

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.
I observed around 35 to 45% reduction in malicious application layer traffic reaching the origin, which helped protect the backend systems and reduce risk exposure.
One measurable benefit was a reduction in manual effort required for managing and tuning web application protection policies because the managed rule capabilities and centralized visibility simplified the day-to-day operations.
I did see a return on my investment with F5 Rules for AWS WAF because I was able to detect attacks earlier, and because of this, my resources were not scaling continuously, thus saving costs on resources.
Realizing a 30 to 50% reduction in latency and page load time, ensuring users experience a seamless workflow.
I have seen a return on investment, particularly in time savings, especially regarding the changes.
They clearly explained what the best options are based on my use case, which helped us shortlist what is required.
The support team generally demonstrates strong technical knowledge around application security and traffic management, along with the AWS integrations.
For critical issues, the response time is quite good, and the support teams are knowledgeable in handling rule tuning, false positives, and other security-related incidents.
demonstrating the team's technical expertise in CDN and Edge architecture
We have SLAs defined because we opted for enterprise support pricing.
We are not getting quick responses from Fastly technical support engineers.
In my experience, F5 Rules for AWS WAF handles traffic spikes and high request volumes efficiently, including during attack scenarios such as bot surges or application layer attacks.
Easily handling traffic spikes and high-volume attacks without any manual intervention.
It supports scaling without significantly affecting application performance even during high traffic periods or sudden spikes in requests.
Seamlessly handling massive traffic without requiring backend changes due to its globally distributed Edge network and stateless API-driven design.
F5 Rules for AWS WAF is consistently updated and applied without impacting application availability, and it handles high traffic volumes effectively, even during attack scenarios.
Especially in terms of policy enforcement, traffic inspection, and integration with AWS environments.
Providing comprehensive managed rules coverage and reducing operational overhead compared to the AWS native managed rules.
Highly reliable for enterprise-scale applications with high uptime guarantees.
To stay safer from a security perspective, continuous improvisation in these security rules is required to ensure we are always up to date with new attacks.
The most useful change for F5 Rules for AWS WAF would be rule-level allow listing and exception management.
Fine-tuning it to match specific application behavior can sometimes be complex and time-consuming, especially for teams without deep WAF expertise.
I chose 8 out of 10 because it has excellent performance and low latency delivery, making it suitable for larger applications, with strong Edge Caching and instant purging capabilities.
Fastly could improve by improving the documentation and having some code examples.
Fastly should provide features similar to Cloudflare regarding a block list.
It has competitive pricing.
There is no significant setup cost involved, as it is a managed service that can be quickly integrated into the existing AWS WAF configuration without additional infrastructure.
F5 Rules for AWS WAF is not very costly and is reasonable, with enterprises being able to afford the cost.
It operates on a pay-as-you-go structure, but costs scale with traffic, requiring monitoring to avoid unexpected spikes based on data transfers and the number of requests handled.
In terms of price, I find it good.
Now, looking at these rule sets, they ensure that our origin or our application content and code, as well as the application itself or its API, are secure enough, always.
F5 Rules for AWS WAF rule sets are highly effective in detecting and mitigating OWASP Top 10 attacks such as SQL injection, XSS, and command injection, which significantly strengthens application security.
Using F5 Rules for AWS WAF has positively impacted my organization by making our AI-integrated application more secure from bot attacks, restricted size bodies, automated rate blocking for DDoS, and managed rules, especially as security has become a common concern across the industry.
The best feature that Fastly offers is the Edge location, which reduces latency, making our applications work smoother because we do not have to constantly call the backend.
Fastly has a wide number of configuration features that can be performed, and I emphasize that they can be done from code, which makes it much more traceable.
In this project, it is working as a reverse proxy for CDN and WAF, web application firewall, additionally image optimization.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| F5 Rules for AWS WAF | 0.4% |
| Fastly | 2.2% |
| Other | 97.4% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 4 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 1 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
F5 Rules for AWS WAF provides advanced web application protection tailored to secure applications hosted on AWS, offering dynamic defenses against evolving threats.
This solution offers a robust set of rules designed to enhance AWS WAF capabilities, delivering specialized protections against complex web threats. F5 Rules dynamically guard against emerging vulnerabilities, ensuring comprehensive threat mitigation. It's crafted to integrate seamlessly with AWS environments, making it fast and easy to deploy, manage, and scale as compared with legacy alternatives, providing users a manageable and comprehensive security layer for their applications.
What are the key features of F5 Rules for AWS WAF?In industries such as finance, healthcare, and retail, F5 Rules have been implemented to protect sensitive data and online transactions. This helps ensure compliance with industry regulations while maintaining performance and uptime for web applications.
Fastly is a leading provider of content delivery network services that enhances website performance through efficient caching and real-time architecture capabilities.
Fastly integrates CDN technology with advanced web application firewall for comprehensive security. Its global infrastructure supports performance enhancement, rapid deployment, and rollback capabilities. Utilizing the VCL language allows custom caching solutions. Compute@Edge provides extensive architectural flexibility, aiding in HTML manipulation and script execution. Users benefit from its stability and reliability features for seamless network protection, log management, image optimization, and A/B testing. Challenges include limited support in mainland China, inadequate WebSocket protocol implementation, and complex pricing structures.
What are the key features of Fastly?Fastly is widely implemented in industries needing robust content delivery and security capabilities. Companies use it as a reverse proxy for media delivery, ensuring availability and optimized performance. Its rapid deployment and rollback features are particularly beneficial in technology sectors requiring agile responses to demand shifts.
We monitor all Web Application Firewall (WAF) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.