Azure Web Application Firewall vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services comparison

Microsoft and F5 are both solutions in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category. Microsoft is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.3, while F5 is ranked #20 with an average rating of 10.0. Microsoft holds a 4.0% mindshare in WAF, compared to F5’s 1.2% mindshare. Additionally, 93% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of F5 users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Azure Web Application Firewall and F5 Distributed Cloud Services based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

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.

To learn more, read our detailed Azure Web Application Firewall vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Azure Web Application Firewall vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

July 2025

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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 Web Application ...

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is 7.3%, up from 6.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Azure Web Application Firewall is 4.0%, down from 4.9% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 Distributed Cloud Services is 1.2%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Featured Reviews

SachidDoshi

Senior Enterprise Security Architect at HGS - Hinduja Global Solutions

Offers a huge signature repository and is superiorly effective in mitigating DDoS attacks

The solution's learning curve can still be further reduced, which presently stands at two or three months. The product has a custom rule set that users can modify and manifest as needed. The vendor can probably shorten the learning curve using cutting-edge technologies like AI. The solution provider can also work around the web applications and identify the toolset that needs to be implemented to deploy the solution in less time. The vendor has launched a SASE product that can function with Cloudflare Web Application Firewall, but many improvements are needed in terms of features, such as the web filtering feature, and CASB has not yet been added.

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Mano Senaratne

Head of Digital Engineering, Management Consultant at Stax Inc.

Comprehensive suite simplifies configuration while frequent updates require management

Mainly, it comes with the complete suite of Microsoft services. I can use it in conjunction with the best options and other features that come with it. Configuration is much easier than using different platforms. For example, if I have hosted the application in AWS and am using the Application Firewall from Azure, there are certain additional steps to follow when configuring them. With Microsoft, everything is within a single suite, making it easier to configure and plan. Azure continually upgrades platforms and sends us messages to upgrade to the next version, simplifying the process. Later, it's much easier if I want to upgrade the software platform, scale it, or move it to a different application host as the whole suite comes together. The return on investment is good. If I am doing applications for clients, I can invoice them for better costs. Most applications that I run and use have a better return on investment.

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Filip Mikulik

IT Analyst at Atlas.cz, a.s.

Protects web applications with comprehensive security features

All features are valuable. In a multi-cloud or distributed cloud, there are many protection possibilities from data to web application or API protection, including bot mitigation. This is a comprehensive package for web application security. The main benefit is Web App Security, offering a complete security package from DDoS to web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation.

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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

"Someone with a basic understanding of networking and security will be able to implement the firewall's basic features within 15 minutes."

"The integration of Cloudflare with Cloud Suite is its most valuable feature."

"It's pretty convenient and pretty easy to set up and run. And then kind of for static content, it also offers caching."

"I'm highly satisfied. It's remarkably user-friendly, enabling me to quickly identify issues, and deploy solutions, and it offers the necessary features."

"The setup process is very simple for me."

"Some of the most valuable features of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall include its DNS zone setup and the zero trust policy."

"The product has a valuable security control functionality."

"Cloudflare WAF provides protection through rules and functionalities like Cloudflare's SDRAP."

More Cloudflare Web Application Firewall pros

"It's a good option if you want a solution that's ready to go and easy for your team to learn. It's cloud-based, so you don't need to buy or maintain any hardware infrastructure."

"The most valuable feature is that it allows us to publish our applications behind the firewall."

"The return on investment is good."

"It is almost impossible to access these assets from outside, requiring a very skilled attacker to obtain asset tokens of a customer using Azure."

"It's quite a stable product and works well with Microsoft products."

"The initial setup is easy and straightforward...Azure Web Application Firewall is a scalable product."

"It has been a stable product in my experience."

"The best features of Azure Web Application Firewall are that it provides security and protection from poorly designed web applications."

More Azure Web Application Firewall pros

"The main benefit is Web App Security, offering a complete security package from DDoS to web application firewall, API protection, and bot mitigation."

"F5 is known for being the best load balancer in the market. Customers with an existing module can easily adopt additional modules without investing in new hardware."

"In a multi-cloud or distributed cloud, there are many protection possibilities from data to web application or API protection, including bot mitigation."

Cons

"A key challenge arises when dealing with numerous integrations with HVAC systems. Depending on the specifics, there might be some configuration mismatches, which necessitate specific support."

"There could be an option to duplicate the cluster to maintain the consistency of rules."

"The platform's control features related to real-time authentication and response time need improvement."

"Its stability could be better."

"The dashboard could be more user-friendly."

"The learning curve was steep initially."

"The blocked logs are difficult to read at times."

"We have noticed some latency when the call goes through the firewall. That could be improved."

More Cloudflare Web Application Firewall cons

"Some Azure applications, like the web application firewall, require a certain level of SKU for hosting setup. The basic setup does not allow me to use the web application firewall and other additional services."

"The documentation needs to be improved."

"I would say that Azure's customer service is not that good...I am not very happy with the support offered."

"The knowledge base could be improved."

