AWS Shield vs NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and NETSCOUT are both solutions in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.8, while NETSCOUT is ranked #4 with an average rating of 9.2. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.0% mindshare in DDOS, compared to NETSCOUT’s 5.5% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of NETSCOUT users who would recommend it.

AWS Shield

Read 9 AWS Shield reviews

3,173 Views
3,173 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protect...

Read 57 NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation reviews

8,287 Views
7,624 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

AWS Shield

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protect...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 12, 2026

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation and AWS Shield compete in the DDoS protection and mitigation category. AWS Shield seems to have the upper hand regarding integration and user-friendliness within the AWS ecosystem.

Features: NETSCOUT Arbor offers comprehensive features like traffic analysis using the NetFlow protocol, real-time packet capture, and AI-driven insights. AWS Shield provides automatic mitigation and security at both network and application layers, seamless integration with AWS, and requires minimal maintenance.

Room for Improvement: NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS needs enhanced reporting, simpler integration capabilities, and more affordable pricing. AWS Shield could improve insights into application traffic and enhance features at its Standard level.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NETSCOUT Arbor can be deployed in hybrid and on-premises environments with strong support, though response times may vary. AWS Shield offers streamlined cloud integration and robust support but might be less flexible in customization than traditional solutions.

Pricing and ROI: NETSCOUT Arbor is viewed as expensive with complex licensing but offers significant ROI in terms of protection and uptime. AWS Shield provides a more predictable pricing model aligned with AWS usage, though costs can increase significantly with the Advanced tier.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Shield vs. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield vs. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation

September 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

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

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protect...

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

4th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of AWS Shield is 3.0%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation is 5.5%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Arbor DDoS	5.5%
AWS Shield	3.0%
Other	91.5%

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

reviewer1331304

Director Of Research And Development at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

Automated threat intelligence and flow-based mitigation have improved our DDoS defense

A very useful feature in Arbor DDoS is its ability to send flow spec announcements to routers. For example, if it is clear that a Layer 3 or Layer 4 attack is occurring and the attack pattern is identified through source and destination IP addresses and ports, you can generate flow spec filters. These filters are transferred through BGP to border routers, which automatically build filters, mitigating the attack even at the network's boundary and preventing it from reaching the TMS. This allows the TMS to focus on other tasks. This is a highly effective feature that can mitigate huge volumetric attacks; for example, we experienced a 32-gigabit attack, and all those 32 gigabits were dropped by our border routers, not by Arbor DDoS itself. The flow spec announcement was generated by Arbor DDoS, and as far as I know, the same technology is used by Radware, but it comes under a different feature and a different license. At the time, we were told that flow spec mitigation was an additional very expensive license to purchase from Radware, while Radware included everything in one package.

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

"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."

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

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

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

"The product is easy to use."

"We have integrated the tool with Active Directory. The most important feature is that it's transparent and doesn't degrade the performance of our solution. Additionally, it's easy to configure, which is crucial for us. It's easy to use and set up and stops attacks on our servers. We haven't encountered any attack problems because the solution stops them in real-time. AWS Shield specifically focuses on defending against denial-of-service attacks, making it a great solution for that type of threat."

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

More AWS Shield pros

"The technical support of Arbor DDoS is good."

"Arbor has a global ranking in reliability and credibility and is very unique in its ability to respond to a very wide scope of threats from its global deployment."

"There were huge attacks in October, around 62 attacks at 30 gigabits per second, at one of our banks. We used Arbor DDoS to mitigate these attacks, and it performed great."

"Companies that live from their presence on the internet will get a very high return on investment from Arbor."

"Arbor DDoS is easy to use, provides effective blocking of DDoS attacks, and can be used for DNS, web, and main servers. Additionally, this solution is far easier to operate than others solutions, such as Fortinet DDoS."

"Arbor's technical support is very good, we've had no issues with it."

"The solution is really stable and is the most stable device in our topology."

"The artificial intelligence feature is most appreciated. This solution can lower the throughput and clear the traffic, which is something really important for us. It also provides good protection. It is user-friendly, and its integration has also been really fast. We have many critical applications, and it was easy to integrate Arbor DDoS with our website, mobile application, and web banking."

More NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation pros

Cons

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

"The product is expensive."

"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."

"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 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."

More AWS Shield cons

"They also have limited sizes of the boxes. Different sizes are needed because some customers are very small while others are very big, such as ISPs, so this categorization should be available."

"The implementation should be made easier."

"Real-case scenarios that have taken too long to resolve or were escalated can be directly converted into articles."

"It could include a lot of enhancements related to AI and automation."

