AWS Shield vs Imperva Application Security Platform comparison

Why PeerSpot?

Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Imperva are both solutions in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is ranked #10 with an average rating of 8.8, while Imperva is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.7. Amazon Web Services (AWS) holds a 3.0% mindshare in DDOS, compared to Imperva’s 7.6% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Amazon Web Services (AWS) users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 95% of Imperva users who would recommend it.

AWS Shield

Read 9 AWS Shield reviews

3,173 Views
3,173 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Imperva Application Securit...

Read 147 Imperva Application Security Platform reviews

22,449 Views
7,633 Comparison Views

95% willing to recommend

AWS Shield

Imperva Application Securit...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 22, 2026

Imperva and AWS Shield both offer advanced solutions in application security, specifically targeting DDoS protection and web application vulnerabilities. Imperva appears to have a broader set of features, particularly in API security and profiling features, giving it a slight edge in comprehensiveness.

Features: Imperva provides robust features for application security, including advanced DDoS protection, API security, and a flexible deployment model. It's known for ease of use and custom policy profiling. AWS Shield integrates seamlessly with AWS services, offering real-time attack detection, advanced threat intelligence, and a strong focus on DDoS prevention, especially effective for cloud environments.

Room for Improvement: Imperva users point out the need for a more user-friendly GUI, improved policy rule sets, and quicker support response times. AWS Shield's health checks and anomaly detection require enhancements, particularly under complex attack scenarios. It also has limited built-in WAF features, needing AWS WAF for layer 7 protection, which adds to costs.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Imperva supports diverse deployment models like on-premises and cloud-based environments. While customer service is generally positive, response times can be an issue. AWS Shield offers simple public cloud deployment, but some users face challenges in accessing complex support services, affecting responsiveness.

Pricing and ROI: Imperva's pricing is on the higher side with a complex model across various features, leading to a significant investment. However, the ROI is seen as high in sectors like banking. AWS Shield provides a scalable usage-based pricing model but incurs additional costs for AWS WAF. Its basic services are more affordable, yet comprehensive protection requires investing in Shield Advanced.

To learn more, read our detailed AWS Shield vs. Imperva Application Security Platform Report (Updated: September 2026).

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield vs. Imperva Application Security Platform

September 2026

Download the complete report

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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

AWS Shield

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Imperva Application Securit...

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

3rd

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

147

Ranking in other categories

CDN (2nd), Web Application Firewall (WAF) (1st), Bot Management (1st), API Security (1st)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of AWS Shield is 3.0%, down from 5.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Imperva Application Security Platform is 7.6%, up from 7.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Imperva Application Security Platform	7.6%
AWS Shield	3.0%
Other	89.4%

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Featured Reviews

Pranav Telang

DGM at Airtel Digital

Has enabled multi-layered threat mitigation but still lacks deeper visibility for advanced application attacks

AWS Shield has limited coverage as it only protects against common and high-volume network and transport layer attacks, such as SYN floods. It does not provide inherent protection against more sophisticated layer 7 attacks such as HTTP floods. In such cases, integration with WAF is necessary, which results in additional costs for customers. To protect layer 7, layer 4, and layer 3, customers must implement both solutions. The service also has difficulties with static detection thresholds, which may not be sensitive enough to detect smaller application-specific attacks. While AWS Shield is a key security service, AWS should enhance their expert support with 24/7 response for complex attacks, which is currently limited.

Read full review

reviewer2818155

Senior Associate at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees

Application protection has improved and reporting and dashboards still need refinement

I believe Imperva Application Security Platform should have a more interactive wizard. While the dashboard is good, it could be more eye-catching. Based on my perspective, I recommend modifying the dashboards, especially the main dashboard where I can see the traffic hit count, alerts, and other latest information. In terms of reporting, I find it challenging to create reports; in my earlier days, it was difficult. Over time, I have learned how to create reports, but it should be easier to do so. I have used other tools such as firewalls or SolarWinds, where creating a report is straightforward and does not take much time, unlike in Imperva, where I have to add many elements. Modifications in the integration aspects would also be beneficial.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The solution's ease of use is the most valuable feature."

"The solution operates smoothly at its baseline level, and we do not encounter any issues at that level."

"The product has a good mechanism to analyze trends and trigger events."

"AWS Shield is aligned with the web application firewall (WAF), and they work seamlessly together, primarily working with Elastic Load Balancer, CloudFront, and Route 53 for CDN and DNS services protection."

"The automatic detection and mitigation of DDoS attacks in the product operates in real-time and provides satisfactory results."

"It is integrated with AWS. So, it gives you a good first step."

"If most of your internet presence from your application side is in AWS, AWS Shield is a great option."

