NGINX App Protect vs Wallarm NG WAF comparison

Why PeerSpot?

F5 and Wallarm are both solutions in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category. F5 is ranked #19 with an average rating of 8.4, while Wallarm is ranked #39. F5 holds a 2.0% mindshare in WAF, compared to Wallarm’s 1.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Wallarm users who would recommend it.

NGINX App Protect

Read 27 NGINX App Protect reviews

4,971 Views
3,331 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Wallarm NG WAF

Read 5 Wallarm NG WAF reviews

2,103 Views
1,430 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

NGINX App Protect

Wallarm NG WAF

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 1, 2025

Wallarm NG WAF and NGINX App Protect are key players in the web application security market. While Wallarm NG WAF excels in adaptive security features and automation, NGINX App Protect offers superior integration with NGINX environments, providing a strong security foundation.

Features: Wallarm NG WAF's valuable features include adaptive threat detection, machine learning for real-time adaptation, and the ability to operate in blocking mode effectively. NGINX App Protect offers comprehensive traffic management, security management features, and a command-line interface for simplicity.

Room for Improvement: Wallarm NG WAF could improve its interface and expand integration capabilities for diverse infrastructures. Enhancing support for complex environments and adding more detailed analytics would be beneficial. NGINX App Protect could streamline deployment for non-NGINX infrastructures. More intuitive configuration options and enhanced reporting features could also be areas for improvement.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Wallarm NG WAF offers an easy deployment process with strong cloud-native support and responsive customer service. NGINX App Protect benefits from seamless integration with NGINX setups and a global support network, though it may be complex for users unfamiliar with NGINX.

Pricing and ROI: Wallarm NG WAF delivers a competitive pricing model demonstrating significant ROI through reduced threat mitigation expenses. NGINX App Protect, with potentially higher initial costs, offers extensive features justifying its pricing, providing a good ROI for securing extensive NGINX deployments.

To learn more, read our detailed NGINX App Protect vs. Wallarm NG WAF Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

NGINX App Protect vs. Wallarm NG WAF

September 2026

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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)

19th

Ranking in API Security

9th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Container Security (27th)

Wallarm NG WAF

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

39th

Ranking in API Security

14th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of NGINX App Protect is 2.0%, up from 1.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Wallarm NG WAF is 1.1%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
NGINX App Protect	2.0%
Wallarm NG WAF	1.1%
Other	96.9%

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Featured Reviews

Valerio Guaglianone

Dev Ops Engineer at adesso AG

Long-term web protection has supported reliable traffic management but needs a simpler interface

NGINX App Protect is a good product. I have used both versions from F5 -also the free version- (I mean the NGINX/NGINX One/App Protect free trial period), and I think it is a good product. It's stable, affordable, and easy to manage. NGINX App Protect is a comprehensive security solution that combines advanced WAF, DoS protection, API security, and DevSecOps automation in a lightweight, scalable package ideal for modern cloud-native architectures. The adaptive machine learning capabilities are truly commendable, as the solution can establish traffic baselines and detect anomalies in real time. It automatically adjusts security policies, minimizing the need for manual intervention and reducing false positives. Additionally, it supports scalable deployment across diverse environments, including on-premises, cloud, Kubernetes, and containers, offering both flexibility and scalability I have experience with the web server, F5 load balancer, and similar products provided by Ergon, for eg. the web application firewall and the Microgateway for K8S. I'm also familiar with F5 BIG-IP products.

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it_user796242

Information Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees

Helps us to monitor attacks to our sites and prevents a lot of them

Set up Wallarm as a reverse proxy. Do not replace your web server. Use Wallarm first in monitoring mode, then learn from Wallarm which type of request is false positive and which type of request is not. This process takes a couple of weeks for very highly-loaded web applications (few millions of unique visitors in one month). Then you can turn Wallarm into blocking mode and everything will be fine. Do not forget to build a monitoring system, the wave, and API for it. Before we started using Wallarm, I already knew Ivan (CEO) and Stepan (COO) from a couple of years before. Ivan had his own security company and Stepan was working on a Russian security magazine called Xakep. They told us that they wanted to create a new WAF and already had a working version of it. They asked me to test it. We did tests, and it was really good. After few month after testing, we signed an agreement. Our choice was made not because we knew these guys for a long time, but because the product was really cool and we were glad to start using it as one of the first on the market!

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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

"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its open source."

"This solution provides perfect protection for the published services against all application attacks."

"The solution has helped us greatly during this Covid period."

"The most valuable feature is that I can establish different services from the firewall."

"NGINX App Protect is stable."

"I really love NGINX App Protect; I love the functionality, the ease of implementation, the very user-friendly Instance Manager, and its integration with DevOps, and as an NGINX Ingress controller using the Plus certificate it is working perfectly and making things a lot easier than the regular one while successfully stopping threats like injection, running scripts, and SQL injections."

"It is a stable solution."

"WAF is useful to track mitigation, inclusion, prevention, and the parametric firewall."

More NGINX App Protect pros

"Helps us to monitor situation in regards to attacks to our sites and prevents a lot of them."

"Perimeter control and active vulnerability scanner are the most valuable features."

"With active threat detection, we are no longer over-swamped with tons of useless events."

"Vulnerability scanner and WAF are valuable features."

"The most powerful feature is the ability to first learn what type of query to make to your web application when it is attacked and what type of query creates a false positive to your app."

