We compared AWS WAF and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall based on our user's reviews in several parameters.
AWS WAF is praised for its effective protection, comprehensive logging capabilities, and customizable rule sets. The customer service is highly responsive and contributes to a positive experience. The return on investment has been positive, but there are areas for improvement in documentation and user-friendliness. On the other hand, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is commended for enhancing website security, user-friendly interface, and integration with other services. The customer service is efficient, and the pricing is competitive. However, users have noted a need for more customization options and improvements in response times and ease of use.
Features: AWS WAF stands out for its effective protection against web attacks, integration with other AWS services, and efficient management of multiple websites. In contrast, Cloudflare WAF is praised for its website security enhancement, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive reporting capabilities.
Pricing and ROI: The setup cost for AWS WAF was minimal and the process was smooth and straightforward. Users found the pricing affordable and the licensing flexible. Cloudflare Web Application Firewall also had competitive pricing with straightforward setup costs and flexible licensing options., AWS WAF users have reported increased security, reduced risks, and improved protection against web threats, with cost savings and enhanced firewall management. Cloudflare's Web Application Firewall has resulted in significant financial gains.
Room for Improvement: The AWS WAF product could improve its documentation and instructions for users with limited technical expertise. Users also find difficulties in setting up and managing rules and desire a more user-friendly interface. In contrast, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall would benefit from enhancements in customization options, response times, and ease of use. Users want more flexibility in tailoring firewall settings and quicker notifications and responses. The interface is also seen as complex and needing simplification for a better user experience.
Deployment and customer support: The user reviews for AWS WAF emphasize the importance of considering the duration for different phases of implementing a new tech solution. This includes both deployment and setup, which may vary in timeframes. On the other hand, the Cloudflare Web Application Firewall reviews highlight that the duration can vary among users, with some spending three months on deployment and a week on setup, while others only require a week for both. It is necessary to evaluate the context in which these terms are used and consider them collectively., AWS WAF's customer service and support have consistently been praised for their excellence and responsiveness. Users receive prompt assistance and solutions to queries, while the knowledgeable support team ensures overall customer satisfaction. In comparison, Cloudflare Web Application Firewall also has excellent customer service, with responsive and efficient assistance, addressing issues promptly and providing clear instructions. Users feel supported and confident with Cloudflare's customer service.
The summary above is based on 41 interviews we conducted recently with AWS WAF and Cloudflare Web Application Firewall users. To access the review's full transcripts, download our report.
"It's simple, easy to use."
"The simple configuration and the scalability have been most valuable. We are able to scale across all of our different AWS instances."
"AWS WAF helps mitigate different kinds of bot attacks and SQL injection that happen within the retail industry."
"AWS has flexibility in terms of WAF rules."
"The most valuable feature is the scalability because it automatically scales up or scales down as per our requirements."
"The interface is good."
"Its best feature is that it is on the cloud and does not require local hardware resources."
"I believe the most impressive features are integration and ease of use. The best part of AWS WAF is the cloud-native WAF integration. There aren't any hidden deployments or hidden infrastructure which we have to maintain to have AWS WAF. AWS maintains everything; all we have to do is click the button, and WAF will be activated. Any packet coming through the internet will be filtered through."
"It is a SaaS solution unlike much of the competition."
"I'm highly satisfied. It's remarkably user-friendly, enabling me to quickly identify issues, and deploy solutions, and it offers the necessary features."
"We extensively use the solution every day. The solution is very stable; we haven’t seen any glitches."
"The initial setup process is simple."
"It protects web applications efficiently."
"Technical support has a very fast response time and they are helpful."
"Does a good job preventing web application attacks."
"Caching is the most valuable feature of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall."
"The solution should identify why it blocks particular websites."
"While the complexity of the installation can vary from one service to another, overall, I would say that it and the configuration and navigation are somewhat complex."
"The solution is cloud-based, and therefore the billing model that comes with it could be more intuitive, in my opinion. It's very easy to not fully understand how you tag things for billing and then you can quite easily run up a high bill without realizing it. The solution needs to be more intuitive around the tagging system, which enables the billing. Right now, I have a cloud architect that does that on our behalf and it isn't something that a business user could use because it still requires quite a lot of technical knowledge to do effectively."
"In a future release of this solution, I would like to see additional management features to make things simpler."
"When users choose the free service, there isn't great support available to them."
"The product could be improved by expanding the weightage units of rules."
"The solution could be more reliable."
"It is sometimes a lot of work going through the rules and making sure you have everything covered for a use case. It is just the way rules are set and maintained in this solution. Some UI changes will probably be helpful. It is not easy to find the documentation of new features. Documentation not being updated is a common problem with all services, including this one. You have different versions of the console, and the options shown in the documentation are not there. For a new feature, there is probably an announcement about being released, but when it comes out, there is no actual documentation about how to use it. This makes you either go to technical support or community, which probably doesn't have an idea either. The documentation on the cloud should be the latest one. Finding information about a specific event can be a bit challenging. For this solution, not much documentation is available in the community. It could be because it is a new tool. Whenever there is an issue, it is just not that simple to resolve, especially if you don't have premium support. You have pretty much nowhere to look around, and you just need to poke around to try and make it work right."
"There could be an option to duplicate the cluster to maintain the consistency of rules."
"Their documentation could be better. They don't have documentation that explains everything well. They have documentation for everything you're looking for, but they lack a single piece of documentation to tie everything together. As a new user or beginner, it took us a little bit of time to figure out how to put all these things in place."
"If they add logs history within the Cloudflare offering, that would be a great benefit."
"Cloudflare Web Application Firewall should include port forwarding features."
"A key challenge arises when dealing with numerous integrations with HVAC systems. Depending on the specifics, there might be some configuration mismatches, which necessitate specific support."
"The reporting could be more granular."
"The notification part could be improved. It's very much connected to Web Application Firewall, rate-limiting, and DDoS protection."
"The blocked logs are difficult to read at times."
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AWS WAF is ranked 1st in Web Application Firewall (WAF) with 52 reviews while Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is ranked 7th in Web Application Firewall (WAF) with 16 reviews. AWS WAF is rated 8.0, while Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of AWS WAF writes "A highly stable solution that helps mitigate different kinds of bot attacks and SQL injection attacks". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cloudflare Web Application Firewall writes "A cloud solution for web application firewall protection with rate-limiting, managed, and custom firewall rules". AWS WAF is most compared with Azure Web Application Firewall, Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, F5 Advanced WAF, Imperva Web Application Firewall and Fortinet FortiWeb, whereas Cloudflare Web Application Firewall is most compared with Microsoft Azure Application Gateway, Akamai App and API Protector, Fortinet FortiWeb, Azure Front Door and NGINX App Protect. See our AWS WAF vs. Cloudflare Web Application Firewall report.
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