Gcore vs AWS WAF
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Gcore and AWS WAF.
Quick Verdict
3.8/5
Gcore
0 reviews
4.0/5
AWS WAF
0 reviews
AWS WAF is rated higher (4.0 vs 3.8). Gcore is a Luxembourg-based CDN and cloud provider with 210+ PoPs and strong coverage in CIS, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. AWS WAF is Amazon's web application firewall that can be attached to CloudFront, ALB, or API Gateway. Pay per rule ($1/rule/month) and per million requests ($0.60). Integrates with AWS Shield.
Gcore Global CDN with 210+ PoPs, strong CIS and emerging-market coverage | AWS WAF Amazon WAF integrated with CloudFront and ALB | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 3.8 (0 reviews) | 4.0 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | pay-as-you-go | usage-based |
| Starting price | Free tier available✓ | From $5/mo |
| Best for | Applications whose audience spans CIS, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and EU buyers wanting a Luxembourg legal base with predictable per-GB CDN pricing and a real free tier. | AWS-invested applications that need a managed, OWASP-focused WAF tightly integrated with CloudFront or ALB, with rules deployed as code |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi access | api accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit Gcore → | Visit AWS WAF → | |
Gcore
Pros
- + First 1 TB of CDN traffic free every month on the full 210+ PoP network, no card required
- + Published progressive per-GB pricing; overage rates cut ~66% versus the old Free tier
- + Strong CIS, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa coverage where US rivals are thinner
- + Free SSL and basic L3/L4 DDoS included in every plan, not sold as add-ons
- + Cash-flow-positive company with reported ~$140M revenue — less pricing-risk than burn-rate challengers
Cons
- - Smaller ecosystem and fewer third-party integrations than Cloudflare
- - WAF is a separate product with a basic self-serve tier; bot and API security are Enterprise
- - Stale pricing pages and inconsistent SLA figures (99% vs 99.9%) across channels
- - Brand less known in Western markets; more support-ticket-driven buying
AWS WAF
Pros
- + Edge-level blocking on CloudFront stops bad traffic before it reaches the origin
- + Transparent metered pricing with AWS's own worked cost examples published
- + AWS managed rule groups (OWASP CRS, SQLi, IP reputation) cost $1 each per month
- + Written SLA: 99.95% monthly uptime per region with defined service credits
- + Full API/CloudFormation coverage and deep CloudWatch and logging integration
Cons
- - Useless outside AWS — only protects CloudFront, ALB, API Gateway and AppSync resources
- - Web ACL Capacity Unit overages and Bot Control per-request fees can multiply the bill
- - Rule authoring is verbose JSON; serious use needs AWS and infrastructure-as-code skills
- - No free tier and no bundled DDoS cost protection without the separate Shield Advanced subscription
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