"I am impressed with the product's multiple features like security."

More AWS Shield pros

"The most valuable features for us are the DDoS and Bot."

"It is an effective threat mitigation tool."

"An improvement has been to our website: It increases the speed of our response, the capacity of the site, and optimizes the bandwidth."

"It is the best product on the market, in my opinion."

"Incapsula delivers a massive improvement to website performance and security in less than 20 minutes, regardless of the CMS."

"Imperva Application Security Platform has helped reduce incidents, save time, and improve my organization's security posture with specific measurable outcomes and metrics."

"Essentially, it has added an extra layer of protection to my clients through their DNS routing service."

"It is easy to use and has good security."

More Imperva Application Security Platform pros

Cons

"We end up having to pay extra for features that AWS adds that we don't need."

"The management of it is a bit hard. If you don't engineer it on the front side, it is hard to go back in and change it. It could be improved in terms of architecture requirements and then ongoing support requirements as a secondary component to it. People tend to set up things like this, and they just expect it to work without the care and feeding that needs to go back into it either from an application team or a network environment team."

"The time taken to detect anomalies must be reduced."

"AWS Shield has limited coverage as it only protects against common and high-volume network and transport layer attacks, such as SYN floods."

"The management of it is a bit hard. If you don't engineer it on the front side, it is hard to go back in and change it."

"There is an area for improvement regarding health checks. AWS Shield does not come with its own health check functionality."

"The product is expensive."

"The product should give users more flexibility to customize their security policies according to their requirements."

More AWS Shield cons

"I would like to improve the tool's turnaround time in terms of support."

"It would be useful if the solution used more intelligence in attack protection."

"They need to work on the customer support; in my opinion, this is their weakest point. Some of their support representatives really have no idea how their service works."

"We rate technical support as really bad."

"The tool needs to include artificial intelligence and machine learning. It also needs to improve profiling."

"Communication declined a bit as they got bigger – 7/10."

"Although we're only using it for the accelerator part, the purging of files and the way this feature functions could use improvement."

"I guess the GUI could be improved a little, as it’s not always simple to get."

More Imperva Application Security Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The tool is cheap."

"The cost depends on traffic each month, so on average, it costs us between US$200 and US$300 per month."

"The tool's pricing is good."

"We pay $3000 per month for the solution."

"It depends on your subscription level and the volume that you're spending with AWS. So, it is very relative to the consumption alignment in your subscription level. It is a well-constructed, scalable pricing option, but it is relative to how much you're spending on AWS. Because the more you spend, typically, the more you get off on services like this. I find it to be comparable to other solutions."

"Make sure you understand the way that Imperva charges. It's very affordable. However, I would like to see a package with the Virtual Patching included. You get to do patching separately."

"Imperva Web Application Firewall is expensive."

"It is a very affordable solution."

"The pricing is somewhat expensive. It is actually a huge investment when compared to other countries."

"The price of Imperva Web Application Firewalls is expensive compared to others."

"The data packages are higher than our needs so we end up paying for data that we don't use."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a five out of ten."

"There is a license or subscription renewal that our customers pay."

More Imperva Application Security Platform pricing and cost advice

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions are best for your needs.

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Comms Service Provider

16%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Computer Software Company

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Construction Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	3
Midsize Enterprise	1
Large Enterprise	7

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	88
Midsize Enterprise	25
Large Enterprise	70

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for AWS Shield?

The pricing structure for AWS Shield is fair, yet it depends on the specific protections chosen. Enabling Shield Advanced on multiple services such as CloudFront, network load balancer, or Route 53...

See all answers

What needs improvement with AWS Shield?

Services always benefit from improvements, including AWS Shield. With respect to the Web Application Firewall, current rule-based setups may not be adequately defined or classified. Enhancement of ...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for AWS Shield?

What do you use it for? How do you use it?

See all answers

Which Web Application Firewall (WAF) would you recommend? R&S or Imperva?

Imperva is a strong choice, given their security focus and ongoing R&D into the product in areas such as bot management.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Imperva DDoS?

The pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Imperva DDoS are reasonable for the amount of technical capabilities provided. I would rate the pricing of Imperva DDoS as five, where one is very cheap a...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Imperva DDoS?

I would like to see improvements in the pooling of threats and attacks, possibly to enlarge the scale of indicators of compromise. For example, the initiation of an attack on the endpoint level cou...

