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Akamai App and API Protector vs Google Cloud Armor 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 Cloud and Data Center Security
10th
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Web Application Firewall (WAF) (9th), Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection (4th)
Google Cloud Armor
Ranking in Cloud and Data Center Security
13th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.7
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Cloud and Data Center Security category, the mindshare of Akamai App and API Protector is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Google Cloud Armor is 0.8%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Cloud and Data Center Security
 

Featured Reviews

Bharat Chandra - PeerSpot reviewer
Exceptional support, protects our sites, and provides visibility into traffic
We did a PoC of Akamai and Cloudflare. One area where Akamai can improve is the captcha part. Cloudflare provides a captcha if there are a certain number of threats. For example, I can assign that if there are 10 requests within a second from a single IP, it should send a captcha to the user. The user should fill in the captcha, and only after that, the user should be able to access our website. This captcha feature should be built into Bot Manager. I love this captcha feature of Cloudflare. Other things are good in Akamai. That is why we are using Akamai. Only the captcha part should be implemented.
AnupChapalgaonkar - PeerSpot reviewer
Bot management tool enhances defense capabilities against DDoS and SQL injections
This solution is a bot management tool that provides extensive capabilities for Cloud Armor. It helps with DDoS defense and OWASP for SQL injections and cross-site scripting. We can rewrite these rule sets for DDoS protection. Integration with Cisco WAF is possible. It is scalable and integrates with Google's Kubernetes for easier scaling processes. It includes AI features like auditing and logging for troubleshooting.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Adaptive stream delivery and WAF protection are valuable."
"It enables us to move faster with new products because we have this layer of protection set up in our infrastructure."
"They have a fantastic tool for analyzing and viewing your traffic."
"Features like scalability and uptime are most effective."
"The most valuable feature is the DDoS protection, which is the main reason we got it."
"The CDN and the WAF features are the best."
"Akamai Web Application Protector is a good solution that provides basic web application protection."
"The product has a good UI."
"We utilize Google Cloud Armor alongside our Cloud Load Balancer to safeguard against DDoS attacks. This setup acts as a local Layer 7 proxy provided by Google, allowing us to predict and mitigate DDoS threats effectively."
"It helps with DDoS defense and OWASP for SQL injections and cross-site scripting."
"This solution is a bot management tool that provides extensive capabilities for Cloud Armor."
 

Cons

"It could have better analytics and reporting visibility in the OEM console."
"It would be nice if Akamai Web Application Protector's price is lowered and made cheaper."
"It's fine for a simple tool, but as I recall, if you encounter a lot of bots, scrapers, and other things, you'll need this tool bot and this other thing they offer called Bot Manager."
"Support and the pricing need to improve."
"We are experimenting with EdgeWorkers to write our own code at the Edge level. It could grow to be much better."
"The solution could offer even more integrations."
"They are already very flexible, but room for improvement is there. Reports generation could be better and should be improved."
"There are some issues with pushing configurations across a network. It still takes about 20 minutes and that means to retract it's another 20 minutes."
"There are some discrepancies within billing, which makes the product average."
"I believe Google Cloud Armor can benefit from enhancements of AI and automation."
"There are some discrepancies within billing, which makes the product average."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Akamai is very expensive."
"The price they are offering is quite reasonable for premium customers, but it's very expensive if you're a small and medium-sized enterprises."
"The solution is not expensive."
"The product is expensive, but it is worth the money."
"The solution is expensive."
"One reason not all people use Akamai is that it is a little bit more expensive than some other providers."
"Akamai Web Application Protector is an expensive product."
"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."
"I would rate the pricing of Google Cloud Armor around 7 on a scale of 10. As for the licensing costs, I'm not directly involved in billing, so I don't have specific details on that aspect. We have a partner agreement with Google, which gives us a discounted price for using Cloud Armor."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
25%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Insurance Company
6%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Retailer
12%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

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?
It could have better analytics and reporting visibility in the OEM console.
What do you like most about Google Cloud Armor?
We utilize Google Cloud Armor alongside our Cloud Load Balancer to safeguard against DDoS attacks. This setup acts as a local Layer 7 proxy provided by Google, allowing us to predict and mitigate D...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Google Cloud Armor?
We have to maintain the solution with the least cost. One to two people are fine, one being an SME and one being a senior SME.
What needs improvement with Google Cloud Armor?
There are some discrepancies within billing, which makes the product average. We have not proceeded with the ROI analysis right now, so I cannot comment on it.
 

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. Google Cloud Armor and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
845,040 professionals have used our research since 2012.