Top StackPath WAF Alternatives in 2024

StackPath announced the discontinuation of its WAF and CDN product lines, redirecting its focus towards a cloud computing platform at the internet’s edge. As a result, the WAF service will cease operations on November 22, 2023.

Fifteen StackPath WAF Alternatives to Consider

1. AppTrana
2. Imperva
3. Cloudflare
4. Akamai
5. AWS WAF
6. Barracuda
7. Fortiweb
8. Palo Alto
9. Sucuri
10. NAXSI
11. Radware
12. F5
13. ThreatX
14. Google Cloud Armor
15. ModSecurity(Open Source)

Explore our in-depth guide offering a detailed analysis of features, pros, and cons of the Top 17 WAAP providers in the market.

A Snapshot Comparison of Top 5 StackPath Alternatives

SwyftComplyAvailableNot AvailableNot AvailableNot AvailableNot Available

tr>Origin ProtectionBundled in all PlansNot AvailableBasic protectionAdd-onAvailable

 

WAF Feature	AppTrana	Imperva	Cloudflare	Akamai	AWS WAF
Gartner Peer Insights Rating	4.9	4.7	4.5	4.7	4.4
Gartner Peer Insights Customer Recommendation Rating	100%	92%	93%	88%	90%
DDoS Monitoring	Starts at $399	Add-On	Enterprise Only	Add-On	$3000 per month
Virtual Patching	Starts at $99	Add-On	Self-managed	Add-On	–
Payload Inspection Size	134MB	Unknown	128KB	Starts: 8KB Max: 128KB	64KB
NTLM Support	Yes	Unknown	No	No	No
Bot Protection	Yes	Not available in essentials Add-on in Professional Bundled in Enterprise Plan	Yes	Add-On	Basic
Response Timeout	Default: 300 seconds   Max: 300 seconds	Default: 360 seconds Max: Unknown	Default: 100 seconds Enterprise: 6000 seconds	Default: 120 seconds   Max: 599 seconds	Default: 30 seconds   Max: 300 seconds
Managed Services	Starts at $399	Add-On	Enterprise only	Add-On	Only through SI partnerships
DAST Scanner	Bundled in all plans	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Asset Discovery	Bundled in all plans	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Penetration Testing	Bundled in the $399 plan	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
API discovery	Available	Available as an Add-On	Available	Available	Not Available
API Security	Available	Available	Available	Available	Basic capabilities through API Gateway
API Scanning	Bundled in the $399 plan	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
API Pen Testing	Bundled in the $399 plan	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available
Workflow-based bot mitigation	Starts at $399	Add-On	Enterprise only	Add-On	Only through SI partnerships
Origin Protection	Bundled in all Plans	Not Available	Basic protection	Add-on	Available
SwyftComply	Avaialbe	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available	Not Available

 

The Top Five Alternatives to StackPath WAF: In-Depth Comparison

AppTrana

AppTrana distinguishes itself from other StackPath WAF alternatives by adopting an innovative “risk-based” approach. This unique strategy commences with an initial assessment of applications and APIs using an integrated DAST scanner to identify potential vulnerabilities.

AppTrana sets itself apart as the only WAAP (Web Application and API Protection) vendor that openly discusses and commits to the following:

• Ensuring that 100% of applications are onboarded in block mode.
• Offering a ZERO false positive guarantee.
• Virtually patching critical vulnerabilities within 24 hours.

Bot and API protection, DDoS mitigation, and the recent addition of API Discovery collectively set AppTrana’s position as a robust and efficient WAAP solution.

The most important features of AppTrana:

Asset Discovery

The asset discovery feature is included in every plan, guaranteeing that users can use this capability irrespective of their subscription level.

This functionality delivers an extensive overview of your publicly accessible web assets, encompassing domains, subdomains, IPs, mobile applications, data centers, and API categories. It empowers you to evaluate the robustness of these assets against potential threats and assess their vulnerability.

Furthermore, it enables users to maintain an up-to-date inventory of their assets by offering real-time options to add, edit, or delete asset information.

Managed Security Service

With access to third-party threat intelligence and ongoing security research, the Indusface team holds extensive knowledge about threat actors. Their experienced penetration testers contribute firsthand insights into this process.

The team excels in the execution and refinement of scans, validating and prioritizing vulnerability findings, and creating actionable reports that boast a flawless track record regarding false positives.

Furthermore, even subscribers to the $99 plan can rely on AppTrana for phone, email, and chat support during security incidents.

Virtual Patching, SwyftComply, Latency Monitoring & Application Specific Rules

Even when dealing with critical and high vulnerabilities, the ability to implement custom rules or application-specific virtual patches at the WAF level without requiring any code modifications presents an excellent opportunity to narrow the window of vulnerability.
Moreover, AppTrana’s SwyftComply guarantees autonomous patching of these vulnerabilities within a 72-hour timeframe.

