF and CloudWatch make it a go-to for many organizations seeking reliable protection.

AWS Shield provides real-time attack visibility and transparency, excelling in DDoS protection while maintaining application and network layer security. The Advanced tier offers automated threat detection, tailored defense strategies, and a responsive DDoS team. However, challenges include high costs, limited customization, and a need for better traffic insights. Organizations must often rely on additional AWS services for comprehensive network security. The solution is primarily used to protect against DDoS attacks and secure web applications, offering Layer 3 and 4 security. While the Standard tier offers basic security at no cost, the Advanced tier provides enhanced protection against severe attacks such as SYN floods, albeit with a monthly fee.

What are AWS Shield's most important features?

Ease of Use: Simple integration and intuitive monitoring dashboard.
Real-Time Attack Visibility: Immediate insights into attack metrics without performance impact.
Seamless AWS Integration: Works smoothly with WAF and CloudWatch for comprehensive protection.
Advanced Defense Strategies: Customizable strategies with automatic threat detection.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Robust DDoS mitigation for continuous protection.
Performance Maintenance: Protects services during high-traffic events without degradation.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Intuitive dashboard for easy attack tracking and management.
Cost-Effective Tiered Offerings: The choice between no-cost basic or feature-rich advanced options.

In industries like finance and e-commerce, AWS Shield's capabilities ensure continual uptime and protection against potential DDoS threats, vital during high-traffic periods. Its use in media and entertainment allows secure streaming and content delivery, while health sectors benefit from secure and reliable patient data access and protection.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager provides robust network protection with advanced DDoS features and efficient load balancing. Its design prioritizes scalability and ease of management, catering to securing data centers and applications.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is a strategic choice for combating cyber threats, including DDoS attacks. With powerful network defenses, integrated WAF, and adaptable capabilities, it efficiently handles web services on-premise and in the cloud. Users value its application-level threat defense with IP blocking and AI-enhanced reporting. Advanced integration with SIEM solutions allows comprehensive monitoring and enhanced threat detection through dynamic resource allocation. However, areas for improvement include better dashboard statistics and pricing adjustments. Enhancing integration with BIG-IQ and intuitive configuration would streamline its operation. Automatic geolocation updates and improved support could address current challenges alongside its high cost and complex initial setup.

What are the standout features?

Integrated WAF: Enhances security by protecting applications from online threats.
DDoS Protection: Defends against large-scale DDoS attacks efficiently.
AI-Enhanced Reporting: Provides detailed insights through AI-driven analytics.
IP Blocking: Offers IP-based threat defense and geolocation capabilities.
Resource Allocation: Dynamically allocates resources for optimized performance.

What are the benefits and ROI to consider?

Ease of Management: Simplifies management processes with user-friendly features.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Through SIEM integration for better visibility.
Superior Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates threats proactively.
Scalability: Adapts to evolving network needs and traffic demands.

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is widely used in sectors requiring stringent security measures, such as finance and healthcare. These industries deploy it as a data center and web application firewall to protect against cyber threats, manage client connections, and ensure the security of on-premise and cloud applications.

Sample Customers

netflix, dow jones, mapbox, pearson, rovio, youview, moviestar planet, asurion, payplug, hour of code

City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office

AWS Shield vs. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)