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NGINX App Protect vs Symantec Web Application Firewall comparison

F5 and Broadcom are both solutions in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category. F5 is ranked #15 with an average rating of 8.6, while Broadcom is ranked #46. F5 holds a 1.8% mindshare in WAF, compared to Broadcom’s 0.2% mindshare. Additionally, 95% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 75% of Broadcom users who would recommend it.
NGINX App Protect
Read 24 NGINX App Protect reviews
  • 1,737 Views
  • 834 Comparison Views
95% willing to recommend
Symantec Web Application Fi...
Read 3 Symantec Web Application Firewall reviews
  • 159 Views
  • 75 Comparison Views
75% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Symantec Web Application Firewall and NGINX App Protect are key competitors in web security, focusing on protecting applications from vulnerabilities. NGINX App Protect leads in flexibility and integration, while Symantec is advantageous in pricing and support.

Features: Symantec Web Application Firewall offers advanced threat protection, vulnerability management, and robust security visibility. NGINX App Protect distinguishes with integration into existing infrastructure, superior scalability, and adaptability for dynamic environments.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: NGINX App Protect simplifies deployment with extensive integration options and responsive customer service. Symantec is easier to deploy in standardized settings due to comprehensive documentation but may encounter complexities in challenging configurations despite reliable support.

Pricing and ROI: Symantec Web Application Firewall is cost-effective with transparent pricing, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. NGINX App Protect may be more expensive but offers higher ROI through enhanced functionality that justifies its cost in flexible environments.

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To learn more, read our detailed NGINX App Protect vs. Symantec Web Application Firewall Report (Updated: June 2025).
Buyer's Guide
NGINX App Protect vs. Symantec Web Application Firewall
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

NGINX App Protect
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
15th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Container Security (21st), API Security (2nd)
Symantec Web Application Fi...
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
46th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2025, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of NGINX App Protect is 1.8%, down from 2.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Web Application Firewall is 0.2%, down from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

Tomaz Sobczak - PeerSpot reviewer
Signature-based detection, DOS protection, and bot protection
NGINX App Protect is easier to automate and configure, or manage from an API. This is good for securing applications. However, it's not suitable for more complex tasks. NGINX App Protect positively impacted performance changes. There's a cache or it works like a proxy, so it can speed up applications. It can also offload some functions from servers, which NGINX can handle faster.
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reviewer1231533 - PeerSpot reviewer
An excellent up-to-date data repository handling external threats successfully
We have multiple applications that we wanted to ensure were protected and we chose Symantec for that. I'm the head of IT infrastructure and we are partners with Symantec.  Symantec has specifically helped connect external users to our internal network. It has also enabled us to ensure that those…
Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its flexibility."
"Overall, I rate NGINX App Protect between eight and nine."
"I tested specific features and evaluated the solution against the Web Application Firewall. I conducted research to test different detection percentages. I did not use it directly for protection but for evaluation purposes."
"WAF is useful to track mitigation, inclusion, prevention, and the parametric firewall."
"It's very easy to deploy."
"The stability of the product is very impressive since it handles 60,000 to 70,000 requests or transactions per second."
"It is a very good tool for load balancing."
"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its open source."
More NGINX App Protect pros
"The setup was straightforward."
"The solution has an up-to-date data repository to deal with external threats."
"The interface is user-friendly."
 

Cons

"It would be better if it were easier to implement and if there was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service, to avoid disruptions after implementation."
"Right now, the tool doesn't provide an option revolving around update feeds, specifically the signature update option in the UI."
"Currently, the policies have to be handled manually, and you have to create from scratch, which can be a bit time-consuming, in a large environment."
"Its technical support could be better."
"As far as scalability, it takes a long time for deployment."
"It's challenging if you need to go for a high throughput."
"Setting policies and parameters through the UI should be more automated because the process is manual, where we can only edit one rule at a time."
"I encountered issues with NGINX App Protect while trying to upgrade custom rules."
More NGINX App Protect cons
"It would be an improvement if the management dashboards were not reliant upon Java."
"I'm not convinced that it's necessary the best solution going forward in the future."
"Sometimes scanning slows down the endpoints."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Really understand the licensing model, because we underestimated that."
"The price of NGINX App Protect is not much different from the products that fall under the leader category of Gartner Magic Quadrant."
"There is a license needed to use NGINX App Protect."
"There are not any additional costs we had to pay to use NGINX App Protect."
"There are no additional fees."
"Our licensing costs are about $40,000 a year."
"The pricing is reasonable because NGINX operates on an instance basis."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
More NGINX App Protect pricing and cost advice
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
17%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Retailer
6%
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about NGINX App Protect?
It's very easy to deploy.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX App Protect?
I don't know the pricing yet because in my other project, I was not part of the buying side and I was just starting to look at options.
See all answers
What needs improvement with NGINX App Protect?
It would be better if it were easier to implement and if there was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service, to avoid disruptions after impl...
See all answers
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Comparisons

Azure Front Door vs NGINX App Protect Logo
Azure Front Door vs NGINX App Protect
Compared 18% of the time
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs NGINX App Protect Logo
Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs NGINX App Protect
Compared 17% of the time
Fortinet FortiWeb vs NGINX App Protect Logo
Fortinet FortiWeb vs NGINX App Protect
Compared 14% of the time
F5 Advanced WAF vs NGINX App Protect Logo
F5 Advanced WAF vs NGINX App Protect
Compared 9% of the time
AWS WAF vs NGINX App Protect Logo
AWS WAF vs NGINX App Protect
Compared 7% of the time
More NGINX App Protect Competitors
No data available
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
NGINX App Protect
June 2025
NGINX App Protect reportDownload NGINX App Protect product report
Buyer's Guide
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
June 2025
Symantec Web Application Firewall reportDownload Symantec Web Application Firewall product report
 

Also Known As

NGINX WAF, NGINX Web Application Firewall
Symantec WAF, Blue Coat Protecting Web Applications
 

Overview

NGINX App Protect application security solution combines the efficacy of advanced F5 web application firewall (WAF) technology with the agility and performance of NGINX Plus. The solution runs natively on NGINX Plus and addresses some of the most difficult challenges facing modern DevOps environments:

  • Integrating security controls directly into the development automation pipeline
  • Applying and managing security for modern and distributed application environments such as containers and microservices
  • Providing the right level of security controls without impacting release and go-to-market velocity
  • Complying with security and regulatory requirements

NGINX App Protect offers:

  • Expanded security beyond basic signatures to ensure adequate controls
  • F5 app‑security technology for efficacy superior to ModSecurity and other WAFs
  • Confidently run in “blocking” mode in production with proven F5 expertise
  • High‑confidence signatures for extremely low false positives
  • Increases visibility, integrating with third‑party analytics solutions
  • Integrates security and WAF natively into the CI/CD pipeline
  • Deploys as a lightweight software package that is agnostic of underlying infrastructure
  • Facilitates declarative policies for “security as code” and integration with DevOps tools
  • Decreases developer burden and provides feedback loop for quick security remediation
  • Accelerates time to market and reduces costs with DevSecOps‑automated security
F5

The Symantec Web Application Firewall (WAF) enables you to secure and accelerate your web applications.

Broadcom
Buyer's Guide
NGINX App Protect vs. Symantec Web Application Firewall
June 2025
Free Report: NGINX App Protect vs. Symantec Web Application Firewall
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