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

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and F5 are both solutions in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #5 with an average rating of 8.7, while F5 is ranked #13 with an average rating of 8.3. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.2% mindshare in DDOS, compared to F5’s 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of F5 users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

F5 BIG-IP AFM and AWS Shield are competing in network security, specifically in DDoS protection solutions. F5 BIG-IP AFM has a competitive edge in pricing and customer service, while AWS Shield is noted for its robust feature set and integration with AWS services.

Features: F5 BIG-IP AFM offers advanced traffic management, full-proxy security, and iRules for custom configuration. AWS Shield provides seamless integration with AWS services, automatic detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks, and real-time protection against server attacks.

Room for Improvement: F5 BIG-IP AFM could benefit from improved ease of deployment, enhanced integration capabilities, and a more intuitive user interface. AWS Shield could optimize its feature set for non-AWS environments, provide more detailed analytics, and offer more flexible pricing options.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: AWS Shield is easily deployable within AWS, offering automated setup and robust integration. F5 BIG-IP AFM requires more setup time but provides reliable customer support, enhancing user experience for those prioritizing personalized assistance.

Pricing and ROI: F5 BIG-IP AFM attracts users with its competitive pricing and strong ROI for businesses with existing infrastructure. AWS Shield justifies its higher initial cost with significant long-term ROI through seamless AWS integration and reduced management overhead.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Shield vs. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) Report (Updated: April 2026).

Buyer's Guide

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

April 2026

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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

Cloudflare

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of Cloudflare is 14.0%, down from 19.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of AWS Shield is 3.2%, down from 6.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is 1.4%, 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 (%)
Cloudflare	14.0%
AWS Shield	3.2%
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)	1.4%
Other	81.4%

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Featured Reviews

M.A. Faisal

General Manager at bKash Limited

Advanced protection has secured critical web workloads and provides clear traffic visibility

From a security perspective, there remains a security loophole, as some browsers in the market can bypass the Turnstile solution, which requires approximately 40 seconds to do so. From a performance perspective, this is acceptable. We also tried Google reCAPTCHA, and that can also be bypassed. From a security perspective, I would say neither solution is completely secured. Regarding uptime, we have faced a couple of incidents due to Cloudflare in recent years, so I cannot say we receive 100% uptime for our region. We sometimes face challenges, including downtime and other issues. As a result, we are not receiving 100% uptime from Cloudflare's solution. Since most of our customers are in this region, we need alternatives. We need something more competitive than Cloudflare. Unfortunately, in Bangladesh, Cloudflare has three points of presence already, and we cannot find any other solution provider in Bangladesh as an alternative, which presents another challenge. Competitor solutions have more attack signatures, which ensure better security compared to Cloudflare's predefined configurations. Customers do not have options to modify any configuration parameters in Cloudflare, whereas other competitor solutions, such as F5 Distributed Cloud, allow customers to tune configurations according to their requirements. Cloudflare could improve in this area. Additionally, regarding visibility, Cloudflare has static visibility, but they could adopt dynamic graph features for their customers.

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reviewer2767527

Lead Architect at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees

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.

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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).

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is easier to configure and develop documentation to see how we have configured firewalls."

"I get a lot of value from Cloudflare's API because it enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution. You can create a domain for performing test requests before you move to the production environment and connect various domains."

"Smaller businesses have seen great ROI due to the low investment and strong performance."

"It's a great product because it's scalable, has great coverage, and is mature with good defenses against DDoS attacks."

"The setup and configuration is also easy to perform and their support is excellent."

"The initial setup is extremely easy but will require access to your Domain Name Servers."

"For businesses that don't have a dedicated security team, I think it's a better product; it's more intuitive for people like us."

"CloudFlare provides an answer to a variety of issues, so it gives you very high value for your money."

More Cloudflare pros

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

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

"The product is easy to use."

"I recommend AWS Shield because it has proven helpful in tracking DDoS attacks within both my past and present environments, and without AWS Shield, a business could face potential losses, as this tool helps in identifying and mitigating fake traffic that disrupts applications, ultimately supporting business continuity."

