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Akamai App and API Protector vs Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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 App and API Protector
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
16th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (8th), Cloud and Data Center Security (12th)
Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF...
Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)
18th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
7
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category, the mindshare of Akamai App and API Protector is 3.0%, down from 3.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service is 0.8%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Akamai App and API Protector3.0%
Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service0.8%
Other96.2%
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
 

Featured Reviews

Gavin Pinho - PeerSpot reviewer
Privacy & Risk Management Vice President, Information Security at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Has provided strong protection against evolving threats but still needs support for configuration fine-tuning
The standout features of Akamai App and API Protector are rooted in it being the Web Application Firewall, where all traffic gets scanned, including the implementation of web firewall rules, and after this phase, traffic proceeds through the BMP, which is Bot Management. Akamai App and API Protector exceeds expectations in terms of AI capabilities, and it genuinely combines a plethora of advanced features. The area in which Akamai excels compared to other competitors with a WAF is in threat intelligence, as threats continually evolve, requiring ongoing updates to backend algorithms to effectively capture smart bots, and Akamai's commitment in that regard is backed by an excellent team, while other providers are still catching up.
RA
Global Head - DevOps and AIOps Startegist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
Cloud security has reduced web attack incidents and protects our public applications and APIs
The best features Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service offers include managed WAF rules, OWASP protection, bot mitigation, and Fortinet threat intelligence. In day-to-day work, I use all of the features: managed WAF rules, OWASP protection, bot mitigation, and Fortinet threat intelligence. This provides a strong baseline security without requiring deep WAF expertise internally. The integration with the broader Fortinet security system is a plus regarding the features. In terms of its impact on our organization, Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service has been positively protecting us from security threats and automated attacks. With this layered protection against common web and API attacks, we have noticed that the incidents and risks have been reduced to a greater extent.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the custom rules feature. This is because many of our customers require a lot of custom rules. Because it's a very customized project for our customers, I think they have the best of everything already."
"The CDN and the WAF features are the best."
"They have a fantastic tool for analyzing and viewing your traffic."
"The support that we got from their technical team has been fantastic. I have never experienced this level of support from other CDN providers."
"It gives us a report of traffic. It gives us a report of the day-to-day URL traffic, and it also gives an individual report. If we reach out to Akamai, they give us the IPs as well."
"The features are powerful and better than F5."
"I like that the charges are all based on usage and labor costs. For the time that we spend onboarding almost 252020 FQDN, Akamai charges us only for the traffic usage, but it's only charging us for the labor costs for onboarding."
"Adaptive stream delivery and WAF protection are valuable."
"It is user-friendly and easy to work with."
"It is a secure tool."
"Regular updates are one of the aspects I appreciate about Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service, and it is provided by a leading brand in cybersecurity."
"The stability of the solution is excellent."
"The company provides technical support, and they are mostly available 24/7."
"The technical support is really good."
"Fortinet has created a holistic product that integrates features including AI and API protection, with straightforward automation and articulate reporting that even less experienced engineers can use easily."
"Fortinet FortiWeb offers a variety of protections, including machine learning that helps protect web applications."
 

Cons

"Akamai needs to focus on quickly responding to risks, even those that may potentially be of zero threat..Maybe some of the documentation is a little confusing. They have a lot of different places where you can go to get information, and some of the information is quite out of date."
"The WAF features definitely have a lot of room for improvement. A lot of the WAF is really basic. For some products or some of our solutions, we need to run a second layer of more advanced WAF. If it had better layer seven protection then we would not need a second WAF."
"It would be nice if Akamai Web Application Protector's price is lowered and made cheaper."
"The pricing could be reduced a bit."
"We are experimenting with EdgeWorkers to write our own code at the Edge level. It could grow to be much better."
"Could integrate more features for each security."
"The interface is a little bit clunky and can be improved."
"Customer support has room for improvement."
"The usability of the interface could be improved as it is not user-friendly."
"Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service could be improved with better logging capabilities, as many come with less spacing, necessitating a FortiSIM for enhanced functionality."
"Better visibility and more intuitive reporting would be helpful for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service."
"The utilization of AI in Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service still needs to be upgraded and improved."
"The only thing I encountered was related to integration, mostly concerning translation."
"The usability of the interface could be improved as it is not user-friendly."
"I do not have any notes on improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Its price is slightly high. Every company has a justification for the high price. Overall, it feels worth the money based on how the service has been structured, but we do negotiate it."
"The product is expensive, but it is worth the money."
"Price-wise, I would say Akamai's pricing is competitive."
"The solution is expensive."
"It's more expensive than others, but the ROI is good for large-scale infrastructure."
"If you want quality, you have to pay the price. Its price is fair. Their account managers are also very helpful. They help you a lot with pricing even though they are working with Akamai."
"Cost depends on the volume of traffic."
"Based on the billing discussions in the DevOps team, Akamai's cost does not seem to be a major thing. However, LOE is an issue. When it comes to support, we know that even all the competitors do this. For a 30-minute issue, they give us a LOE of one or two hours. That is a basic practice, but that is something we worry about."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
18%
Computer Software Company
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Performing Arts
7%
Financial Services Firm
14%
Energy/Utilities Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise7
Large Enterprise18
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business3
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise3
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai Web Application Protector?
The price is higher than others. It could be about 80% to 70% more expensive than other tools. So, it’s not just a slight difference.
What needs improvement with Akamai Web Application Protector?
There are no significant areas for improvement on the WAF side or for Akamai App and API Protector solution; they are comprehensive in their current state.
What is your primary use case for Akamai Web Application Protector?
The main use case for Akamai App and API Protector is serving as the WAF, Web Application Firewall.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
In terms of pricing, setup cost, and licensing, my experience with Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service has been good. Pricing aligns well with enterprise-grade managed WAF offerings. While not...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
Better visibility and more intuitive reporting would be helpful for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service. Clearer insights from Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service will make it easier to d...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service?
Our primary use case is protecting public facing web applications and APIs against OWASP Top 10 threats and automated attacks. Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service was used to protect a custome...
 

Also Known As

Akamai Web Application Protector, Akamai Kona Site Defender, Akamai Kona DDoS Defender
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Douglas Omaha Technology Commission, ZALORA, PrintPlanet
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Akamai App and API Protector vs. Fortinet FortiWeb Cloud WAF-as-a-Service and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
881,757 professionals have used our research since 2012.