AWS WAF vs Cloudflare
A detailed comparison to help you choose between AWS WAF and Cloudflare.
 AWS WAF Amazon WAF integrated with CloudFront and ALB | Cloudflare Global CDN and DDoS protection with object storage | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.9 (8 reviews)✓ | 4.4 (122 reviews) |
| Pricing model | usage-based | freemium |
| Starting price | From €5/mo | Free tier available✓ |
| Best for | AWS-invested applications that need WAF tightly integrated with their existing CloudFront or ALB setup | Teams building web applications requiring global distribution, DDoS protection, and cost-efficient object storage without egress fees. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 0 vCPU |
| RAM | — | 0 GB |
| Storage | — | 0 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | 0 TB/mo |
| SLA uptime | — | 99.99% |
| Data-center count | — | 300 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ✓ | |
| DDoS protection | ✓ | |
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Global — 300+ cities |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | api accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter | free tiers3 compatibleddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accessipv6terraform provider |
| Visit AWS WAF → | Visit Cloudflare → | |
AWS WAF
Pros
- + Deep AWS integration
- + Per-rule pricing — cost-effective for simple use
- + Works with CloudFront, ALB, API Gateway
Cons
- - Complex rule management
- - Requires AWS expertise to use effectively
Cloudflare
Pros
- + Remove egress fees with R2 object storage pricing model
- + Deploy content globally with automatic edge caching
- + Mitigate DDoS attacks with Anycast network
- + Integrate security and performance in one platform
Cons
- - R2 has limited regional availability compared to AWS S3
- - Steeper learning curve for complex configuration options
- - Egress costs still apply for some traffic patterns outside R2
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