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Check Point DDoS Protector vs F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 5, 2024

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
Sponsored
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
77
Ranking in other categories
CDN (1st), Managed DNS (1st), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th)
Check Point DDoS Protector
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
23rd
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall...
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
9th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of Cloudflare is 18.8%, up from 17.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Check Point DDoS Protector is 1.1%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) is 1.2%, down from 1.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Cloudflare18.8%
F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM)1.2%
Check Point DDoS Protector1.1%
Other78.9%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
 

Featured Reviews

Carlos Alam Hernandez Baruch - PeerSpot reviewer
Fast and secure deployments simplify operations for government and fintech clients
It is a fast and secure DNS. It is very easy to deploy, and my customers are happy with this tool. Additionally, the CDN performance in Mexico is excellent, providing fast service and tools. It offers reliability during high-traffic periods, ensuring no impact on the environment. It helps my clients avoid using on-premise boxes, simplifying operations as they only use the prices on Cloudflare.
Petr Zemánek - PeerSpot reviewer
Protect from DDoS attacks with good management and easy setup
I have used Fortinet FortiDDoS. Fortinet is a little bit cheaper. Both solution was effective. The management of Check Point solution is a little bit better. It is 50 percent cheaper than Fortinet. It's very modern now to have an AI in the management for fast finding of attacks or investigation. Check Point have these features in a new releases.
Pawel Augustyn - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides outstanding resource management and application security across multiple geographies
The most valuable features for me are stability, availability, and security, along with the ability to manage multiple features to secure my applications. The solution also monitors and blocks unconventional requests and maintains security efficiently. The scalability feature also allows me to manage and allocate resources dynamically without disrupting production traffic.

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."
"Cloudflare makes it easier for me to handle and set up DNS for multiple users and multiple clients, and basically go in and access their account, make the changes they need, and it's a one-stop shop."
"The most valuable feature of Cloudflare is the GUI. You are able to control the solution very well through the interface. There is a lot of functionality that is embedded in the service."
"Its most significant benefit to date is the speed with which it refreshes DNS records on the internet once you change it. If you are changing a website or registering a new record, it is very quick."
"The attacker won't have details since my public IP is anonymous. It offers us good privacy."
"Cloudflare offers CDN and DDoS protection. We have the front end, API, and database in how you structure applications."
"Cloudflare consolidates various capabilities into one product, streamlining processes."
"We're using dynamic components to build flexible pages to create and manage Git merge requests for code and reviews."
"Check Point detects and automatically mitigates attacks, which helps our organization protect our infrastructure."
"Check Point DDoS Protector has positively impacted my organization by improving uptime, reducing incidents, and providing cost savings."
"Check Point DDoS Protector is a product that uses machine learning and behavior analysis."
"As our business continues to grow, we can grow this product simultaneously."
"It uses several layers of security."
"This comprehensive tool validates and exploits complex vulnerabilities that other vendors fail to find and resolve to increase security."
"From my experience, the best part of this solution is behavioral DDoS protection. The DDoS Protector can monitor the traffic, and based on the behavior, it can decide which traffic is malicious and which traffic is regular. It works dynamically, and it's a very good solution."
"Currently, we have fewer incidents with viruses. We improved our IQ operations and security using this solution. Our company's better after using Check Point."
"This product excells in every aspect from installation and the interface to providing superior network security."
"The product’s most valuable features are LTM and WAF."
"We use the solution for load balancing and WAF (web application firewall)."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is that the blocking of IP's."
"The solution is easily deployable and has great functionality."
"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager's most valuable feature is load balance. It is readily available and uncomplicated."
"The most valuable feature of F5 BIG-IP AFM is the iRules where I can customize the configuration."
"The product helps us provide security validation by protecting various applications from getting hacked."
 

