Comparison

AWS WAF vs ModSecurity

On the evidence we track, AWS WAF leads this comparison with a composite score of 51/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

AWS WAF full profile →ModSecurity full profile →

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.

★AWS WAF51

ModSecurity44

Attribute comparison across 2 tools
Attribute	AWS WAFLeader	ModSecurity
vioscaleAI score	51 / 100medium · 73%	44 / 100low · 23%
Pricing
Free tierpricing.free_tier	✓	✓
Modelpricing.model	freemium	open_source
Price levelpricing.price_level	low	free
Starting pricepricing.starting_price	$1	-
Transparentpricing.transparent	✓	-
Integrations
Countintegrations.count	5	1
Security
Disclosure policysecurity.disclosure_policy	✓	-
Fedrampsecurity.fedramp	✓	-
Gdprsecurity.gdpr	✓	✓
Hipaasecurity.hipaa	✓	-
Pcisecurity.pci	✓	-
Trust centersecurity.trust_center	https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/?nc2=h_dsc_aa_cmp	http://modsecurity.org/privacy-policy/
Vulnerabilitiessecurity.vulnerabilities	-	Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=gentoo&package_name=www-apache%2Fmod_security&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0
Reliability
Status pagereliability.status_page	✓	-
Adoption
Dependent reposadoption.dependent_repos	-	0
Github starsadoption.github_stars	-	9,802
Activity
Commits last 30dactivity.commits_last_30d	-	38
Release
Cadence daysrelease.cadence_days	-	61
Historyrelease.history	-	20 items
License
Spdxlicense.spdx	-	Apache-2.0
Language
Primarylanguage.primary	-	C++
Market
Availabilitymarket.availability	Available worldwide · Popular in US	Available worldwide · HQ US
Content
Faqcontent.faq	7 items	5 items

Score

vioscaleAI score

AWS WAF51 / 100medium · 73%

ModSecurity44 / 100low · 23%

Pricing

Free tier

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity✓

Model

AWS WAFfreemium

ModSecurityopen_source

Price level

AWS WAFlow

ModSecurityfree

Starting price

AWS WAF$1

ModSecurity–

Transparent

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Integrations

Count

AWS WAF5

ModSecurity1

Security

Disclosure policy

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Fedramp

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Gdpr

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity✓

Hipaa

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Pci

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Trust center

AWS WAFhttps://aws.amazon.com/compliance/?nc2=h_dsc_aa_cmp

ModSecurityhttp://modsecurity.org/privacy-policy/

Vulnerabilities

AWS WAF–

ModSecurityCount: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=gentoo&package_name=www-apache%2Fmod_security&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0

Reliability

Status page

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Adoption

Dependent repos

AWS WAF–

ModSecurity0

Github stars

AWS WAF–

ModSecurity9,802

Activity

Commits last 30d

AWS WAF–

ModSecurity38

Release

Cadence days

AWS WAF–

ModSecurity61

History

AWS WAF–

ModSecurity20 items

License

Spdx

AWS WAF–

ModSecurityApache-2.0

Language

Primary

AWS WAF–

ModSecurityC++

Market

Availability

AWS WAFAvailable worldwide · Popular in US

ModSecurityAvailable worldwide · HQ US

Content

Faq

AWS WAF7 items

ModSecurity5 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for waf. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Capability comparison for WAF
Capability	AWS WAF	ModSecurity
Capabilities
Deployment model	Cloud	Self host
Owasp top 10 protection	✓	✓
Custom rules engine	✓	✓
Bot management	✓	-
API discovery protection	-	-
Ddos l7 protection	✓	-
Rate limiting	✓	-
Threat intel feeds	-	-
SIEM logging integration	-	-
Kubernetes ingress support	-	-
SOC2 type ii	-	-
PCI DSS compliant	-	-
Fedramp authorized	-	-
Pricing model	Usage based	Open source

Capabilities

Deployment model

AWS WAFCloud

ModSecuritySelf host

Owasp top 10 protection

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity✓

Custom rules engine

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity✓

Bot management

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity-

API discovery protection

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

Ddos l7 protection

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity-

Rate limiting

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity-

Threat intel feeds

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

SIEM logging integration

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

Kubernetes ingress support

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

SOC2 type ii

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

PCI DSS compliant

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

Fedramp authorized

AWS WAF-

ModSecurity-

Pricing model

AWS WAFUsage based

ModSecurityOpen source

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

AWS WAF

Leader

AWS WAF filters web requests and API traffic to block common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. It manages bot traffic through rate limiting and automatic detection, and provides automated layer 7 DDoS protection.

Independently observed

ModSecurity

An open-source firewall module that monitors and controls HTTP traffic, providing customizable security rules and advanced protections against web application attacks. It serves as the foundation for many WAF implementations globally.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

AWS WAF

Leader

from $1/moUsage-basedFree tier

Usage-based pricing: $5/web ACL, $1/rule, plus per-request charges. Free tier for bot control.

Standard WAF$5/web ACL + $1/rule + per-million-request charges
- Web ACL creation and management
- Custom rule creation
- Allow/Block/Count actions
- Request filtering and inspection
- CloudWatch Logs integration
Bot ControlFree tier + $1/million requests after free allowance
- Common bot detection and management
- Targeted bot control
- Bot traffic visibility
- Rate limiting for bot traffic
- Scope-down statements to reduce evaluated traffic
Fraud Control$10/month per web ACL + per-request charges
- Account Takeover Prevention
- Account Creation Fraud Prevention
- Compromised credential monitoring
- Fake account creation detection

as of 2026-08-19verify ↗

ModSecurity

Open sourceFree tier

as of 2026-10-14verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platform and deployment support comparison
Supports	AWS WAF	ModSecurity
WebPlatforms	✓	-
Cloud / SaaSDeployment	✓	✗
Self-hostedDeployment	✗	✓
On-premiseDeployment	✗	✓

Platforms

Web

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity–

Deployment

Cloud / SaaS

AWS WAF✓

ModSecurity✗

Self-hosted

AWS WAF✗

ModSecurity✓

On-premise

AWS WAF✗

ModSecurity✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

AWS WAF

Leader

5 total

Amazon CloudFront
Amazon API Gateway
AWS CloudWatch
AWS Shield
AWS Marketplace (third-party managed rules)

Independently observed

ModSecurity

1 total

OWASP CRS

Independently observed

Still deciding?

AWS WAF or ModSecurity: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.