AWS WAF vs ModSecurity
A detailed comparison to help you choose between AWS WAF and ModSecurity.
 AWS WAF Amazon WAF integrated with CloudFront and ALB | ModSecurity Open-source web application firewall for Apache, Nginx, and IIS | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.9 (8 reviews)✓ | 4.0 (250 reviews) |
| Pricing model | usage-based | free |
| Starting price | From €5/mo | Free✓ |
| Best for | AWS-invested applications that need WAF tightly integrated with their existing CloudFront or ALB setup | DevOps teams and system administrators running self-managed web servers who need application-layer protection without managed WAF costs. |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | api accessus datacentereu datacenterapac datacenter | free tieropen sourceself hostable |
| Visit AWS WAF → | Visit ModSecurity → | |
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
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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