"Arbor DDoS could improve out-of-the-box reporting, it could be better."

"The following areas need improvement: opening and tracking support tickets, online support resources, software upgrades/updates and replacement media, and event management guidelines."

"The upgrade process is mildly complex requiring treatment of the custom embedded OS separately from the application. The correlation of the underling OS to the application version can be easily missed."

"Sometimes it blocks legitimate traffic. If a legitimate user is trying to access the server continuously, the product suspects that this is a DoS traffic file. That is a case where it needs to improve. It needs machine-learning."

More NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."

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

"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."

"Because the solutions from competitors are very different, it's not easy to compare. However, the licensing from Arbor is clear and understandable and the pricing is reasonable when looking at the market, in general."

"Arbor's products are very expensive. Their competitors are cheap when compared with Arbor."

"Regarding pricing, I would rate it as average. Arbor DDoS offers good value for money with our DDoS filter device. For higher protection needs, Arbor’s CloudMeter’s DDoS mitigation or hardware devices might be more expensive, but customers who need them are usually prepared for the cost and the additional resources required."

"As far as I know, they are the best in this sector, in DDoS protection. They know it, I know, because their service prices are too high. They provide cloud DDoS protection for ISPs, but that is also too expensive."

"I don't know about the pricing details as our company's service provider offers us the solution as an inbuilt feature within the internet bandwidth they provide us."

"I believe that the price of Arbor DDoS falls under the bracket of medium to high price."

"There is room for improvement with the pricing. It is an expensive solution. The issue with the pricing is more the way it is built. Right now we're paying per router, and there's a limitation there. I would like to see bundle-pricing where there is an overall solution cost."

"Our customers always complain about the price of the product."

More NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Outsourcing Company

11%

Comms Service Provider

Construction 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	26
Midsize Enterprise	14
Large Enterprise	29

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...

See all answers

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 ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Shield?

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

See all answers

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

I would say if it’s an ISP that will build a scrubbing center, Netscout/Arbor is a good solution. In all other solutions, Imperva is a great choice.

See all answers

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

Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arbor DDoS?

The prices for Arbor DDoS are expensive. The licensing is subscription-based. From our sales department, they discuss that prices are very high.

See all answers

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield

October 2026

Download AWS Shield product report

Buyer's Guide

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation

October 2026

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation report

Download NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation product report

Also Known As

No data available

Arbor Networks SP, Arbor Networks TMS, Arbor Cloud for ENT

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)

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation offers a comprehensive defense system against DDoS attacks, integrating a user-friendly GUI and advanced threat mitigation technologies for enhanced network protection.

NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation is recognized for its ability to manage high-volume DDoS attacks efficiently, providing extensive protection through real-time traffic analysis and automated threat detection. It utilizes advanced techniques such as blackhole and BGP Flowspec for effective threat management. Arbor's cloud signaling allows users to handle and mitigate volumetric attacks while maintaining service availability. Though it provides robust security features, users note potential improvements in auto-mitigation, scalability, and AI integration. Challenges like an outdated graphical interface, hardware stability, and false positives need addressing to further enhance its usability and integration with third-party systems.

What are the key features of NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation?

User-Friendly GUI: Provides an intuitive interface for ease of use.
Effective Mitigation: Combats high-volume DDoS attacks effectively.
Predefined Filters: Simplifies threat management with pre-configured settings.
Real-Time Traffic Analysis: Offers insights into traffic patterns and potential threats.
Automated Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates threats without manual intervention.
Able to Handle High-Volume Attacks: Ensures extensive protection even under large-scale attacks.
Packet Capture and Integration: Facilitates comprehensive security analysis.
Cloud Signaling: Enhances attack traffic management through hybrid deployments.

What benefits should users expect from NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation?

Enhanced Protection: Safeguards networks from diverse DDoS threats.
Improved Service Availability: Maintains business operations without disruptions.
Timely Reporting: Delivers detailed attack reports for proactive prevention.
AI Capabilities: Leverages AI for smarter threat mitigation strategies.
Comprehensive Security: Combines on-premise and cloud deployments for optimal defense.

Internet service providers and telecom companies commonly adopt NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation to protect their networks and infrastructure from DDoS attacks. It is also implemented in financial and government sectors to ensure web application security and maintain high availability. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation supports a hybrid approach, utilizing both on-premise and cloud solutions to manage traffic efficiently and sustain service quality during attacks.

NETSCOUT

Sample Customers

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

Xtel Communications

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield vs. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation

September 2026

Free Report: AWS Shield vs. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation

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