

Fastly and NGINX App Protect are competitive solutions in the web performance and security category. Fastly holds the upper hand when it comes to rapid content delivery, while NGINX App Protect shines with its strong application security features.
Features: Fastly offers a robust edge cloud platform optimizing content delivery and scalability, supporting real-time data streaming and instant configurability. It provides a user-friendly CLI for efficient configuration and reliable log management. NGINX App Protect provides advanced threat mitigation for APIs and microservices, excelling in auto-learning for application profiling, bot protection, and flexibility with command-line interface and reverse proxy.
Room for Improvement: Fastly could enhance zero-trust security features and improve its broader market appeal. Advanced analytics and a more comprehensive CDN interface could bolster its standing. NGINX App Protect may require simplification in its setup process. Emphasizing ease of backend programming could improve deployment. Integration advice for hybrid networks could also be beneficial.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fastly ensures seamless deployment with comprehensive documentation and responsive customer support. It integrates effortlessly with existing systems, promoting minimal downtime. NGINX App Protect focuses on security integration but might require more customization. It needs effective communication between security and developer teams to achieve optimal deployment.
Pricing and ROI: Fastly offers competitive pricing focused on performance improvement, ensuring good ROI through enhanced speed. NGINX App Protect generally has higher initial costs due to its security features, providing substantial ROI for security-focused businesses. Fastly is cost-effective for performance needs, while NGINX App Protect secures long-term investments in application protection.
Reducing infrastructure costs by 40 to 60% because Edge Caching minimizes backend traffic, resulting in lower computing costs.
I have seen a return on investment, particularly in time savings, especially regarding the changes.
demonstrating the team's technical expertise in CDN and Edge architecture
We have SLAs defined because we opted for enterprise support pricing.
I would describe Fastly's customer support as fast and efficient when I have had to use it.
They were quick and efficient when we had issues.
I would rate the customer support a 9 on a scale of 1 to 10.
Seamlessly handling massive traffic without requiring backend changes due to its globally distributed Edge network and stateless API-driven design.
The scalability of NGINX App Protect is good and open source at its best.
Highly reliable for enterprise-scale applications with high uptime guarantees.
It is a quality solution, and I would rate its stability as eight out of ten.
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.
For now, I think NGINX App Protect is good, but maybe I would like to see the logging feature added.
There was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service.
The GUI and web GUI configuration could be improved to be easier to manage and use.
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.
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.
Initially, we faced load time issues, but after deploying Fastly and optimizing our queries, we achieved a response time cut to less than 1 millisecond from an initial 3 to 4 seconds.
In this project, it is working as a reverse proxy for CDN and WAF, web application firewall, additionally image optimization.
The most valuable feature is the ability to operate in a DevOps environment and to be configured through API and pipeline by the developers themselves.
Some threats like injection and running scripts, SQL injections, these all get stopped and rejected by the server.
Detecting bots and blocking IPs have proven effective for securing applications.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| NGINX App Protect | 2.1% |
| Fastly | 2.2% |
| Other | 95.7% |


| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 7 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 9 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 7 |
| Large Enterprise | 14 |
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.
NGINX App Protect offers comprehensive security features like auto-learning and bot protection. Its real-time threat detection and ease of integration make it suitable for web and mobile application security across on-premises, cloud, and container environments.
NGINX App Protect stands out with its adaptive machine learning, scalable deployment options, and robust API connectivity, offering Layer 7 DDoS protection and an OWASP-certified WAF. While it supports comprehensive traffic and security management, enhancements in platform integration, automation, and technical support could improve usability. The pricing model and policy management options could also see refinement. Commonly employed in securing web and mobile applications, it addresses threats including OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and DDoS attacks, while providing seamless integration with Kubernetes and CI/CD pipelines.
What are the key features of NGINX App Protect?NGINX App Protect finds broader use in sectors like banking and telecommunications, where it secures high-performance digital infrastructures. Its application spans perimeter security, load balancing, and acts as a reverse proxy in environments necessitating stringent security, high throughput, and robust management. The tool's adaptability facilitates its deployment alongside containers, ensuring compatibility with contemporary development practices.
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.