See all answers

Comparisons

Akamai App and API Protector vs AWS Shield

Compared 32% of the time

Cloudflare vs AWS Shield

Compared 10% of the time

Cloudflare One vs AWS Shield

Compared 9% of the time

Azure DDoS Protection vs AWS Shield

Compared 9% of the time

A10 Thunder TPS vs AWS Shield

Compared 4% of the time

More AWS Shield Competitors

Cloudflare vs Imperva Application Security Platform

Compared 8% of the time

Akamai vs Imperva Application Security Platform

Compared 4% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Imperva Application Security Platform

Compared 3% of the time

Link11 vs Imperva Application Security Platform

Compared 3% of the time

Fastly vs Imperva Application Security Platform

Compared 3% of the time

More Imperva Application Security Platform Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield

October 2026

Download AWS Shield product report

Buyer's Guide

Imperva Application Security Platform

October 2026

Imperva Application Security Platform report

Download Imperva Application Security Platform product report

Also Known As

No data available

Imperva Bot Management, Imperva Web Application Firewall, Imperva API Security

Overview

AWS Shield offers robust DDoS protection with seamless integration into AWS services, providing users with enhanced security without impacting performance. Its intuitive dashboard and integration with tools like WAF and CloudWatch make it a go-to for many organizations seeking reliable protection.

AWS Shield provides real-time attack visibility and transparency, excelling in DDoS protection while maintaining application and network layer security. The Advanced tier offers automated threat detection, tailored defense strategies, and a responsive DDoS team. However, challenges include high costs, limited customization, and a need for better traffic insights. Organizations must often rely on additional AWS services for comprehensive network security. The solution is primarily used to protect against DDoS attacks and secure web applications, offering Layer 3 and 4 security. While the Standard tier offers basic security at no cost, the Advanced tier provides enhanced protection against severe attacks such as SYN floods, albeit with a monthly fee.

What are AWS Shield's most important features?

Ease of Use: Simple integration and intuitive monitoring dashboard.
Real-Time Attack Visibility: Immediate insights into attack metrics without performance impact.
Seamless AWS Integration: Works smoothly with WAF and CloudWatch for comprehensive protection.
Advanced Defense Strategies: Customizable strategies with automatic threat detection.

What benefits or ROI should users consider?

Enhanced Security: Robust DDoS mitigation for continuous protection.
Performance Maintenance: Protects services during high-traffic events without degradation.
Comprehensive Monitoring: Intuitive dashboard for easy attack tracking and management.
Cost-Effective Tiered Offerings: The choice between no-cost basic or feature-rich advanced options.

In industries like finance and e-commerce, AWS Shield's capabilities ensure continual uptime and protection against potential DDoS threats, vital during high-traffic periods. Its use in media and entertainment allows secure streaming and content delivery, while health sectors benefit from secure and reliable patient data access and protection.

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Imperva Application Security Platform delivers comprehensive and continuous web threat protection. Renowned for its ease of use, it shields web applications and databases from various cyber threats while integrating seamlessly with cloud and on-premises environments.

Imperva Application Security Platform protects web environments by offering advanced security measures against threats like DDoS attacks, SQL injections, and cross-site scripting. As a robust web application firewall, it provides extensive monitoring and bot management capabilities. The platform integrates content delivery networks for enhanced performance and scalability, while real-time traffic analysis ensures consistent protection. Despite its strengths, improvements can be made in policy management and customization options. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and more competitive pricing models. The inclusion of AI for enhanced analytics is also anticipated.

What are the key features of Imperva Application Security Platform?

Correlated Attack Validation: Enhances threat assessment by linking related security events.
Threat Radar: Offers visibility into potential and ongoing threats.
Virtual Patching: Provides protection against vulnerabilities without immediate code changes.
IncapRules: Allows creation of custom security policies.
DDoS Protection: Defends against large-scale distributed denial-of-service attacks.
CDN Integration: Improves content delivery speed and reliability.

What benefits should users look for in reviews?

User-Friendly Administration: Simplifies setup and ongoing management tasks.
Seamless Integration: Ensures smooth operation with existing infrastructure.
Comprehensive Threat Protection: Shields digital assets from a wide range of threats.
Hands-On Support: Provides timely and effective customer service assistance.

Imperva Application Security Platform is implemented in industries needing strong database and application protection. Companies use it to enforce geolocation restrictions and manage bots, benefiting sectors like finance and e-commerce where data security and threat monitoring are critical. Its ability to protect and ensure data accessibility makes it integral to business operations prioritizing cyber resilience.

Imperva

Sample Customers

netflix, dow jones, mapbox, pearson, rovio, youview, moviestar planet, asurion, payplug, hour of code

Hitachi, BNZ, Bitstamp, Moz, InnoGames, BTCChina, Wix, LivePerson, Zillow and more.

Buyer's Guide

AWS Shield vs. Imperva Application Security Platform

September 2026

Free Report: AWS Shield vs. Imperva Application Security Platform

Find out what your peers are saying about AWS Shield vs. Imperva Application Security Platform and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.

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