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Akamai API Security vs NGINX App Protect comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 4, 2025

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Akamai API Security
Ranking in API Security
1st
Average Rating
6.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.4
Number of Reviews
3
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX App Protect
Ranking in API Security
2nd
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (15th), Container Security (18th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the API Security category, the mindshare of Akamai API Security is 24.5%, down from 26.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX App Protect is 3.0%, down from 5.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Security
 

Featured Reviews

Deepesh  Singh - PeerSpot reviewer
Excellent API authentication support but needs better analytics and reporting
I conducted a proof of concept for four months to identify PII and financial information exposed through APIs. Primarily, the API part is effective. I have been using Akamai AppMyWAF. The tool's API authentication, tokenization, and enhanced scalability and performance are valuable features. Akamai's support is impeccable, and its plug-and-play features are helpful.
Saurav Kumar - PeerSpot reviewer
Offers protection to users from external threats
NGINX App Protect secures our company's application, and it has helped me a lot, considering that we have critical infrastructure in India where we see how lots of attacks come onto our organization's servers. The tool offers protection against multiple threats present in India's IT ecosystem. The tool helps our company to make our payments secure, meaning it has the ability to provide a secure payment environment in India. Speaking about the improvements in our company's application performance since implementing NGINX App Protect, the gRPC support for the solution is very low. My company is not getting any proper documentation on how to deploy gRPC over NGINX App Protect. I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. People can use the product as their company's base server, WAF, or for its proxy manager, depending on the business requirements. My company follows PCI DSS compliance because we operate in a payment-related industry. Right now, my company follows all the standards, so we comply with all the requirements and policies. I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"API throttling is the most valuable feature of Akamai API Security."
"The API part is effective."
"The most valuable feature of this solution is its integration with API gateways, WAP and with part of their SDLC."
"Overall, I rate NGINX App Protect between eight and nine."
"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its flexibility."
"The tool is not complex and is very user-friendly."
"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its open source."
"NGINX App Protect has complete control over the HTTP session."
"NGINX App Protect is stable."
"I would say that the most valuable feature is the ability to operate in a DevOps environment and to be configured through API and pipeline by the developers themselves."
"The initial setup was simple and took three to four days."
 

Cons

"It would be beneficial to use machine learning and API throttling together to identify how the APIs are called and whether it's coming from the right person or the wrong person."
"I think it would be good if they can integrate more with API gateways as this is currently limited."
"The challenge I found was with contextualization and how analytics are generated."
"The setup of NGINX App Protect is complex. The full process took one week to complete. Additionally, we had to change the network infrastructure platform which took one month."
"Right now, the tool doesn't provide an option revolving around update feeds, specifically the signature update option in the UI."
"It's challenging if you need to go for a high throughput."
"Areas for improvement would be if NGINX could scan for vulnerabilities and learn and update the signatures of DoS attacks."
"It would be better if it were easier to implement and if there was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service, to avoid disruptions after implementation."
"The price of NGINX App Protect could improve."
"Its technical support could be better."
"The product's price is high, making it an area of concern where improvements are required. The tool's licensing model is also not good."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"We have a limit to the number of APIs we can use inside a bundle, and we have to pay extra if we exceed that limit."
"The price of NGINX App Protect is approximately $3,000 annually. All of our licenses are observed by a managed service partner."
"There are no additional fees."
"There is a license needed to use NGINX App Protect."
"Really understand the licensing model, because we underestimated that."
"The licensing fees for this solution are pretty expensive for what it does, but there is no alternative."
"There is a monthly or annual subscription to use NGINX App Protect. There are not any additional costs to the subscription."
"The price of NGINX App Protect is not much different from the products that fall under the leader category of Gartner Magic Quadrant."
"NGINX App Protect is expensive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
21%
Computer Software Company
13%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Akamai API Security?
API throttling is the most valuable feature of Akamai API Security.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai API Security?
I mentioned that support from Akamai is expensive yet it is worth it.
What needs improvement with Akamai API Security?
The challenge I found was with contextualization and how analytics are generated. Reports were sent in a raw format without proper analytics. There was no mechanism to identify which APIs will alwa...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NGINX App Protect?
I don't know the pricing yet because in my other project, I was not part of the buying side and I was just starting to look at options.
What needs improvement with NGINX App Protect?
It would be better if it were easier to implement and if there was more information from F5 regarding hardware requirements and specifications to deploy the service, to avoid disruptions after impl...
 

Also Known As

Noname Security
NGINX WAF, NGINX Web Application Firewall
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai API Security vs. NGINX App Protect and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
844,944 professionals have used our research since 2012.