Another potential issue with WAFs is the introduction of latency, as they examine every incoming request. A managed service that consistently monitors latency applications represents a valuable addition, ensuring a positive customer experience by avoiding performance issues.

Positive Security Model

One of the most significant advantages of API security within AppTrana’s WAAP is the automated creation of positive security models. This involves a sequence of steps, starting with API discovery, then API vulnerability scanning, penetration testing, and, ultimately, establishing positive security policies on the AppTrana WAAP.

This streamlined process proves particularly beneficial for teams that lack API documentation on platforms like Swagger and Postman. Even without Swagger documentation, the API discovery feature facilitates automatic file downloads. Furthermore, AppTrana’s managed service team supports generating Postman files for critical open APIs.

Let’s assess possible areas for improvement within AppTrana:

Legacy API Support

AppTrana’s API security measures do not cover legacy API standards like SOAP and WebSocket.

Threat Intelligence

AppTrana’s primary reliance is on third-party threat intelligence feeds. Although its internal threat intelligence may not offer the same extensive coverage as larger competitors, integrating third-party feeds effectively encompasses a wide spectrum of potential threats.

Imperva

Imperva states that over 90% of WAAP implementations, like AppTrana’s claim of 100%, are in block mode. Imperva underscores the significance of complete block mode deployment in WAAP, supported by thorough testing conducted by Imperva Research Labs to minimize false positives.

Here are the common advantages of using Imperva:

Flexible Deployments

Imperva provides a complete solution tailored for organizations embracing a hybrid WAAP approach. This enables them to deploy an on-premise WAF to safeguard sensitive user data within their local data center while leveraging the benefits of a cloud-based WAF to attain scalability and flexibility.

RASP

Embedded within Imperva’s leading application security solution, RASP revolutionizes the defense-in-depth approach. By delivering insights at the application layer, RASP empowers SOC teams to make immediate, more informed decisions, drastically reducing the time required for investigations. The result is accurate threat detection, all accomplished without worrying about false positives.

Bundled DDoS and Bot Protection

Imperva Cloud WAF distinguishes itself with its strong defense against Layer 7 DDoS attacks, a critical feature. It efficiently addresses basic bots through its bot classification system.

However, when dealing with more persistent bot threats, the additional features of Advanced Bot Protection and Account Takeover Protection become indispensable.

Here are some limitations of Imperva WAF

API Discovery as an Add-on

This might pose a challenge when promptly identifying and responding to security threats or vulnerabilities targeting APIs. In the search for StackPatch alternatives, the availability of API discovery should be a crucial element in the decision-making criteria.

Other WAAP providers like AppTrana include API discovery as a standard offering. What sets AppTrana apart is its inclusion of penetration testing for API endpoints, a specialized service that distinguishes it from most WAAP providers.

Managed Services is an Add-On

To utilize a managed WAF, you will need to select managed services, which are available as an additional option.

AppTrana excels in managed WAF services, including DDoS monitoring, virtual patches, and thorough false-positive testing, all incorporated into the $399 plan.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare empowers your business to deliver exceptional user experiences by elevating performance and providing top-tier application security, all within a seamlessly integrated and user-friendly platform.

The Cloudflare WAF employs a blend of rule-based detection, machine learning, and threat intelligence to recognize and stop prevalent web application vulnerabilities and established attack patterns. It aids in safeguarding against risks such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting (XSS), cross-site request forgery (CSRF), remote file inclusion, and others.

Here are the most common features of Cloudflare WAF

DDoS Mitigation

Cloudflare distinguishes itself through its history of successfully mitigating some of the largest-scale DDoS attacks ever recorded. This achievement proves Cloudflare’s resilient infrastructure capable of managing massive DDoS attacks across various global applications.

Like AppTrana, Cloudflare integrates a DDoS mitigation system that consistently fine-tunes and adapts to user behaviour, guaranteeing that rate limits are tailored and optimized to specific needs. This adaptive strategy enhances Cloudflare’s capacity to efficiently protect against DDoS attacks while upholding peak performance and user satisfaction.

When your business demands high availability and is highly susceptible to DDoS attacks, opting for Cloudflare and AppTrana as alternatives to Stackpath is sound decision.

API Security

Cloudflare offers enhanced API protection, including API discovery, as part of its services. Additionally, Cloudflare provides extensive support for various API protocols, encompassing REST, SOAP, JSON, and more.

Threat Intelligence and Scale

As of March 2023, Cloudflare’s WAAP and CDN products have achieved significant adoption, with around 10% of internet traffic channelled through its services. This demonstrates users’ significant trust and reliance on Cloudflare’s offerings.

