Cloudflare application security is a leading security platform integrated with edge based WAF and global CDN and DDoS. It is known for user friendly interface and real-time traffic filtering. However, security teams seeking more cloud native features, granular control or specialized compliance often explore other strong alternatives.

Exploring other alternatives to Cloudflare? This blog explores the Top 10 Cloudflare alternatives and the unique features each alternative offers.

Akto

Akto is API security platform that provides comprehensive API security posture management designed for modern application architectures. It automates API discovery, security testing and runtime protection across internal, external and shadow APIs. Akto is designed to scale rapidly which can reportedly deployable across thousands of APIs in just 20 minutes.

Image source: Akto

Features:

• Rapid deployment, API discovery, continuous security monitoring, and an extensive testing library of over 1,000 test cases to ensure effective identification and remediation of vulnerabilities.

• AI-Powered agents scan for over 100 sensitive data types (PII, PHI, Tokens) and support custom definitions that complies with GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS

• Supports OAuth 2.0 and JWT

• Runs 1000+ tests which includes OWASP API top 10 threats, vulnerabilities in authorization and authentication, and business logic vulnerabilities.

• Catalogs wide spectrum of APIs through code and traffic connectors such as Burp, GitHub etc.

Ideal for:

DevSecOps, engineering teams and enterprises that are looking to integrate security shift-left practices into their CI/CD pipelines and want to automate API testing before deployment.

Imperva App Protect

Imperva is leader in WAAP (Web Application & API Protection). The platform has the ability to block numerous attacks and analyzes thousands of requests monthly. The suite comprises of WAF, API protection, bot mitigation, runtime self‑protection, DDoS defense, client-side protection, and CDN capabilities into one cloud-native architecture.

Image source: Imperva

Features:

• Multi environment protection with dynamic profiling, OWASP Top 10/zero‑day blocking, low false positives, and easy deployability across cloud or on-prem

• Advanced Bot Protection & DDoS Defense mitigates DDoS traffic at the edge—with zero performance impact .

• Integrated runtime defense within applications to detect/prevent attacks in real time—across cloud, container, and on-prem setups.

• Attack Analytics & Client-Side Protection to reduce alert fatigue and identify attack campaigns, and to support PCI DSS 4.0 compliance.

• API Security offers automated discovery, classification, and protection of API endpoints to ensure APIs are protected at the earliest upon deployment .

Ideal for:

DevOps teams and Global operations that are looking to consolidate CDN, DDoS, and application security into a single platform. Also, managing dynamic/cloud-native environments seeking integrated, scalable WAF and RASP.

Akamai Connected Cloud

Akamai is one of the popular Application & API Protection (WAAP) security that utilizes the massive edge network of over 4,100 points of presence to secure apps and APIs at scale. It offers a unified, cloud-native WAAP suite that integrates API discovery/protection, DDoS defense, and more powered by advanced machine learning.

Image source: Akamai

Features:

• Real-Time Analytics & DevSecOps Integration offers insightful dashboards, reporting that simplify policy enforcement and operations.

• Comprehensive API Discovery & Protection detects known, unknown, and changing APIs and register them for protection against OWASP Top 10 API risks and misconfigurations

• DDoS & Client‑Side Protection defends against application layer threats and client-side JS-based attacks like formjacking

• Uses AI-driven threat scoring to adjust protection dynamically which lowers false positives while blocking evasive attacks

• AI‑Powered Bot Management by using behavior, fingerprint analysis, assigning bot Scores and enabling response options

Ideal for:

Enterprises & digital-native businesses, DevSecOps teams needing unified protection across web apps, APIs, bots, DDoS, and client endpoints.

Cisco Umbrella

Cisco umbrella is a popular cloud first secure internet gateway and security service edge platform. It provides global DNS layer protection with integrated secure web gateway, and threat intelligence that makes it simple and unifies security for users everywhere.

Image source: Cisco Umbrella

Features:

• DNS layer security helps in restricting malicious domains, IPs, and cloud apps at DNS resolution that stops threats before connections form, across any port or protocol.

• Cloud-delivered firewall (FWaaS + IPS) with application visibility for remote branches.

• Threat intelligence & analytics with investigate console and APIs for real-time enrichment, incident response acceleration, and improved reporting.

• Secure web gateway (SWG) with URL filtering, SSL decryption, malware sandboxing, and granular app controls.

• CASB & DLP inspects and prevents sensitive data exfiltration with more than 80 built-in classifiers including PHI/PII/PCI

Ideal for:

Security teams looking for simplified SASE/SSE solutions that comprise of combines DNS‑filtering, proxy, firewall, CASB, DLP, and threat intelligence seamlessly into single SaaS platform.

Sky high Security

Sky high Security is one of the renowned security service edge (SSE) and cloud-native application protection platform (CNAPP) provider. It consolidates cloud access security broker (CASB), zero-trust private access, data loss prevention (DLP), secures web gateway (SWG), and runtime protection into a single cloud native console.

Image source: Sky high security

Features:

• Full-proxy web inspection, real-time threat blocking, cloud app and shadow IT discovery, remote browser isolation, and client proxy enforcement

• Cloud-native application protection (CNAPP) provides visibility, threat prevention, misconfiguration remediation and compliance support

• Cloud firewall integrated into SSE & Global compliance certifications such as FedRAMP, DoD IL5, and Australia

• Unified SSE Suite has CASB, SWG, ZTNA, CNAPP, and DLP combined in a single platform for continuous security across cross platform apps

• Advanced DLP & Exact data match across multi-cloud and SaaS.

