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Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF) vs McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Aug 13, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
6.2
Check Point WAF boosts cost savings, efficiency, and security, enhancing ROI through reduced ownership costs and streamlined operations.
Sentiment score
4.1
Users reported positive financial outcomes from McAfee Total Protection, though some did not experience favorable financial results.
When we are attacked, we can understand how important the solution is.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
When you migrate to the cloud, it feels like saving 90% of your time.
Manager, Managed Security Services at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees
Most of the operations happen in the background, so I do not spend much time on it.
Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Unitel S.A.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.5
Check Point WAF support is responsive and knowledgeable but occasionally delayed, needing improvement in service proficiency and availability.
Sentiment score
6.3
Users find McAfee's customer service prompt but note regional gaps, accessibility issues, and varied response times needing improvement.
They need to increase the number of people for 24/7 support.
Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Unitel S.A.
They were responsive even before we committed to buying their solution.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
I also received full technical support, especially during the implementation.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Improvements could be made in response time or quality as all of them can be rated a seven.
Country Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.2
Check Point WAF excels with scalable, cloud-native design, seamless AWS integration, and adaptable SaaS deployment for multi-cloud support.
Sentiment score
6.7
McAfee Total Protection is scalable and efficient, though planning and resource management are needed to maintain performance during scans.
If I need to scale, I open a Whatsapp group with the director and the team, and we quickly proceed to do so.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
They have sufficient resources, and there are no challenges from a scalability perspective.
Project Manager at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Check Point CloudGuard WAF's scalability is very good.
Sr. VP of Creative & Development at a non-tech company with 51-200 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Check Point WAF is praised for its exceptional stability and reliability, with users rating it highly for performance and robustness.
Sentiment score
7.1
McAfee Total Protection is stable and reliable but faces challenges on legacy systems; proper configuration ensures optimal performance.
It is very stable.
Team Leader, Cloudops & Cloud Architect at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
It is very stable, never crashing or giving me an error that I can see.
Sysadmin at a government with 501-1,000 employees
I did not have any issues in the last three years during which I had more than ten critical services running on CloudGuard.
Information Technology - Infrastructure and Security at Cyprus Development Bank
Sometimes there are some issues in the product itself; whenever they release a new version, vulnerabilities come into the picture, and we need to update the product to mitigate such issues.
Sr. System Engineer at Zensar Technologies
 

Room For Improvement

Check Point WAF requires improvements in customization, integration, pricing, and support, with users desiring simplified setup and enhanced features.
McAfee Total Protection needs UI and integration improvements, cost efficiency, AI refinement, advanced threat defense, and simpler setup.
The provider could improve by providing better guidance and support during the configuration process.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
Future releases should include better bot mitigation, behavioral anomaly detection, compliance templates, advanced threat intel integration, and streamlined multi-cloud support to boost protection and usability.
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
A machine learning-based adaptive mode could help the WAF learn over time and auto-tune policies.
Technical Support Executive at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Sometimes there are some issues in the product itself; whenever they release a new version, vulnerabilities come into the picture, and we need to update the product to mitigate such issues.
Sr. System Engineer at Zensar Technologies
I see enhancement in reporting for McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention as a potential area of improvement to think from a data asset perspective, not from a policy perspective, and do more analysis regarding the user's perspective rather than the policy's perspective.
Country Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Setup Cost

