Cloudflare WAF vs Hetzner DDoS Protection
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Cloudflare WAF and Hetzner DDoS Protection.
Quick Verdict
3.5/5
Cloudflare WAF
249 reviews
4.9/5
Hetzner DDoS Protection
245 reviews
Hetzner DDoS Protection is rated higher (4.9 vs 3.5). Cloudflare's Web Application Firewall protects against OWASP Top 10, zero-day vulnerabilities, and DDoS. 300+ global PoPs absorb attacks. Free plan blocks basic threats; Pro adds OWASP managed rules. Hetzner's DDoS Protection filters volumetric and application-layer attacks at network edge. Designed for cloud users and hosting providers managing large traffic volumes.
Cloudflare WAF Web Application Firewall protecting millions of sites | Hetzner DDoS Protection Hardware-backed DDoS mitigation for high-traffic infrastructure | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.5 (249 reviews) | 4.9 (245 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | freemium | free |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free |
| Best for | Every website — Cloudflare WAF is the standard baseline for web application firewall protection | Organizations running high-traffic applications on Hetzner infrastructure who need native, straightforward DDoS mitigation without multi-vendor complexity. |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierddos protectionapi accesseu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tierddos protectioneu datacenter |
| Visit Cloudflare WAF → | Visit Hetzner DDoS Protection → | |
Cloudflare WAF
Pros
- + Free WAF rules on all plans
- + DDoS mitigation up to 142Tbps
- + 300+ PoP global network absorbs attacks
Cons
- - Advanced WAF rules require Pro+ plan
- - Some legitimate traffic can be blocked
Hetzner DDoS Protection
Pros
- + Deploy without external vendor lock-in or third-party dependencies
- + Handle multi-gigabit attacks via Hetzner's own infrastructure
- + Activate automatically or manually via API and console
- + Protect both Cloud and bare-metal servers in one service
Cons
- - Limited to Hetzner infrastructure; cannot protect non-Hetzner targets
- - Requires understanding of traffic baseline for effective tuning
- - Fewer advanced customization options versus specialized DDoS providers
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