"In Brazil, we have some problems with the phone service that affect our connection with the cloud. However, it isn't common."

"We would like to see additional site services using AI to provide information about blocking requests and offer analytics on the origin of calls."

"The management can be improved."

"Upgrading the platform regularly is necessary for security, however, frequent updates every six months or year from Azure can be a maintenance overhead."

More Azure Web Application Firewall cons

"The main issue is integration with other parts or products of F5, like on-premise WAF. There are some problems, mainly from the perspective of implementation and customer expectations, which sometimes differ from reality."

"The pricing could be adjusted to better meet the needs of typical customers in regions like Poland, where the product is considered too expensive."

"The main issue is integration with other parts or products of F5, like on-premise WAF."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The solution is expensive."

"The solution's pricing option needs to be more transparent for enterprise clients."

"Cloudflare offers different types of subscriptions for businesses, enterprises, and personal users, and the pricing is negotiable."

"The annual licensing fee is $10,000 USD."

"What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing? I believe the pricing is not the best, but it's reasonable and acceptable. We also use the McAfee system in parallel. In terms of pricing, its okay - not great, but not bad either. It falls in the middle, which is acceptable. In terms of support licensing, last time, we were searching for a solution, and we considered products from resellers rather than directly from the cloud provider. However, the pricing we encountered was exceptionally high. As a result, we are inclined to select support from the reseller."

"The pricing model is very straightforward compared to the competition. You just pay per month for the product and usage."

"We pay $210 per month for CloudFlare WAF."

"Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is more affordable than other solutions."

More Cloudflare Web Application Firewall pricing and cost advice

"The price is reasonable. It is approximately $2,000 US per month."

"I give the pricing a nine out of ten."

"The price of the solution depends on your architecture and how you manage it. You can control the cost in Azure quite well. The costs do not directly correlate to expenses in the features we are using."

"The price is for this solution is fair and there is a license needed."

"We have an enterprise agreement with Microsoft and the pricing is good."

"Azure WAF has price advantages over other WAF solutions. The pricing model is flexible because you pay on a scale based on the level of protection you need."

Information not available

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Government

Computer Software Company

16%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Insurance Company

Healthcare Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?

The product has a valuable security control functionality.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?

The price of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is reasonable.

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What needs improvement with Cloudflare Web Application Firewall?

I cannot say much about areas of improvement for Cloudflare Web Application Firewall because I haven't gone through d...

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What do you like most about Azure Web Application Firewall?

The integration it has with GitHub is great.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Azure Web Application Firewall?

As a technical professional, I am not aware of the exact price details, but I know that specific products are more co...

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What needs improvement with Azure Web Application Firewall?

Azure Web Application Firewall could improve in logging and troubleshooting processes by making them more streamlined...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

I am not involved in sales, so I do not deal with the pricing aspect directly. I give the cost of the solution a four...

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What needs improvement with F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

It's a long way to be perfect, of course, as with all solutions. The main issue is integration with other parts or pr...

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What is your primary use case for F5 Distributed Cloud Services?

There are two main use cases for Distributed Call Services: DDoS or Distributed attacks protection and WAF web applic...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 15% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Compared 13% of the time

F5 Advanced WAF vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

AWS WAF vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

Atomic ModSecurity Rules vs Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

Compared 3% of the time

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AWS WAF vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 27% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 11% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 6% of the time

Akamai App and API Protector vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 5% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Azure Web Application Firewall

Compared 4% of the time

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F5 Silverline Managed Services vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Compared 20% of the time

Akamai vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Compared 16% of the time

Akamai API Security vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Compared 15% of the time

Imperva Web Application Firewall vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Compared 11% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Virtual Edition vs F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Compared 10% of the time

More F5 Distributed Cloud Services Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall

August 2025

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall report

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Buyer's Guide

Azure Web Application Firewall

August 2025

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CDN

July 2025

Download F5 Distributed Cloud Services product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare WAF

No data available

Overview

Cloudflare Web Application Firewall's intuitive dashboard enables users to build powerful rules through easy clicks and also provides Terraform integration. Every request to the WAF is inspected against the rule engine and the threat intelligence curated from protecting over 27 Million websites. Suspicious requests can be blocked, challenged or logged as per the needs of the user while legitimate requests are routed to the destination, agnostic of whether it lives on-premise or in the cloud. Analytics and Cloudflare Logs enable visibility into actionable metrics for the user.

Cloudflare

Azure Web Application Firewall (WAF) provides centralized protection of your web applications from common exploits and vulnerabilities. Web applications are increasingly targeted by malicious attacks that exploit commonly known vulnerabilities. SQL injection and cross-site scripting are among the most common attacks.

To learn more about our solution, ask questions, and share feedback, join our Microsoft Security, Compliance and Identity Community.

Microsoft

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.

Sample Customers

crunchbase, udacity, marketo, okcupid, zendesk

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

Azure Web Application Firewall vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

July 2025

Free Report: Azure Web Application Firewall vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services

Find out what your peers are saying about Azure Web Application Firewall vs. F5 Distributed Cloud Services and other solutions. Updated: July 2025.

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