Ideal for:

Enterprises and Security-first teams with distributed teams and cloud-native apps seeking DevOps integration, CI/CD posture automation, converged security across web, workloads, and private infrastructure.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps

Microsoft defender is a leading cloud-native CASB + SaaS security posture management (SSPM) solution. It offers complete visibility, compliance controls, and real-time threat protection for SaaS applications. As part of microsoft defender XDR, it correlates signals across endpoint, identity, and cloud environments to give SOC teams full kill-chain visibility and detection capabilities.

Image source: Microsoft defender

Features:

• Real-time threat protection & XDR for correlated alerting and incident-level investigation across the full kill chain.

• SaaS security posture management (SSPM) detects misconfigurations across connected apps using industry benchmarks and offers remediation guidance through secure score integration.

• Shadow IT & SaaS discovery using network logs and endpoint telemetry, classifying over 31,000 apps with risk scoring based on over 90 indicators.

• App governance (OAuth App Control) implementing least-privileged access and detecting suspicious behavior.

• Integrates with microsoft purview to scan for sensitive data at rest, in use, and in motion.

Ideal for:

IT/DevSecOps teams and Security teams that deploy extended detection and response (XDR) workflows, looking SaaS posture management, automated remediation insights, and integration with Secure Score tooling.

Netskope Security Cloud

Netskope is a popular Security Service Edge (SSE) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) technologies based security platform. Its cloud native platform combines CASB, SWG, FWaaS, ZTNA, DLP, and advanced analytics on its high-performance private cloud, delivering zero-trust security, strong data protection, and lightning-fast access for enterprises worldwide.

Image source: Netskope

Features:

• Device intelligence & micro-segmentation to limit lateral threat movement.

• Next-gen secure web gateway & content filtering and real-time threat prevention.

• AI-powered performance telemetry spanning user, network, and application, enabling rapid diagnostics, SLA monitoring, and improved UX for remote and branch users.

• Cloud-d­elivered DLP & data protection by using over 3,000 data identifiers and AI/ML-enhanced fingerprinting to safeguard sensitive data.

• Zero trust engine & continuous adaptive trust to dynamically implement granular access policies in real time.

Ideal for:

Enterprises and Security teams that implements zero-trust policies, using continuous risk scoring and contextual device intelligence. Adopts SSE/SASE architectures, looking for unified, cloud-native controls across web, cloud, data, and private apps.

Prisma Access

Palo alto networks’ prisma access is a cloud-native SASE/SSE platform delivering unified zero trust network access (ZTNA), secure web gateway (SWG), CASB, FWaaS, SD-WAN, and remote browser isolation. The platform is powered by AI, it protects users, apps, devices, data, and locations from threats across a hyperscale global network.

Image source: Prisma access

Features

• AI-powered security (Precision AI + ADEM) detects and prevents inline threats with AI at scale for proactive performance and network insights.

• Zero trust network access (ZTNA) provides least-privilege, continuous authorization across private and SaaS apps replacing traditional VPNs.

• Next‑Gen SWG, CASB & FWaaS offers URL/DNS filtering, SSL inspection, malware/Zero-day blocking, SaaS posture & inline API security, and cloud-native firewall capabilities.

• SD‑WAN integration & global connectivity, centralized policy through strata cloud manager or panorama, along with SLA powered performance and elastic scale.

• Prisma access browser & RBI that offers isolated sessions, data controls, and full policy coverage on both managed and unmanaged devices.

Ideal for:

Security teams and hybrid workforces seeking Zero Trust access without VPN complexity.

Zscaler Internet Access

Zscaler Internet Access is a well known cloud native secure web gateway and core component of Zscaler’s zero trust exchange. It routes all user web and SaaS traffic through its global network which comprises of more than edge data centers that provides inline inspection, threat protection, and policy enforcement without reliance on traditional appliances.

Image source: Zscaler

Features:

• Secure Web Gateway with SSL/TLS inspection encrypted traffic for malware, phishing, and advanced threats.

• AI‑Powered advanced threat protection & cloud sandbox using real-time AI/ML, behavioral analysis backed by massive global telemetry.

• Data loss prevention (DLP) & CASB integration that offers cloud app discovery and compliance controls.

• Zero Trust Access & Cloud Firewall facilitates identity-aware app connectivity with ZTNA-like enforcement, and protects across ports/protocols with an integrated cloud firewall/IPS.

• Browser isolation & digital experience monitoring (DEM) offers end-to-end visibility into user/app performance and troubleshooting metrics.

Ideal for:

Enterprises Security teams implementing zero trust principles, with identity-contextual enforcement across ports and protocols.

Final Thoughts

Akto is a perfect alternative to Cloudflare as it is designed to address critical cloud vulnerabilities and more with its comprehensive API security platform. It offers continuous discovery of API's such as shadow and zombie APIs and ensures that no endpoint is overlooked. Akto detects misconfigurations such as exposed or unauthenticated APIs and absence of rate limiting, which can result in unauthorized or excessive access. It has an extensive library of over 1,000 test cases, and can cover common vulnerabilities like XSS, SSRF, SQL Injection as well as authentication and authorization weaknesses. Akto successfully enables automated security testing and real-time monitoring to ensure continuous protection of APIs in the production environments.

Contact Akto API security experts to secure your APIs. Book a API security demo today!