"They are the only solution that fits our success criteria and business objectives: WAF must have a low (<5%) false negative rate and be ready to protect from all well-known web attacks."

Cons

"The solution does well when there's low throughput but when we go for any high throughput, it's always a challenge."

"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."

"As far as scalability, it takes a long time for deployment."

"I encountered issues with NGINX App Protect while trying to upgrade custom rules."

"Its technical support could be better."

"The setup of NGINX App Protect is complex. The full process took one week to complete. Additionally, we had to change the network infrastructure platform which took one month."

"The configuration needs to be more flexible because it is difficult to do things that are outside of the ordinary."

"Areas for improvement would be if NGINX could scan for vulnerabilities and learn and update the signatures of DoS attacks."

More NGINX App Protect cons

"Technical support is 6 or 7 out of 10. Sometimes we have had trouble with communication and understanding."

"There were several stability issues during the first pilot."

"The biggest problem for us was the stability and speed using the first version of Wallarm. Now, it is fine."

"It needs more customization in PDF reports."

"Wallarm uses a learning mechanism to detect attacks and to avoid false positives. If Wallarm blocks some illegitimate request, then you can go to the management console and mark this request as false positive, but sometimes this does not work properly."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"NGINX App Protect is expensive."

"The solution's price is reasonable."

"The pricing is reasonable because NGINX operates on an instance basis."

"The price of NGINX App Protect is not much different from the products that fall under the leader category of Gartner Magic Quadrant."

"The licensing fees for this solution are pretty expensive for what it does, but there is no alternative."

"NGINX is not expensive."

"Our licensing costs are about $40,000 a year."

"The price of NGINX App Protect is approximately $3,000 annually. All of our licenses are observed by a managed service partner."

More NGINX App Protect pricing and cost advice

"Pricing must be cheaper than the competition and the licensing must be good."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

13%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

Healthcare Company

Financial Services Firm

20%

Government

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Insurance Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	14

No data available

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX App Protect?

I will not be able to answer about my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing for NGINX App Protect, as something different handles that in my team.

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What needs improvement with NGINX App Protect?

I did not face any issues with NGINX App Protect. The only issue that we had is that someone was trying to install the POC for the customer, and he by mistake installed the Instance Manager on the ...

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What is your primary use case for NGINX App Protect?

I have been dealing with NGINX App Protect and the WAF policy. I usually recommend NGINX App Protect for banking and telecom, and for anyone that has their own database or servers that they host we...

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

NGINX App Protect

September 2026

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Buyer's Guide

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

September 2026

Download Wallarm NG WAF product report

Also Known As

NGINX WAF, NGINX Web Application Firewall

Wallarm NG-WAF

Overview

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?

Auto-learning: Adapts to evolving threat landscapes.
Bot and Force Protection: Prevents unauthorized access efficiently.
Integration with DevOps: Streamlines security within CI/CD pipelines.
Adaptive Machine Learning: Continuously enhances threat recognition.
Scalable Deployment: Easily manages growing demand across environments.
Traffic and Security Management: Ensures secure data flow.
Command-line Interface: Offers efficient control and management.
OWASP Certification: Meets top industry security standards.
API Connectivity: Facilitates communication between components.
Layer 7 DDoS Protection: Safeguards against complex attacks.

What benefits and ROI should be considered?

Enhanced Security: Reliable protection against major vulnerabilities.
Effective Traffic Management: Balances load efficiently.
Ease of Implementation: Simple integration saves time and effort.
Operational Scalability: Supports growth across all environments.
Comprehensive Threat Detection: Real-time monitoring minimizes risks.
Flexible Policy Options: Tailors security measures to specific needs.

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.

Wallarm NG WAF provides advanced security by integrating machine learning, making it essential for modern web applications. It offers protection against sophisticated threats and automates many processes.

Wallarm NG WAF leverages AI-driven technology to deliver robust security measures. It helps in defending web applications from cybersecurity threats with enhanced threat detection and response capabilities. Beyond vulnerability insights, Wallarm enhances security protocols, scales with growing online demands, and ensures comprehensive threat coverage, fostering a safer web environment.

What are the key features of Wallarm NG WAF?

AI-Powered Threat Detection: Identifies and mitigates sophisticated attacks efficiently.
Automated Security Updates: Continuously updates defense strategies without manual intervention.
Flexible Deployment: Easily integrates across cloud, on-premise, and hybrid setups.
Scalability: Adapts to growing traffic volumes with consistent protection.
Detailed Reporting: Provides comprehensive analytics on web security posture.

What benefits can users expect from Wallarm NG WAF?

Increased Security: Enhances threat detection and reduces vulnerabilities.
Operational Efficiency: Reduces manual intervention with automated tasks.
Cost-Effectiveness: Optimizes security expenditure by preventing potential breaches.
Time Savings: Automates repetitive actions, saving valuable time for IT teams.

In industries like finance, e-commerce, and healthcare, Wallarm NG WAF is implemented to ensure data protection and compliance with stringent security standards. Its adaptability allows it to meet industry-specific requirements, offering specialized configurations tailored to each sector's unique demands.

Wallarm

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Panasonic. Miro. Rappi. Wargaming. Gannett. Omio. Acronis. Workforce Software. Tipalti. SEMRush.

Buyer's Guide

NGINX App Protect vs. Wallarm NG WAF

September 2026

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