AWS WAF vs Cloudflare WAF
A detailed comparison to help you choose between AWS WAF and Cloudflare WAF.
Quick Verdict
4.0/5
AWS WAF
0 reviews
4.2/5
Cloudflare WAF
0 reviews
Cloudflare WAF is rated higher (4.2 vs 4.0). 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. 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.
 AWS WAF Amazon WAF integrated with CloudFront and ALB | Cloudflare WAF Web Application Firewall protecting millions of sites | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.0 (0 reviews) | 4.2 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | usage-based | freemium |
| Starting price | From $5/mo | Free tier available✓ |
| Best for | AWS-invested applications that need a managed, OWASP-focused WAF tightly integrated with CloudFront or ALB, with rules deployed as code | Any website behind Cloudflare that wants a maintained application firewall and DDoS absorption as a baseline — from hobby projects on the free tier to compliance-bound businesses on Business or Enterprise. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ✓ | |
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | api accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter | free tierddos protectionapi accesseu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter |
| Visit AWS WAF → | Visit Cloudflare WAF → | |
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
Cloudflare WAF
Pros
- + WAF engine and managed ruleset included on every plan, including Free
- + Unmetered DDoS absorption at the edge on all tiers
- + Central rules maintenance — no appliances, agents or rule deployments to manage
- + Attack-score and bot-management layers available as needs grow
- + Flat plan pricing; no per-request or per-rule metering
Cons
- - Advanced rate limiting, attack-score rules and full log export are plan-gated
- - Managed rules can block legitimate traffic; tuning requires a logging-first workflow
- - Free plan limits request body inspection to 1 MB
- - Only applies to proxied records — DNS-only traffic is not filtered
- - A compensating control, not a substitute for fixing application vulnerabilities
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