Cons

"There could be more courses with engineers. I like e-learning, however, having a specialist in a classroom is more comfortable for me."
"It should have easier documentation for the configuration. It's very technical and people who aren't technical should also be able to do the configuration."
"Integration involving API with other products could be more user-friendly."
"The Cloudflare load balancing capability hasn't really helped in enhancing my website's uptime and resiliency because we don't really get that much traffic; it's mostly remote users, and web hosting is done by a web hosting service."
"There should be a specific price list for enterprise-level customers."
"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."
"We have noticed multiple instances where Cloudflare falsely indicates that our servers are down, even when there is no actual load on them. This makes it challenging for us to identify the exact issue."
"Technical support is lacking."
"For a long time, there was no software version of R80.10 available for the Check Point DDoS Protector software appliances, and we had to stay on the quite outdated R77.30 version."
"The public documentation is a detail that must be improved in order to have greater implementations with the best practices in this case of the Check Point manufacturer."
"It is an expensive tool for some companies."
"It does not provide the capability to upload data for blacklisting/whitelisting in bulk."
"Check Point DDoS Protector can be improved in that initial fine-tuning of policies can be complex and may require expertise."
"The solution should greatly improve its interface."
"Monitoring and reporting are the things that can be introduced in the future."
"The mitigation part could be improved."
"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."
"The solution's UI could be improved."
"Currently, we have eighty F5s and we need some kind of management software. It would be very helpful."
"The solution doesn't really meet our requirements for an edge firewall."
"NGINX, which F5 purchased, has room for improvement in its features, particularly its load balancing or application load balancing features."
"The appliance and features could be enhanced further, especially in terms of security. Some features like the WAF firewall may seem expensive compared to the standard license, so there could be room for adjusting the pricing."
"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager's pricing and technical support services need improvement."
"The pricing of the solution could be a little bit better."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I think the pricing is competitive. I think as far as licensing is concerned it's pretty straightforward because it's based on domain. It's just that sometimes domains could be tricky with some customers."
"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."
"When you compare Cloudflare DNS to other solutions, such as Akamai, the price is reasonable."
"There are no additional costs beyond the standard licensing fees."
"The product's pricing is minimal compared to other products."
"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."
"We are using the free tier of the solution."
"We are using the free version."
"The appliance comes with a loaded hardware license, and additional options such as SSL can be purchased and enabled."
"I don't deal with the pricing, but it seems that you need to get basic support in order to upgrade the DDoS database for new attacks and so on."
"It's an expensive solution. It's one of the most expensive solutions in the world. It's cheaper than Palo Alto and Cisco but these are expensive solutions. Fortinet is cheaper."
"F5 BIG-IP AFM is an affordable solution. There were not any additional fees other than the standard licensing."
"We have purchased a five-year licensing package for the product."
"F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager is not an expensive solution."
"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."
"The price of F5 BIG-IP AFM is a little more expensive than other firewalls on the market."
"It is somewhat on the expensive side although it is worth the additional cost."
"It's very expensive, and you pay extra for the models."
"The product is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Comms Service Provider
33%
Manufacturing Company
15%
Educational Organization
7%
Computer Software Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
15%
Performing Arts
10%
Comms Service Provider
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business46
Midsize Enterprise8
Large Enterprise25
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business13
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise5
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise14
 

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...
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...
What do you like most about Cloudflare?
Cloudflare offers CDN and DDoS protection. We have the front end, API, and database in how you structure applications.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Check Point DDoS Protector?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing is that it is straightforward with no challenges.
What needs improvement with Check Point DDoS Protector?
Check Point DDoS Protector can be improved in that initial fine-tuning of policies can be complex and may require exp...
What is your primary use case for Check Point DDoS Protector?
My main use case for Check Point DDoS Protector is to protect our network perimeter against DDoS attacks, ensuring se...
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...
What needs improvement with F5 Advanced Firewall Manager?
The appliance and features could be enhanced further, especially in terms of security. Some features like the WAF ( /...
 

Also Known As

Cloudflare DNS
No data available
F5 AFM, F5 Advanced Firewall Manager
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Trusted by over 9,000,000 Internet Applications and APIs, including Nasdaq, Zendesk, Crunchbase, Steve Madden, OkCupid, Cisco, Quizlet, Discord and more.
Boston Properties
City Bank, Ricacorp Properties, Miele, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office
Find out what your peers are saying about Check Point DDoS Protector vs. F5 BIG-IP Advanced Firewall Manager (AFM) and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
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