No more typing reviews! Try our Samantha, our new voice AI agent.

Imperva Application Security Platform vs NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 12, 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
5.8
Imperva boosts security, reduces manual interventions, yielding quick ROI, especially in banking, though initial costs can be high.
Sentiment score
6.3
NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection ensures uptime, prevents costly attacks, protects reputation, and provides financial gains through efficient operations.
They know how much money they are losing while the system is down, so by increasing the possibility of not having a down website or web application, return on investment can be calculated easily.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
I was able to save over seven million dollars last year as return on investment in the company.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at Cyberoutcome Limited
I have seen a return on investment with Imperva Application Security Platform, as it is generally associated with time savings, because the review of alerts and the visibility it gives saves us significant operational time.
Ingeniero Preventa at Imperia
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
The Imperva Application Security Platform's support is praised for responsiveness but criticized for inconsistencies, especially between cloud and on-premises environments.
Sentiment score
7.6
NETSCOUT Arbor is praised for expertise and quick resolution, but regional delays and first-level support issues exist.
I would rate the technical support of Imperva DDoS as ten.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
They need to work faster on the response time because of issues of urgent replies.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at Cyberoutcome Limited
Responsive support addressing urgent needs.
Cybersecurity Consultant at Accenture Singapore Services Pte Ltd
The technical support team is very effective in resolving issues.
Network Engineer at A1 Bulgaria
Although the team is good, they are not fast, and they lack the skills to manage dynamic attackers.
Gerente De Ventas at internet winds ag
Support for Arbor DDoS deserves a rating of 10 because when there is a problem with implementation, the people I work with are the best.
Team Lead Network Engineer at Artco Group d.o.o Sarajevo
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Imperva Application Security Platform offers scalable solutions for various organizations, with cloud deployment preferred despite some pricing and performance challenges.
Sentiment score
7.3
NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection is scalable and adaptable, effectively mitigating attacks with flexible deployment for various environments.
99% of customers are using the cloud version of Imperva DDoS protection, so they just purchase the new license and scale as needed.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
I have not even needed support after deployment, since it has remained stable.
CTO at Malam Engineering PLC
It is easy to always scale to add more users.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at Cyberoutcome Limited
This would enhance the knowledge about scalability options available for Arbor DDoS, making it more accessible and useful for users.
System Engineer at TIGER LOGIC
They need to purchase boxes monthly to expand their bandwidths, and these new boxes can be added to the installed base very easily.
System Engineer - Security Presales at Raya Integration
I find Arbor DDoS to be very scalable.
Network Engineer at A1 Bulgaria
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Imperva Application Security Platform is praised for stability and reliability, with minor issues occurring mainly during high traffic.
Sentiment score
8.3
NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection is highly stable and effective, with minimal issues and infrequent updates needed for optimal performance.
It is also a stable product without much glitch or downtime.
Senior Presales Consultant at Techlab security
One notable drawback is that, unlike Fortinet, which offers fast track labs and continuous enablement, Imperva Application Security Platform lacks lab access and fast track labs for enablement and product advertising.
CTO at Malam Engineering PLC
We experienced downtime or crashes with Imperva Application Security Platform when traffic went really strong or fast because people tried to get tickets.
Soc Analyst at Cineplex Inc
It is a very stable product.
Team Lead Network Engineer at Artco Group d.o.o Sarajevo
Arbor DDoS is very stable.
System Engineer - Security Presales at Raya Integration
 

Room For Improvement

Imperva Application Security Platform needs better integration, simpler dashboards, improved AI, and enhanced user interface for higher satisfaction.
NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection needs improvements in troubleshooting, integration, pricing, support, reporting, stability, and management flexibility using AI features.
To convince my clients, a purely on-prem solution would be ideal since they are financial institutions.
CTO at Malam Engineering PLC
Maybe Imperva DDoS could use endpoints to get information about the attacks before they commence from the endpoint level or establish cooperation with endpoint vendors to share this information.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
Regarding return on investment, ROI, I can say it is noticeable with Imperva Application Security Platform.
Senior Presales Consultant at Techlab security
I would like to see an option to decrypt the traffic with Arbor DDoS, as some clients are interested in this, particularly for application layer attacks on port 443.
Network Engineer at A1 Bulgaria
Enhancing the handshakes between Arbor DDoS and third-party solutions is essential for obtaining better and real-time data that supports any organization’s support team effectively.
System Engineer at TIGER LOGIC
I would like to see a roadmap for one or two years, and it is tough to predict what will happen in that timeframe without a clearer description.
CTO at UkrNet
 

Setup Cost

Imperva's Application Security Platform has high, complex pricing, yet some find it competitive for its security benefits and enterprise flexibility.
NETSCOUT Arbor's DDoS solution is costly, with complex licensing impacting affordability, especially for smaller enterprises.
I would rate the pricing of Imperva DDoS as five, where one is very cheap and ten is very expensive.
Head of Sales Services Department at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
the setup cost was high, with the hardware installation in the data center being particularly expensive.
Cyber Security Product Owner at a energy/utilities company with 10,001+ employees
We have noticed faster response times and fewer security alerts because after doing some custom policy tuning, everything seemed to be aligned and we have fewer attacks to monitor and fewer alerts to monitor.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at Cyberoutcome Limited
The prices for Arbor DDoS are expensive.
Team Lead Network Engineer at Artco Group d.o.o Sarajevo
For some customers, the cost is expensive, but for enterprises looking to protect their services, it is affordable.
Network Engineer at A1 Bulgaria
 

