F5 Advanced WAF vs NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall comparison

F5 and NSFOCUS are both solutions in the Web Application Firewall (WAF) category. F5 is ranked #2 with an average rating of 8.3, while NSFOCUS is ranked #43. F5 holds a 7.5% mindshare in WAF, compared to NSFOCUS’s 0.5% mindshare. Additionally, 98% of F5 users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of NSFOCUS users who would recommend it.

F5 Advanced WAF

Read 73 F5 Advanced WAF reviews

7,285 Views
6,848 Comparison Views

98% willing to recommend

NSFOCUS Web Application Fir...

Read 1 NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall review

324 Views
311 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

F5 Advanced WAF

NSFOCUS Web Application Fir...

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between F5 Advanced WAF and NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, F5, Imperva and others in Web Application Firewall (WAF).

To learn more, read our detailed Web Application Firewall (WAF) Report (Updated: January 2026).

Buyer's Guide

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

January 2026

Download the complete report

Helped 881,360 peers since 2012

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

F5 Advanced WAF

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

2nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

NSFOCUS Web Application Fir...

Ranking in Web Application Firewall (WAF)

43rd

Average Rating

7.0

Reviews Sentiment

8.0

Number of Reviews

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 F5 Advanced WAF is 7.5%, down from 10.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall is 0.5%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
F5 Advanced WAF	7.5%
NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall	0.5%
Other	92.0%

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

Featured Reviews

Kallamuddin Ansari

Cyber Security Consultant at ProTechmanize

Application security has protected critical banking services while policy learning minimizes false blocks

F5 Advanced WAF performs well overall, but I have noticed some points that could enhance the solution. Initially, policy tuning could be simpler, as while the learning engine is powerful, initial tuning still requires experienced engineers, which can be challenging for new teams due to the complexity of options and parameters. A more guided and simple tuning workflow would help reduce the learning curve. Additionally, tighter native integration with SIEM or SOAR tools would simplify correlation and investigations for security teams, although log exports are available. Overall, these are not blockers, merely enhancement opportunities, and once tuned, F5 Advanced WAF is very stable and reliable; improving usability, reporting, and onboarding would make it even more effective for larger environments.

Read full review

it_user933945

Desktop Engineer at eros international media ltd

Offers Application Protection Against Web Attacks

There is a need for expanded licensing terms and options. There's also a need for improved and more agile customization features. The user needs to be able to manage each policy as required; the functionality needs to empower the user. There should be a complete suite of desktop provider policies available to users. Overall, it needs to be more user-friendly.

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

"This solution is an enterprise-class firewall that provides both load-balancing and security."

"iRules are quite appealing when it comes to F5."

"I like all of the features, but the main one is the attack signatures."

"The most valuable features of this solution are the WAF protection, Data Safe, and the seven-layer DDoS."

"It is easy to obtain dashboard compliance because security policy views are included."

"The product is used to secure web applications and has the ability to use API templates and bot protection features, such as blocking requests or presenting CAPTCHA pages to end users."

"F5 Advanced WAF secures our connectivity and combines both the main functions of WAF (balancing and web application security)."

"The product has valuable features for load balancing, monitoring tools, and HPXpress services."

More F5 Advanced WAF pros

"Since we are using this tool for protection purposes we really appreciate the hybrid security abilities; the main idea here is that we powerful protection our application needs."

Cons

"The reporting portion of F5 Advance WAF is not great. They need to work out something better, as it is very basic. You only see the top IPs, I think there is more they can offer."

"I would like to see the API Protection improved."

"I think the deployment templates can be better."

"The product could be more user-friendly for administrators."

"The delay times on firmware patches and software updates could be better and improved."

"The deployment side is quite complex."

"F5 Advanced WAF could improve on its funding for WAF features. There is a need to be more advanced WAF features."

"Most customers encounter stability issues with the product's Big-IP logs."

More F5 Advanced WAF cons

"There is a need for expanded licensing terms and options. There's also a need for improved and more agile customization features. The user needs to be able to manage each policy as required; the functionality needs to empower the user. There should be a complete suite of desktop provider policies available to users. Overall, it needs to be more user-friendly."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is too high."

"The pricing of F5 Advanced WAF is more expensive than other solutions like Radware and CD18, it is quite high."

"There are different licenses available to use F5 Advanced WAF, such as BT, ASM, and LPM."

"It is expensive. Its price should be better. Its licensing is on a yearly basis. Its licensing is also based on the model. There are no additional costs."

"F5 Advanced WAF technical support comes at a cost, and it's expensive."

"F5 Advanced WAF pricing structure should be adjusted to meet the need of small to medium-sized companies."

"The cost is slightly above average."

"F5 Advanced WAF's pricing is high."

More F5 Advanced WAF pricing and cost advice

Information not available

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Web Application Firewall (WAF) solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

881,360 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

12%

Government

Manufacturing Company

No data available

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	26
Midsize Enterprise	15
Large Enterprise	31

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about F5 Advanced WAF?

It's a fairly easy-to-use and user-friendly tool. My administrators and team also like its ability to customize the rules per the requirements.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for F5 Advanced WAF?

Regarding the price, I think the cost is a bit higher compared to others. Earlier we were using Radware, and compared to Radware, it is very high. However, it is providing more features than Radwar...

See all answers

What needs improvement with F5 Advanced WAF?

In terms of additional features I would like to see from them in the future, I think the GTM is a bit complicated to configure, which I observed. Otherwise, LTM and WAF are straightforward. I faced...

See all answers

Ask a question

Earn 20 points

Comparisons

Fortinet FortiWeb vs F5 Advanced WAF

Compared 27% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs F5 Advanced WAF

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Azure Application Gateway vs F5 Advanced WAF

Compared 7% of the time

AWS WAF vs F5 Advanced WAF

Compared 6% of the time

Radware Alteon vs F5 Advanced WAF

Compared 5% of the time

More F5 Advanced WAF Competitors

F5 Silverline Managed Services vs NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

Compared 36% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

Compared 35% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall

Compared 28% of the time

More NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

F5 Advanced WAF

January 2026

Download F5 Advanced WAF product report

Buyer's Guide

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

January 2026

Download NSFOCUS Web Application Firewall product report

Also Known As

No data available

NSFOCUS WAF, NSFOCUS Web Application Security

Overview

F5 Advanced WAF is a web application security solution for financial and government sectors, e-commerce, and public-facing websites. It offers protection against various attacks, including botnets, web scraping, and foreign entities. The solution can be deployed on-premises or in the cloud and is often used with other security tools. Its most valuable features include DDoS and DNS attack protection, SSL uploading, anomaly detection, and the ability to input custom rules.

F5 Advanced WAF has helped organizations to expose more services to the public while providing an extra layer of protection, preventing revenue loss, and securing connectivity.

NSFOCUS understands how critical your web servers and applications are to your business and we have designed a closed-loop web application security solution to protect you from web attacks, data breaches and downtime. This solution includes website protection through our Web Application Firewall (WAF) and pro-active vulnerability assessment using our Web Vulnerability Scanning System (WVSS).

NSFOCUS

Sample Customers

MAXIMUS, Vivo, American Systems, Bangladesh Post Office, City Bank

2016 G20 Summit

Buyer's Guide

Web Application Firewall (WAF)

January 2026

Download Free Report

Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet, F5, Imperva and others in Web Application Firewall (WAF). Updated: January 2026.

DOWNLOAD NOW

881,360 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our list of best Web Application Firewall (WAF) vendors.

We monitor all Web Application Firewall (WAF) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.