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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
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
6
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
NGINX App Protect
Ranking in API Security
7th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
26
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (15th), Container Security (27th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the API Security category, the mindshare of Akamai API Security is 9.5%, down from 20.5% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of NGINX App Protect is 4.1%, up from 3.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
API Security Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Akamai API Security9.5%
NGINX App Protect4.1%
Other86.4%
API Security
 

Featured Reviews

RR
Incident Manager at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Unified API visibility has transformed governance and now supports compliance reporting
The tool is blocking and only the person who has access to the tool can actually see how many DDoS attacks were blocked. Since I do not log in to the portal myself, I am unaware of this capability. I heard the word Akamai's anomaly detection from my team that they use this, but I don't know about it on the technical aspect. I am unaware of Akamai API Security's ability to adjust security policies in real-time. I am also unaware of which feature of Akamai API Security has helped us monitor API usage trends. Someone who is actually hands-on using Akamai API Security might know this.
JP
Project Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Blocking IPs and detecting bots enhances security for medical websites
I was researching products like NGINX App Protect and F5 Advanced WAF for long-term options. I have some use for such a solution, but probably not before next year Detecting bots and blocking IPs have proven effective for securing applications. We were able to block groups of IP addresses that…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"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."
"API throttling is the most valuable feature of Akamai API Security."
"What I already appreciate about Akamai API Security is that initially we were struggling with how to get this configured, but after that everything went smoothly."
"Akamai API Security has made a positive difference for our organization by improving our security posture and saving our team time, as we can actually prioritize tasks unless there are some false positives, but it is definitely saving a lot of time."
"The support from Akamai API Security is good, the employment and support are of excellent quality."
"The policies are flexible based on the technologies you use."
"We were looking for a product that is capable of complete automation and a container based solution. It's working."
"Overall, I rate NGINX App Protect between eight and nine."
"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is the reverse proxy."
"The most valuable feature is that there is a link in the system that will help to analyze the security of an application when something abnormal is found."
"The most valuable feature of NGINX App Protect is its flexibility."
"There's a cache, or it works like a proxy, so it can speed up applications."
"The most valuable feature is that I can establish different services from the firewall."
 

Cons

"The main challenges we had with Akamai API Security were how to set it up on the AWS cloud environment and how to access this portal."
"I think it would be good if they can integrate more with API gateways as this is currently limited."
"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."
"More features would be beneficial."
"The challenge I found was with contextualization and how analytics are generated."
"The configuration needs to be more flexible because it is difficult to do things that are outside of the ordinary."
"NGINX App Protect would be improved with integration with Shape and F5 WAF, which would make it easy for users to manage all their web application security with a single solution."
"NGINX App Protect could improve security."
"The price of NGINX App Protect could improve."
"The solution needs to be improved in the e-commerce portal."
"The GUI and web GUI configuration could be improved to be easier to manage and use."
"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 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."
"NGINX App Protect is expensive."
"The pricing is reasonable because NGINX operates on an instance basis."
"Really understand the licensing model, because we underestimated that."
"There is a monthly or annual subscription to use NGINX App Protect. There are not any additional costs to the subscription."
"The licensing fees for this solution are pretty expensive for what it does, but there is no alternative."
"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."
"The solution's price is reasonable."
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881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
20%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Retailer
6%
Computer Software Company
13%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Comms Service Provider
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise12
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai API Security?
It is not expensive. It is practical to use and represents an excellent solution.
What is your primary use case for Akamai API Security?
I use Akamai API Security. I downloaded a report comparing WAF Akamai and WAF Azure to understand the real differences. I studied the solution to comprehend how it detects bots. For example, with A...
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: December 2025.
881,733 professionals have used our research since 2012.