"AWS Shield is aligned with the web application firewall (WAF), and they work seamlessly together, primarily working with Elastic Load Balancer, CloudFront, and Route 53 for CDN and DNS services protection."

"AWS Shield offers numerous protection features that are crucial at the application layer, safeguarding users from distributed denial of service attacks, man-in-the-middle assaults, and hacker orchestrations."

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

"It is integrated with AWS. So, it gives you a good first step."

More AWS Shield pros

"CGNAT is one of its strong areas."

"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP AFM is all of my workers enjoy using it."

"The customer service is excellent, and I rate it ten out of ten."

"The most valuable features of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) are the web gateway, load balancing, services, and applications available."

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

"The solution is very straightforward. The usability is great."

"The product is stable, scalable, and easy to use."

"The product helps us provide security validation by protecting various applications from getting hacked."

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

Cons

"I think the APIs are a little bit hard for us to work with. The APIs could be more open so that we could integrate better with our SolarWinds or our monitoring solution."

"One area of improvement is in the Access Rules. Hypothetically, if we wanted to block or challenge traffic outside of the United States, the only way to currently do that (as far as I know) is to enter every single country outside of the United States."

"Cloudflare's free plan is limited to 5,000 records for their free plan. They should increase that. For example, if I create a domain called abc.com and a subdomain called a.abc.com, my record count will be two. I can make a maximum of 5,000 subdomains. However, if we use our own DNS hosted on another provider, there is no limit. Their free plan also lacks name server customization."

"Cloudflare could offer a better view or maybe dashboards of the main resources used in the client."

"Cloudflare could be improved by introducing a mid-tier pricing option."

"Cloudflare should add more documentation and pricing to the cloud version."

"It should be easier to collect the logs with companies like Sumo. However, based on my discussions with the salespeople, I understand that's how they make their money. With the enterprise product, they want people doing those kinds of enterprise features to do the logging. They want them to pay a lot of money, and that's where I have an issue with them. That should be a default. You should be able to get the log no matter what. The logging should be universal."

"The Always Online feature has room for improvement. It seems to work sometimes and not others even with the pro version."

More Cloudflare cons

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

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

"The product is expensive."

"Perhaps the time required to detect anomalies can be reduced."

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

"The product should give users more flexibility to customize their security policies according to their requirements."

"Perhaps the time required to detect anomalies can be reduced. Presently, it takes some time to determine whether a situation is normal or abnormal."

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

More AWS Shield cons

"The product is expensive."

"F5 should increase its capability to prevent zero-day attacks. Having advanced technology similar to other vendors like Palo Alto for zero-day attack prevention would be valuable."

"Deployment times vary according to the customer. It needs to be heavily configured. You need to look and you need to observe the behavior of the traffic before you can start configuring everything. It can take time."

"F5 could provide a distributed cloud version."

"If you compare it with the next-generation firewalls, then definitely this tool is not comparable."

"For configuring the firewall, every single vendor on the planet has pretty much the same logic when it comes to firewalls, and F5 has a completely different approach and completely different behavior."

"It is a little bit expensive, and I think about additional features they could have in the future to make it even better."

"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager's pricing and technical support services need improvement."

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

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It's a premium model. You can start at zero and work your way up to the enterprise model, which has a very high pricing level."

"That is one of the great features. I was able to access the majority of the features and services for free."

"The cost primarily depends on the size of the organization."

"We are using the free version."

"In terms of licensing costs, we don't pay for licensing for Cloudflare. We only establish communication, then for peering, Cloudflare takes care of the cross-connection in different data centers."

"I believe their performance has improved, but I'd like to refrain from discussing the pricing aspect related to the cloud. The pricing, in my opinion, could be simplified, and I think they should consider reevaluating the pricing for support, as it can be quite high. At times, this cost can make it challenging to choose CARFAGuard or opt for the support."

