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What's the Difference Between AWS Network Firewall and AWS WAF?

Compare AWS Network Firewall and AWS WAF side by side — features, pricing, and ideal use cases to help you choose the right product.

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AWS Network Firewall
AWS WAF
Category

Security, Network Security

Security, Network / app protection
Description

Network-level protection for VPCs with customizable rules

Web application firewall that helps protect your web applications from common web exploits.
Best for
  • VPC protection
  • Intrusion prevention
  • Web filtering
  • Outbound traffic control
  • Bot control
  • SQL injection protection
  • XSS protection
  • Rate limiting
  • IP reputation
Key features
  • Stateful inspection
  • Intrusion prevention
  • Web filtering
  • Suricata-compatible rules
  • Centralized management
  • Managed rules
  • Custom rules
  • Bot Control
  • Account takeover prevention
  • Fraud Control
Pricing model

Pay per firewall endpoint hour + GB processed

Pay per web ACL + rules + requests
Free tier

No

No
Expert take

“Network Firewall provides stateful inspection, intrusion prevention, and web filtering at VPC boundaries. It scales automatically and integrates with Firewall Manager for multi-account deployment.”
— Giovanni Lauria, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]

“Start with AWS Managed Rules for the Core Rule Set and Known Bad Inputs; they cover OWASP Top 10 without custom logic. Add rate-based rules for DDoS at the application layer, and Bot Control to block scrapers and credential stuffers. Always deploy in Count mode first before switching to Block.”
— Oleksii Bebych, re:Post Top Contributor [profile]
Product page

Learn more about AWS Network Firewall »

Learn more about AWS WAF »

When to use AWS Network Firewall or AWS WAF

Use AWS Network Firewall when:

  • VPC protection
  • Intrusion prevention
  • Web filtering
  • Outbound traffic control

Learn more about AWS Network Firewall »

Use AWS WAF when:

  • Bot control
  • SQL injection protection
  • XSS protection
  • Rate limiting
  • IP reputation

Learn more about AWS WAF »

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