Valuable Features

Imperva Application Security Platform offers robust threat protection, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive reporting for enhanced web security management.
NETSCOUT Arbor offers scalable DDoS protection with user-friendly features, AI-enhanced detection, and cloud integration, ideal for effective threat mitigation.
The API security feature is particularly valuable because most attackers do not try to come in from where it is expected.
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant at Cyberoutcome Limited
If someone attempts to access the server, the WAF blocks that SSRF alert, or RCE, Remote Code Execution alert, blocking immediately based on the signature, not only by the payload or the IP address.
SOC Analyst L1 at CMS-IT-SERVICES-PVT-LTD
It reduces the DDoS attacks and reduces the attacks from threat actors, including SQL Injection and zero-day attacks, by using dynamic application profiling from Imperva.
IT Security Analyst & Engineer (Project, Remote) Australia-Europe at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
That is an attack over 10 gigabit per second, and if an attack enters the telecommunication network, that will be a disaster for their customer, their services, and so on.
Team Lead Network Engineer at Artco Group d.o.o Sarajevo
We have many updates for the library of different attacks, and they have artificial intelligence that automatically learns the process during different attacks.
CTO at UkrNet
You can generate flow spec filters. These filters are transferred through BGP to border routers, which automatically build filters, mitigating the attack even at the network's boundary and preventing it from reaching the TMS.
Director Of Research And Development at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
 

Categories and Ranking

Imperva Application Securit...
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
3rd
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
147
Ranking in other categories
CDN (2nd), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (1st), Bot Management (1st), API Security (1st)
NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protect...
Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
4th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
57
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of Imperva Application Security Platform is 7.6%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation is 5.5%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Imperva Application Security Platform7.6%
Arbor DDoS5.5%
Other86.9%
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection
 

Featured Reviews

reviewer2818155 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Application protection has improved and reporting and dashboards still need refinement
I believe Imperva Application Security Platform should have a more interactive wizard. While the dashboard is good, it could be more eye-catching. Based on my perspective, I recommend modifying the dashboards, especially the main dashboard where I can see the traffic hit count, alerts, and other latest information. In terms of reporting, I find it challenging to create reports; in my earlier days, it was difficult. Over time, I have learned how to create reports, but it should be easier to do so. I have used other tools such as firewalls or SolarWinds, where creating a report is straightforward and does not take much time, unlike in Imperva, where I have to add many elements. Modifications in the integration aspects would also be beneficial.
reviewer1331304 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director Of Research And Development at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees
Automated threat intelligence and flow-based mitigation have improved our DDoS defense
A very useful feature in Arbor DDoS is its ability to send flow spec announcements to routers. For example, if it is clear that a Layer 3 or Layer 4 attack is occurring and the attack pattern is identified through source and destination IP addresses and ports, you can generate flow spec filters. These filters are transferred through BGP to border routers, which automatically build filters, mitigating the attack even at the network's boundary and preventing it from reaching the TMS. This allows the TMS to focus on other tasks. This is a highly effective feature that can mitigate huge volumetric attacks; for example, we experienced a 32-gigabit attack, and all those 32 gigabits were dropped by our border routers, not by Arbor DDoS itself. The flow spec announcement was generated by Arbor DDoS, and as far as I know, the same technology is used by Radware, but it comes under a different feature and a different license. At the time, we were told that flow spec mitigation was an additional very expensive license to purchase from Radware, while Radware included everything in one package.
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions are best for your needs.
916,240 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Construction Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business88
Midsize Enterprise25
Large Enterprise70
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise14
Large Enterprise29
 

Questions from the Community

Which Web Application Firewall (WAF) would you recommend? R&S or Imperva?
Imperva is a strong choice, given their security focus and ongoing R&D into the product in areas such as bot management.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imperva DDoS?
The pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Imperva DDoS are reasonable for the amount of technical capabilities provided. I would rate the pricing of Imperva DDoS as five, where one is very cheap a...
What needs improvement with Imperva DDoS?
I would like to see improvements in the pooling of threats and attacks, possibly to enlarge the scale of indicators of compromise. For example, the initiation of an attack on the endpoint level cou...
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
I would say if it’s an ISP that will build a scrubbing center, Netscout/Arbor is a good solution. In all other solutions, Imperva is a great choice.
Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?
Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Arbor DDoS?
The prices for Arbor DDoS are expensive. The licensing is subscription-based. From our sales department, they discuss that prices are very high.
 

Also Known As

Imperva Bot Management, Imperva Web Application Firewall, Imperva API Security
Arbor Networks SP, Arbor Networks TMS, Arbor Cloud for ENT
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Hitachi, BNZ, Bitstamp, Moz, InnoGames, BTCChina, Wix, LivePerson, Zillow and more.
Xtel Communications
Find out what your peers are saying about Imperva Application Security Platform vs. NETSCOUT Arbor DDoS Protection & Mitigation and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
916,240 professionals have used our research since 2012.