Vendor comparison
Azure WAF vs AWS WAF: pricing compared
Hyperscaler-on-hyperscaler. The SKUs are structured similarly (per-policy or per-web-ACL plus per-request) but the per-million-request rates differ and Azure splits the product across Front Door and Application Gateway with two pricing models.
Last verified June 2026
Decision in one paragraph
Pick the WAF on the cloud the app already lives on. Cross-cloud WAF deployments are rare for a good reason: cross-cloud egress and latency cost more than any per-request rate difference. If you are on Azure, Azure WAF wins by default; if you are on AWS, AWS WAF wins by default. The interesting question is Front Door versus Application Gateway, not Azure versus AWS.
Side by side
Azure WAF (Front Door)
- Front Door bundles WAF into the tier: Standard $35/mo (custom rules), Premium $330/mo (managed rules included).
- Application Gateway WAF v2: $0.443/gateway-hour + $0.0144/capacity-unit-hour.
- Managed rule set and Bot Manager rule set are included with Front Door Premium, not billed per policy.
- Native to App Service, Functions, Azure Kubernetes Service.
- Two products to choose between; per-VNet vs global edge.
AWS WAF
- $5 web-ACL + $1/rule + $0.60/M requests.
- Bot Control add-on: $10/web-ACL + per-request rule-group fee.
- Native to ALB, CloudFront, API Gateway, App Runner.
- Account Takeover Prevention and CAPTCHA are separately-billed add-ons.
- One product; per-request billing across both edge and per-VPC use cases.
Feature matrix
| Feature | Azure WAF | AWS WAF |
|---|---|---|
| Published list pricing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-request billing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Per-hour billing option | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bot defence included | ◐ | ✗ |
| Native cloud integration | ✓ | ✓ |
| Single product line | ✗ | ✓ |
| Marketplace rule groups | ◐ | ✓ |
| Custom rules at entry tier | ✓ | ✓ |
Headline pricing
| Vendor | Cheapest published rate | Pricing model | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure WAF (Front Door) | $35.00 per month (Front Door Standard, custom WAF rules included) | Bundled into the Front Door Standard/Premium tier price, or per-hour on Application Gateway | Source (2026-06-26) |
| AWS WAF | $5.00 per web-ACL per month | Per web-ACL + per rule + per million requests | Source (2026-06-19) |
Direct answer
Which is cheaper at typical traffic?
These are not a like-for-like rate card. AWS WAF rides on top of your existing CloudFront or ALB at roughly $65/mo for 100M req (web-ACL + $0.60/M, no Bot Control). Azure Front Door Premium bundles a premium CDN with the managed WAF at roughly $480/mo for the same volume, because the managed rule set is only available on the $330/mo Premium tier. If you only need custom rules, Front Door Standard is $35/mo base. The decision is the cloud and whether you want the bundled CDN, not the WAF rate alone.
Source: Use the cost calculator on the homepage to model your own workload.
Switching cost
If you are already on one and considering the other
Cross-cloud WAF migration is rarely about the WAF; it is about migrating the app. If the app is staying on its current cloud, the question is Front Door vs Application Gateway on Azure or web-ACL placement on AWS. If the app is moving cloud, the WAF migration is the smallest line item in the project.
Where to read more
Cross-reference with the pricing-models explainer and the hidden-costs page before signing.
Last verified June 2026