NetScaler vs Radware Cloud WAF Service comparison

NetScaler and Radware are both solutions in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category. NetScaler is ranked #14 with an average rating of 8.3, while Radware is ranked #9 with an average rating of 8.9. NetScaler holds a 3.3% mindshare in WAF, compared to Radware’s 1.5% mindshare. Additionally, 91% of NetScaler users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Radware users who would recommend it.

NetScaler

Read 107 NetScaler reviews

2,586 Views
641 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

Radware Cloud WAF Service

Read 32 Radware Cloud WAF Service reviews

2,714 Views
472 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NetScaler

Radware Cloud WAF Service

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Citrix NetScaler and Radware Cloud WAF Service compete in the web application security and load balancing market. Citrix NetScaler appears to have the upper hand in integration with Citrix virtual applications, while Radware Cloud WAF Service excels in bot management and DDoS protection.

Features: Citrix NetScaler offers load balancing, SSL offloading, and seamless integration with Citrix virtual applications. Its flexible deployment models and TriScale architecture provide adaptability and cost efficiency. Radware Cloud WAF Service stands out with strong bot management, API protection, and DDoS prevention. It provides automated analytics and dynamic protection against emerging threats.

Room for Improvement: Citrix NetScaler users see room for improvement in user interface simplicity, advanced scripting capabilities, and support documentation. Some desire more stable firmware and a flexible licensing model. Radware Cloud WAF Service users suggest enhancements in API integration, better implementation documentation, and a comprehensive reporting system.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Citrix NetScaler is generally deployed on-premises or hybrid, offering diverse implementation scenarios but facing scalability challenges. Customer service feedback is mixed regarding technical expertise and responsiveness. Radware Cloud WAF Service, being primarily cloud-based, offers easier scalability but may encounter integration challenges. Its customer support receives praise for responsiveness, but localized support could improve.

Pricing and ROI: Citrix NetScaler is seen as expensive with a complex licensing model, though it provides value through comprehensive features. Smaller enterprises might find pricing a barrier. Radware Cloud WAF Service, also considered costly, offers competitive pricing among solutions like F5, providing value with its modular offerings and security features. Both products promise ROI through security and performance benefits, with expense considerations being important for potential adopters.

To learn more, read our detailed NetScaler vs. Radware Cloud WAF Service Report (Updated: June 2025).

Buyer's Guide

NetScaler vs. Radware Cloud WAF Service

June 2025

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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

NetScaler

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

14th

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

107

Ranking in other categories

Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) (1st), Network Management Applications (5th)

Radware Cloud WAF Service

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

9th

Average Rating

8.8

Reviews Sentiment

8.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of July 2025, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of NetScaler is 3.3%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Radware Cloud WAF Service is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Featured Reviews

DEMİRHAN ÇAVUŞOĞLU

Cloud Consultant at Migros Ticaret A.Ş.

A tool for centralized management including inventory and sales tracking

Citrix ADM has the ability to implement policies to tighten security. For instance, you can restrict access to your network from outsiders or lack necessary security measures such as antivirus programs. Additionally, there's the Delivery Controller, which allows for comprehensive monitoring and management tasks such as remote restarts, maintenance, and registration. Another essential component is the Director, which provides detailed insights into sessions, including identifying session failures, connection issues, user lockouts, etc. It presents a list of problems to address, enabling you to click on them and resolve them efficiently.

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Tanuj-Garg

CIO at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees

API discovery, bot defense, and DDoS capability optimize application security and development

I see areas in Radware Cloud WAF Service for improvement, specifically in its initial tuning period, because the machine learning model takes two to three weeks for baseline behavior establishment. Closely monitoring alerts during this period is essential to avoid false positives. There's an alert noise issue; during the early stages, we received a high volume of alerts for minor issues, requiring collaboration with the SOC team to fine-tune thresholds and concentrate on genuine threats. The documentation is not up to par, as while the platform's system is robust, the documentation, particularly for API integration, could be more developer-friendly with real-world use cases.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"My customers have told me that the performance of this solution is good."

"Citrix NetScaler offers robust security features, including SmartAccess and customizable policies, making it a reliable choice for safeguarding user data."

"Easy, user-friendly setup with content switching and integrated caching features."

"We use the solution's IP Reputation and bot protection features."

"One feature that works really well is the SSL VPN. It's very easy to set up and you can go very granular with it. You can define what user groups get what kind of access and the management overhead is very low."