Cloudflare’s exceptional daily load, managing over 2 trillion requests, is remarkable. This vast data processing capacity substantially contributes to the superior quality of Cloudflare’s threat intelligence, positioning the company as a leader in the industry for security insights and analysis.

Here are some cons of using Cloudflare WAF:

24X7 Support

The frequency of website attacks, encompassing DDoS, bot, Zero-Day, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerability attacks, is rising. AppTrana has observed a significant 30% quarter-over-quarter increase in these attacks, as detailed in our State of Application Security Report.

During such attacks, AppTrana’s support can be an extension of your SOC team, configuring custom rules, updating blacklisting policies, and more.

In contrast, with Cloudflare, you only gain access to chat support starting at $250 per month, and lower-level plans do not offer support.

False Positive Monitoring

Adapting to the constantly evolving threat landscape is a necessity for security software. Even with Cloudflare’s top-tier threat intelligence, crafting generic rules for the numerous applications on its network can lead to false positives.

Managing these false positives presents a challenge, especially for organizations that do not have a specialized team of security experts.

Akamai WAF

As a pioneer in web security, Akamai leads the way with its Web Application Firewall, renowned for its adeptness in identifying threats within HTTP and SSL traffic on the Edge Platform. This offers a proactive layer of protection for your origin data centers.

Akamai’s extensive experience in CDN has earned it a favoured status in the industry, notably within sectors like media, gaming, and streaming.

Prolexic

Prolexic is equipped to address attacks instantly, managing a capacity of over 10 Tbps. Further, Akamai’s anycast technology effectively minimizes latency, while Prolexic’s 225+ Security Operations Centers (SOCs) frontline responders guarantee comprehensive protection through a blend of automation and human involvement.

API Discovery

Akamai, just like AppTrana, offers automated API discovery, which includes the identification of secured and unsecured APIs, their endpoints, definitions, and traffic characteristics. The positive security model strengthens the capacity to manage API requests that do not conform to predefined specifications.

Now, coming to the limitations of Akamai WAF

Unmetered DDoS Protection is an Add-on

Akamai’s most widely embraced DDoS protection solution is “Always on,” yet it comes with a higher price tag since it routes all incoming traffic through Prolexic.

With AppTrana, you enjoy unlimited DDoS protection across all subscription levels. You’ll only incur charges for valid traffic, irrespective of the number of DDoS attacks that AppTrana effectively stops.

Pricing

Even within the market’s premium segment, Akamai tends to be pricier than most other WAAP providers.

If cost isn’t a major factor for you, selecting Akamai as an alternative to StackPath can be an excellent choice, especially when opting for a managed solution that can reduce the occurrence of false positives.

AWS WAF

AWS WAF, a cloud-based security service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), is a robust protection for web applications. It effectively shields web applications from web-based threats by thoroughly examining and overseeing HTTP and HTTPS traffic.

With AWS WAF, you can establish customized rules and criteria to manage the accessibility of your web applications, stopping nefarious actions. This service seamlessly connects with other AWS offerings and delivers an adaptable and expandable solution for supporting applications hosted on AWS.

Flexibility in Rules

Within the robust AWS partner ecosystem, WAF providers like F5 and Fortinet offer rules tailored to defend against OWASP vulnerabilities and other security risks. These rulesets provide enhanced protection that goes beyond AWS’s standard offerings.

There is a nominal subscription fee to utilize these rulesets, and additional charges are incurred based on the amount of traffic subjected to analysis using these rulesets.

Billing and Vendor Management

An additional advantage of opting for AWS is the convenience of not having to handle a separate WAF vendor, which streamlines the billing process. This unified approach makes tasks like renewals, billing, and paperwork management more straightforward.

Now coming to the cons of using AWS WAF

API Security

AWS WAF offers limited API security solutions, primarily focusing on fundamental rate-limiting capabilities accessible through the API gateway. Advanced features, such as API discovery, are currently unavailable.

AWS Shield is Expensive

AWS Shield is a managed service designed to offer DDoS protection for applications hosted on AWS. AWS accounts are automatically equipped with AWS Shield Standard, which doesn’t incur extra fees. In contrast, AWS Shield Advanced is available for an additional cost, necessitating a minimum 1-year commitment and a monthly fee of $3,000.

If your primary concerns when seeking StackPath WAF alternatives are DDoS protection and a managed service, AWS WAF might not be the optimal choice. In such scenarios, it’s advisable to explore alternatives to AWS WAF.

Verdict

When you’re on a limited budget and seeking a managed WAF, your ideal choice is AppTrana.

Among the alternatives mentioned, AppTrana and Cloudflare stand out as cost-effective solutions, particularly when your objective is to protect many applications.

The critical approach is to initiate a trial and assess how well the firewall aligns with the specific needs of your application.

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