"The tool is a premium product, so it is very expensive."

"The solution has many features but there are ones that you need to pay for. Sometimes you have to find out which is available for free and which you have to pay for."

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

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

"The tool is cheap."

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

"The tool's pricing is good."

"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."

"The product is expensive."

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

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

"It's very expensive, and you pay extra for the models."

"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."

"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."

"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is not an expensive solution."

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

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

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Computer Software Company

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

16%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

14%

Engineering Company

Comms Service Provider

Marketing Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	11
Large Enterprise	26

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

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

Cloudflare. We are moving from Akamai prolexic to Cloudflare. Cloudflare anycast network outperforms Akamai static GR...

See all answers

Which would you choose - Cloudflare DNS or Quad9?

Cloudflare DNS is a very fast, very reliable public DNS resolver. It is an enterprise-grade authoritative DNS service...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare?

The tool's pricing is moderate. I rate the product’s pricing a five out of ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expens...

See all answers

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 Adva...

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What needs improvement with AWS Shield?

Services always benefit from improvements, including AWS Shield. With respect to the Web Application Firewall, curren...

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What is your primary use case for AWS Shield?

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

See all answers

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 plen...

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What needs improvement with F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?

Currently, there are no weaknesses or disadvantages in F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) that I have identifi...

See all answers

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...

See all answers

Comparisons

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 39% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 3% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Fastly vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

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Akamai App and API Protector vs AWS Shield

Compared 14% of the time

Azure DDoS Protection vs AWS Shield

Compared 13% of the time

Radware DDoS vs AWS Shield

Compared 11% of the time

Cloudflare One vs AWS Shield

Compared 9% of the time

Fastly vs AWS Shield

Compared 2% of the time

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Arbor DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Compared 25% of the time

Radware DDoS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Compared 22% of the time

A10 Thunder TPS vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Compared 11% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Compared 8% of the time

Fastly vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

Compared 5% of the time

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

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare

May 2026

Download Cloudflare product report

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield

May 2026

Download AWS Shield product report

Buyer's Guide

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)

May 2026

F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) report

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

Also Known As

Cloudflare DNS

No data available

F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager

Overview

Cloudflare enhances web performance and security with features like CDN caching and DDoS mitigation while providing easy DNS management and intuitive setup through its user-friendly dashboard.

Cloudflare is recognized for its comprehensive web security and performance solutions. Speed improvements are achieved through caching mechanisms and DDoS protection, combining ease of DNS management with flexible page rules. The robust analytics and threat insight tools provide valuable data, assisted by a user-friendly dashboard allowing quick setup and configuration. An API offers dynamic DNS settings ensuring low latency and high performance across the globe.

What are Cloudflare's key features?

CDN Caching: Enhances website speed through content delivery network caching.
Web Application Firewall: Protects websites from online threats.
DDoS Mitigation: Shields against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
DNS Management: Offers easy-to-use and flexible domain management.
SSL Certificates: Ensures secure connections between users and servers.
Analytics: Provides insights with robust analytics tools.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Enhanced Security: Strengthening web security with DDoS and firewall protection.
Speed Improvement: Faster content delivery with CDN caching.
Operational Simplicity: Simplifies website optimization through a user-friendly interface.
Scalable Solutions: Scales with global reach, lowering latency for improved performance.
Cost Efficiency: Offers layers of valuable functionality with pricing options.

Cloudflare finds utility across industries for DNS management and defense mechanisms. Its content delivery network assures fast content distribution and fortified security. Businesses integrate features like web application firewalls, load balancing, end-to-end SSL, and zero trust to protect websites from cyber threats while ensuring resilience and reliable performance.

Cloudflare

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

Trusted by over 9,000,000 Internet Applications and APIs, including Nasdaq, Zendesk, Crunchbase, Steve Madden, OkCupid, Cisco, Quizlet, Discord and more.

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

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

Buyer's Guide

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

April 2026

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

Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Shield vs. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) and other solutions. Updated: April 2026.

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