Comparison
WAP compared with other web application firewalls
An honest side-by-side with Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud, Fortinet and ModSecurity — including where they're the better choice.
Protection
| Capability | WAP | Cloudflare WAF | AWS WAF + CloudFront | Google Cloud Armor | Fortinet FortiWeb | ModSecurity (Apache) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brute-force & per-path rate limits | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ rate-based rules | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ custom rules |
| Block paths, IPs, User-Agents, methods | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Managed signatures (SQLi, XSS, RCE) | ✓ OWASP CRS, per category | ✓ | ✓ managed rule groups | ✓ preconfigured rules | ✓ | ✓ OWASP CRS |
| Bot management | ◐ UA + rate rules | ✓ advanced on higher plans | ✓ Bot Control add-on | ✓ with reCAPTCHA | ✓ | ◐ rules only |
| Network (L3/L4) DDoS absorption | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ Shield Standard | ✓ | ◐ separate product | ✕ |
| Automatic TLS certificates | ✕ on the roadmap | ✓ | ✓ via ACM | ✓ Google-managed | ◐ varies by setup | ◐ your server's TLS |
Getting started and running it
| Capability | WAP | Cloudflare WAF | AWS WAF + CloudFront | Google Cloud Armor | Fortinet FortiWeb | ModSecurity (Apache) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Run it on-premises | ✓ your data centre, full control | ✕ cloud only | ✕ AWS cloud only | ✕ Google Cloud only | ✓ appliance or VM | ✓ self-hosted |
| How you switch it on | Change one DNS record | Move DNS to Cloudflare, or CNAME | Create a distribution and web ACL, update DNS | Put the app behind a Google Cloud load balancer, attach a policy | Install an appliance or VM inline, or use FortiWeb Cloud | Install the module and rule set on every web server |
| Leaves your servers untouched | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ if already on GCP | ◐ needs a network change | ✕ installs on every server |
| Origin can live anywhere | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ◐ mainly GCP back ends | ✓ | it runs on the origin |
| Who does the tuning | You, with plain rules — and we help | You, plus Cloudflare-managed rules | You, plus AWS / Marketplace rule groups | You, plus Google's preconfigured rules | You or your Fortinet partner | You — false-positive tuning is the main work |
| Pricing model | Typically around 45% less than comparable offerings — start with a free evaluation | Plan tiers, including a free plan | Per web ACL, rule and request, plus CloudFront traffic | Per policy, rule and request, or Enterprise subscription | Appliance / VM licence or cloud subscription | Free and open source — you pay in time |
| A person to talk to | ✓ an engineer from day one | ◐ on higher plans | ◐ paid support plans | ◐ paid support | ◐ support contract or partner | ◐ community |
Which one fits you?
| Product | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| WAP | Teams that want managed signatures, brute-force and bot control with rules anyone can read, a person to call, the option to run it in their own data centre, and a lower bill. | No network DDoS scrubbing or automatic TLS yet. If you need those now, pair WAP with them or pick another option. |
| Cloudflare WAF | One switch for CDN, WAF and DDoS protection with very broad coverage. | Your DNS and traffic run through Cloudflare, and the most advanced features sit on the higher plans. |
| AWS WAF + CloudFront | Applications already on AWS that want everything in one console and one bill. | Usage-based pricing grows with traffic and rules, and rule design takes AWS-specific knowledge. |
| Google Cloud Armor | Applications running on Google Cloud behind its external load balancer. | Built around Google Cloud load balancing; less natural for origins elsewhere. |
| Fortinet FortiWeb | On-premises or regulated environments, and teams already standardised on Fortinet. | Appliances and licences to manage, and usually a partner to set it up well. |
| ModSecurity (Apache) | Teams with ops time who want a free, fully self-controlled WAF on their own servers. | Runs on every web server you have, needs careful tuning against false positives, and is now maintained by the OWASP community. |
Based on each vendor's public documentation as of November 2026. Features and pricing vary by plan and change over time, so check the vendor before deciding. The 45% figure is the typical saving in OneFirewall sales quotes against comparable plans; yours depends on traffic and features. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Not sure which fits your situation?
Tell us what you run and what's hurting. We'll tell you honestly — even if the answer is one of the others.