"The flexibility in configuration options is impressive."

"Citrix Web App API Protection allows you to enable a blocking mode"

"NetScaler Gateway: Why? Availability/Security: We delivered more than 200 applications thru Xenapp. This feature give us the possibility to deliver the applications anywhere. Currently, 30% of access is made through our NetScaler Gateway (Internet connections)."

More NetScaler pros

"From a financial point of view, we no longer need to appropriate more horsepower to our backend web servers constantly to service these requests because Cloud WAF is preventing malicious bots from accessing our web page. It reduced the load on our backend."

"The isolation feature is the most important one because everything is going directly to Radware first and then it goes into our system. What we get is the filtered version of everything that would otherwise come directly to us."

"One of the most valuable features we have found in the solution is protection against attacks from botnet networks and the requests that these remote networks can generate that are blocked from our servers. That frees us from having to deal with that traffic."

"The automatic detection from Radware Cloud WAF is invaluable, and the support is outstanding."

"The most important aspect of Radware Cloud WAF is that it is over the cloud, offering a comprehensive solution that includes WAF, API protection, bots, and Layer 7 DDoS."

"Radware Cloud WAF Service is user-friendly and easy to deploy."

"Radware Bot Manager has been very useful. If any user tries to save a password on a mobile or a browser, it blocks that. We can see all the details about the traffic and port requests."

"The most important aspect of Radware Cloud WAF is that it is over the cloud, offering a comprehensive solution that includes WAF, API protection, bots, and Layer 7 DDoS."

More Radware Cloud WAF Service pros

Cons

"Some of our customers have questioned the security of this solution lately, wondering whether it is safe or not, so enhancements in this respect would be good."

"They can improve the scalability and the multi-tenancy feature. We recently tried to configure an authentication, and we ran into some issues while using the web-based GUI. It was very slow when you log in with your credentials in the web-based GUI. Each time we clicked on the menu, it tried to do the authentication. It works properly in the console."

"ADC from Citrix has added functionalities from other products and the usability is very difficult for someone who is used to a simpler user interface, it's a little bit of a mess to use."

"The user interface could be more friendly. Some wizards and other documentation for administrators, as well as some use cases, helps us to understand the solution."

"Citrix should improve the documentation. It is not really clear how to set up many features to our advantage. When we setup Citrix NetScaler ADC, we have to figure it out by ourselves without a lot of documentation."

"When a new version comes out, sometimes, my existing configuration gets wiped out. They should work on this so that my existing configuration doesn't get impacted with an upgrade to a newer version. There could also reduce frequent firmware upgrade activities and have a stable version so that once we upgrade it, we don't have to upgrade it for two to three years."

"The product provides some templates to integrate with applications like MS Exchange, MS SharePoint, SAP Enterprise Portal, and others. However, the last update for these templates was 2013 (lots of applications are running on versions newer then 2013)."

"Deployment is complicated."

More NetScaler cons

"If we want to publish services to a limited number of providers and we only want those providers to connect, we need to forward those requests to the Radware support team and they apply them, but it takes some time."

"The lower-level technical team at Radware could improve their approach to problem-solving as they sometimes are very slow."

"Radware Cloud WAF Service has limited integrations, and I would like to see it integrate with our use of Azure DevOps."

"Radware could improve technical support by resolving cases in fewer days. This would enhance the overall experience with the product."

"Radware Cloud WAF Service should provide SSL certificates for its hosting customers."

"The reporting features could be more intuitive with more real-time monitoring, which would help make faster decisions."

"Management often asks for detailed reporting on attacks such as botnet and zero-day attacks, including the number of attacks within a month, week, or day. Improving dashboard capabilities to provide this information clearly for management is crucial."

"There should be more customization options for the dashboard, as it is currently fixed and cannot be modified."

More Radware Cloud WAF Service cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Regarding pricing, while it's expensive, I can't comment on the exact ROI without a budget analysis. However, in terms of service quality, it's worth the price."

"You get the value for your money. There aren't any hidden fees."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap, and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing an eight or nine out of ten."

"The pricing for Citrix Web App and API Protection is unreasonable. I don't know the exact price, but I heard it's tens of thousands and it's a bit too much for the small country I live in."

"We have been evaluating F5, Citrix, and other ADC products. Citrix is the most expense of all of them."

"After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive."

