Hetzner DDoS Protection vs ModSecurity
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Hetzner DDoS Protection and ModSecurity.
Hetzner DDoS Protection Hardware-backed DDoS mitigation for high-traffic infrastructure | ModSecurity Open-source web application firewall for Apache, Nginx, and IIS | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.9 (245 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (250 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | free |
| Starting price | Free | Free |
| Best for | Organizations running high-traffic applications on Hetzner infrastructure who need native, straightforward DDoS mitigation without multi-vendor complexity. | DevOps teams and system administrators running self-managed web servers who need application-layer protection without managed WAF costs. |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierddos protectioneu datacenter | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit Hetzner DDoS Protection → | Visit ModSecurity → | |
Hetzner DDoS Protection
Pros
- + Deploy without external vendor lock-in or third-party dependencies
- + Handle multi-gigabit attacks via Hetzner's own infrastructure
- + Activate automatically or manually via API and console
- + Protect both Cloud and bare-metal servers in one service
Cons
- - Limited to Hetzner infrastructure; cannot protect non-Hetzner targets
- - Requires understanding of traffic baseline for effective tuning
- - Fewer advanced customization options versus specialized DDoS providers
ModSecurity
Pros
- + Deploy on-premises with full control and visibility
- + Use industry-standard OWASP Core Rule Set or create custom rules
- + Inspect request/response payloads, headers, and cookies in real-time
- + Free and open-source with active community support
Cons
- - Requires server-level integration and maintenance expertise
- - Rule tuning needed to avoid false positives in production
- - No built-in DDoS rate-limiting or volumetric attack mitigation
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