Check Point WAF is seen as costly but justified by its robust features, flexible licensing, and ease of renewal.
Enterprise users find McAfee Total Protection costly, but competitive when bundled, with varied satisfaction on pricing and complexity.
It is more expensive than f5, where we purchased everything as bundles, and Check Point costs more, but it is worth the money.
Cyber security manager at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
It is less costly than Cloudflare, Fortinet, and other vendors.
Project Manager at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
I know that its price is relatively expensive compared to other products but it gives benefits that are worth it.
Ciso at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
I rate the pricing for McAfee as competitive compared to other companies; they are in the same range, not a cheap product and not an expensive product.
Country Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Check Point WAF offers AI-driven protection with easy deployment, low false positives, scalability, and integration with Azure, enhancing security.
McAfee Total Protection offers user-friendly data security, strong customization, reliable performance, affordability, and extensive endpoint coverage.
Upon implementation and evaluation with third-party penetration testing, it meets rigorous security standards required for dealing with financial institutions.
Infrastructure Manager at FPMH
It can protect against zero-day attacks and hidden anomalies.
Amministratore Della Sicurezza Di Rete at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
The solution preemptively blocks zero-day attacks and detects hidden anomalies effectively.
Information Technology - Infrastructure and Security at Cyprus Development Bank
We are just restricting data to be uploaded, which is the best option that allows us to control organizational data, making it the biggest benefit for us in McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention.
Sr. System Engineer at Zensar Technologies
I find unique value in McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention specifically in controlling the application from a DLP perspective; when a computer downloads a package, you can understand where it downloaded this package from, and you can create a policy regarding the source of the download.
Country Manager at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Check Point WAF (formerly C...
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
8th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
76
Ranking in other categories
Application Security Tools (5th), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (5th), DevSecOps (2nd)
McAfee Total Protection for...
Ranking in Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
24th
Average Rating
7.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
31
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) category, the mindshare of Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF) is 0.7%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention is 1.2%, up from 0.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Check Point WAF (formerly CloudGuard WAF)0.7%
McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention1.2%
Other98.1%
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
 

Featured Reviews

Krishnakumar Mahadevan - PeerSpot reviewer
CISO at Spink Solutions Private Limited
Cloud security has strengthened risk posture and improved advanced threat visibility
There are some API gateway and API securities I mentioned. If these are incorporated with AI-related features, particularly those seven key vulnerabilities I mentioned—token theft and tool poisoning—that would be beneficial. AI-related features are not included yet in Check Point CloudGuard WAF. However, they are present in FortiGate. That is the advantage of FortiGate now. FortiGate is stopping all AI-related vulnerabilities now. FortiGate has this capability. It is unfortunate that even Palo Alto also lacks one or two of these features. Check Point Quantum is very good, without a doubt. However, their capabilities are not in comparison with Palo Alto. There are some features, but there are some gaps in comparison with Palo Alto.
KM
Sr. System Engineer at Zensar Technologies
Data protection has improved as we restrict uploads to third-party sites and control devices
We are using customizable policies in the product. Everything is fine regarding alerting and reporting features; we got a notification as well as we received the required events, and it is working well. McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention is different; whatever the logs are there, they are available on the ePO, so we cannot directly integrate DLP to any third-party tool. We need to actually integrate the ePO itself to enable integration. We are just restricting data to be uploaded, which is the best option that allows us to control organizational data, making it the biggest benefit for us in McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention. We are protecting data to be uploaded on third party URLs, which helps us meet our needs.
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909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
18%
Outsourcing Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Construction Company
9%
Construction Company
12%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business54
Midsize Enterprise23
Large Enterprise34
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business18
Midsize Enterprise3
Large Enterprise9
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for CloudGuard for Application Security?
It is a little bit expensive, but the pricing model is acceptable, though a reduction would make it more competitive with leaders such as Palo Alto.
What needs improvement with CloudGuard for Application Security?
The false positive rate is a concern, but I could recommend improvements where false positives have to be minimized better. This all depends on how the rules are customized and configured, and it c...
What is your primary use case for CloudGuard for Application Security?
The main purpose is to have network security through machine learning, which can offer threat detection and intelligence for my endpoints, and I am looking for application security. I am looking fo...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention?
I rate the pricing for McAfee as competitive compared to other companies; they are in the same range, not a cheap product and not an expensive product.
What needs improvement with McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention?
Sometimes there are some issues in the product itself; whenever they release a new version, vulnerabilities come into the picture, and we need to update the product to mitigate such issues. Sometim...
What is your primary use case for McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention?
We are working with McAfee Total Protection for Data Loss Prevention and Trellix products in our environment, but not all the products; we are using only the DLP product. We are using DLP and devic...
 

Also Known As

Check Point CloudGuard Application Security, CloudGuard Application Security, CloudGuard AppSec, Check Point CloudGuard Code Security
McAfee Total Protection for Data, McAfee Total Protection for DLP, Total Protection for Data, Intel Security Total Protection for Data
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Orange España, Paschoalotto
Kleberg Bank
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Forcepoint, Check Point Software Technologies and others in Data Loss Prevention (DLP). Updated: July 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.