"It is true that it is a bit pricey compared to newer technologies coming to the market. For example, A10 is a load balancer that does everything that Citrix can and it does a lot more than what NetScaler does when it comes to the security space, and their prices are so cheap. Every box comes with its own license and support built into it. When you compare that with NetScaler, you have to buy licenses separately, you have to buy a support agreement that is going to be separate. A small NetScaler, even if it is a VPX which is a virtual server, could cost you close to $150,000 to $200,000 dollars. So the pricing is really high."

"When compared to other solutions, the cost is high."

More NetScaler pricing and cost advice

"We are based in El Salvador and don't have a direct license with Radware; we purchase the license through resellers. The pricing is reasonable, as I managed an Akamai product in a previous position, and Cloud WAF is competitively priced."

"The pricing is fair."

"If you plan to deploy Cloud WAF, keep in mind that the product is priced based on the megabits of traffic that pass through and the number of transactions. You should get your requirements correct up front. The active attackers feed and CDN services cost extra, so you need to negotiate these features upfront."

"The pricing is fair. We compared Radware to others using industry reviews and Radware is at the top right now."

"I believe the prices are fair."

"We are paying $20,000 annually for six licenses that provide basic WAF functionality."

"Radware Cloud WAF Service falls within a mid-range price bracket compared to other web application firewall solutions."

"We evaluated other options and, if I remember correctly, one of them was Fortinet, but they didn't seem as effective as Radware. But the price was the biggest difference. Radware had the best price for our type of network and level of scaling."

More Radware Cloud WAF Service pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

22%

Manufacturing Company

11%

Retailer

10%

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Citrix ADC?

The most valuable feature for us is the application firewalling in Citrix NetScaler, ensuring only valid traffic enters our environment.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Citrix ADC?

After deployment, Citrix Netscaler shifted to a subscription-based license scheme for support, which is slightly more expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Citrix ADC?

Citrix NetScaler is a robust product, but mastering it requires significant learning and training due to its complexity. While it could be easier to manage, it is like transitioning from driving a ...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Radware Cloud WAF Service?

I would rate the cost around seven out of ten. Radware provides many different options, but it may not be affordable for companies that aren't large.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Radware Cloud WAF Service?

When it comes to support, I would suggest having a dedicated number for our clients for better identification in case of issues, as the varying numbers make it easy to miss important calls. Additio...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Radware Cloud WAF Service?

Our use cases for Radware Cloud WAF Service include all of our applications, such as online banking applications, as I work for a bank. It works effectively. Our payment systems also operate throug...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Fortinet FortiADC vs NetScaler

Compared 9% of the time

F5 BIG-IP Local Traffic Manager (LTM) vs NetScaler

Compared 8% of the time

NGINX Plus vs NetScaler

Compared 6% of the time

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Compared 29% of the time

AWS WAF vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Compared 19% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Compared 18% of the time

Imperva Web Application Firewall vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Compared 9% of the time

Azure Front Door vs Radware Cloud WAF Service

Compared 7% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NetScaler

June 2025

Download NetScaler product report

Buyer's Guide

Radware Cloud WAF Service

June 2025

Download Radware Cloud WAF Service product report

Also Known As

Citrix ADC, Citrix NetScaler VPX, NetScaler Console, NetScaler Web Application Firewall

No data available

Overview

One platform for a consistent application delivery and security experience because nobody has time to learn multiple systems to manage ADC deployments. NetScaler is built with a single code base using a software-based architecture, so no matter which ADC form factor you choose — hardware, virtual machine, bare metal, or container — the behavior will be the same.

NetScaler

Radware’s Cloud WAF provides enterprise-grade, continuously adaptive web application security protection. Based on Radware’s ICSA Labs certified, market-leading web application firewall, it provides full coverage of OWASP Top-10 threats and zero-day attacks, while implementing both negative and positive web application security models to automatically adapt protections to evolving threats and protected assets.

Radware’s Cloud WAF offers full web security protection including OWASP Top-10 coverage, advanced attack protection and 0-day attack protection by implementing both negative and positive web application security models. It provides organizations “frictionless” application protection by automatically detecting and protecting new web applications as they are added to the network through automatic policy generation technology.

Radware

Sample Customers

ABB Schweiz, Aer Lingus, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Amnet Technology Solutions, Aramex International, Ascenty, Atos, Autodesk

Information Not Available

Buyer's Guide

NetScaler vs. Radware Cloud WAF Service

June 2025

Free Report: NetScaler vs. Radware Cloud WAF Service

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