

Find out in this report how the two Web Application Firewall (WAF) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
With AWS WAF, it is easier for us to block unwanted malicious DDoS attacks and threats from coming into our web application.
I would estimate the cost was reduced by approximately 30 percent in the first year.
There is definitely a return on investment in F5 Distributed Cloud Services.
I do find F5 Distributed Cloud Services to be cost-effective, as it brings benefits and a strong return on investment.
Resolving issues can take time because the support personnel may lack product expertise, leading to delays.
They reach out when you send them a ticket, and within 24 hours or less, someone is able to get back to you to solve your problem.
There is a lot of support from F5 Distributed Cloud Services and the knowledge on the page is very good and reliable.
I would provide 9.5 for support.
Email services are good, but they need to have a good human-based interaction with the call centers.
AWS WAF does scale in the sense that it is fully managed and has automatic scaling.
I need the traffic management environments in distributed management, which have a very good goal to manage very difficult traffic in the world.
Since it protects web applications from common attacks such as SQL injection and XSS, it is very stable.
In terms of reliability, I would rate AWS WAF about six out of ten due to the need for improved signature sets.
We faced issues with AWS WAF when writing the custom rules.
I won't face any issues with stability as a concern because it provides the load balancers and all redundancy, so it's very unlikely that we have any downtime.
Compared to firewalls, WAFs generally provide limited stateful analysis capabilities.
The way we see it now is just mentioned as a percentage from bots and actual users, which should include proper graphs and detailed information.
The level of granularity is not great, and as you cross a certain threshold, the cost goes up by twenty or thirty percent every time.
The main issue is integration with other parts or products of F5, like on-premise WAF.
For availability, they have added additional clusters across all the regional edges in the Kubernetes clusters to enhance availability.
F5 Distributed Cloud Services doesn't have something like that. That is the reason why CloudFlare remains a leader in that space for small customers and those who have just started or are startups.
Due to our status as an AWS shop, AWS WAF is cost-effective for us, and we benefit from discounts due to our extensive use of AWS services.
The licensing cost for AWS WAF is just pay-as-you-go; it is a service-based model.
F5 Distributed Cloud Services is affordable.
I believe the prices are much higher than I expected, but for the time being, the customer is still paying.
The biggest benefit of AWS WAF for us is to filter malicious requests, so we can protect our environment and application from malicious actors.
It has also helped to improve the posture of our application, prevent all DDoS attacks, and unnecessary traffic and SQL injection that is reducing the performance of our application.
The specific outcomes showing how AWS WAF has helped our organization include improving our security posture by reducing the attack surface and reducing malicious attacks.
The main benefit is Web App Security, offering a complete security package from DDoS to web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation.
F5 Distributed Cloud Services is the market leader in load balancers and manages traffic really well.
Malicious user mitigation is an AI/ML-based technology that was introduced by the F5 team, and this particular MUG protects rate limiting.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| AWS WAF | 3.9% |
| F5 Distributed Cloud Services | 1.9% |
| Other | 94.2% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 22 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 12 |
| Large Enterprise | 28 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 5 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
AWS WAF provides configurable rules, integration with AWS services, and scalable protection against web threats like SQL injections and DDoS attacks. Its automation and reliable performance are highly valued by users.
AWS WAF is a web application firewall offering significant security features like geo-restriction, custom rules, and IP filtering. Designed for seamless orchestration within AWS environments, it facilitates easy configuration and threat automation. Users benefit from its security policies, enhancing application performance by protecting against threats such as cross-site scripting. Despite its strengths, there is a call for enhanced user interfaces, better documentation, flexible pricing, and improved support. Expanding features like real-time analysis, bot protection, and AI integration can further elevate its utility.
What are the key features of AWS WAF?AWS WAF is extensively used in industries hosting applications on AWS, protecting sensitive data, and monitoring for unauthorized access. Custom and managed rules help cater to infrastructure needs, serving a vital role in maintaining application security across various sectors.
F5 Distributed Cloud Services excel in enhancing security, optimizing web application delivery, and ensuring robust network performance. Users value its integrated Web Application Firewall, DDoS protection, global server load balancing, and intuitive management interface. It boosts organizational efficiency, reduces operational costs, and scales seamlessly, making it essential for businesses operating in distributed environments.
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