How to evaluate DDoS mitigation providers
Before comparing specific providers, it helps to understand the evaluation criteria that actually matter. Marketing claims about "unlimited protection" and "AI-powered defense" are everywhere. The factors that separate effective mitigation from expensive disappointment are more concrete.
- Detection speed: How quickly does the provider detect an attack? Sub-second detection versus 60-second flow analysis is the difference between a blip and an outage.
- Mitigation granularity: Can the provider filter specific attack traffic while passing legitimate traffic? Or does mitigation involve blunt instruments like black-holing entire IP ranges?
- Deployment model: Does the solution require DNS changes, BGP re-routing, hardware installation, or just a software agent? Each has trade-offs in complexity, latency, and coverage.
- Visibility and forensics: What data do you get during and after an attack? Raw PCAP captures, detailed timelines, and attack classification are essential for post-incident improvement.
- Pricing transparency: Some providers hide pricing behind sales calls and custom quotes. Others publish clear per-unit pricing. Hidden pricing usually means expensive surprises.
- Multi-tenant support: If you manage infrastructure for multiple customers, can the provider give each customer their own isolated view?
Cloud scrubbing providers
Cloud scrubbing services absorb and filter DDoS traffic in their global network before it reaches your infrastructure. They handle the largest volumetric attacks but introduce additional latency and require traffic re-routing.
Cloudflare
Cloudflare operates one of the largest anycast networks globally, with scrubbing capacity exceeding 200 Tbps. Their DDoS protection is included with all plans, from the free tier through Enterprise. For HTTP/HTTPS traffic, Cloudflare is the simplest deployment option: change your DNS to Cloudflare, and traffic routes through their network automatically.
Strengths: Massive capacity, simple DNS-based deployment for web traffic, free tier available, strong web application firewall integration.
Limitations: DNS-based routing only protects HTTP/HTTPS by default. Protecting non-HTTP services (game servers, DNS, VoIP) requires Magic Transit, which starts around $5,000/month. Limited per-server visibility. You see aggregate traffic data, not per-node detection and classification.
Pricing: Free for basic DDoS protection on HTTP/HTTPS. Pro at $20/month. Business at $200/month. Enterprise is custom-quoted, typically $5,000+/month. Magic Transit for network-layer protection is custom-quoted.
Akamai Prolexic
Akamai Prolexic is the gold standard for enterprise cloud scrubbing. With over 20 Tbps of dedicated scrubbing capacity and 36 global scrubbing centers, Prolexic handles the largest and most sophisticated attacks. Their Security Operations Command Center (SOCC) provides 24/7 managed response.
Strengths: Massive dedicated scrubbing capacity, 24/7 managed SOC, handles both network-layer and application-layer attacks, strong SLA guarantees.
Limitations: Expensive. Enterprise-only pricing means six-figure annual contracts are standard. Complex deployment requiring BGP integration. Overkill for small to mid-size organizations.
Pricing: Custom-quoted only. Typical contracts start at $50,000-$100,000/year depending on protected bandwidth and clean traffic commitment.
AWS Shield
AWS Shield comes in two tiers. Shield Standard is free and automatically protects all AWS resources against common DDoS attacks. Shield Advanced adds enhanced detection, mitigation, and a dedicated DDoS Response Team (DRT) for $3,000/month plus data transfer charges.
Strengths: Seamless integration with AWS services, cost protection (AWS credits your bill for DDoS-related scaling), DRT support on Advanced tier.
Limitations: Only protects AWS-hosted resources. Shield Standard offers minimal visibility into attacks. Shield Advanced is expensive and still limited to the AWS ecosystem. No per-server detection granularity.
Pricing: Shield Standard is free. Shield Advanced is $3,000/month per organization plus data transfer fees during attacks.
Detection and response platforms
Detection platforms focus on identifying attacks quickly and triggering automated response, rather than absorbing traffic in a scrubbing network. They typically deploy agents or sensors in your infrastructure.
Flowtriq
Flowtriq takes a fundamentally different approach from cloud scrubbers. Instead of routing all your traffic through an external network, Flowtriq deploys a lightweight agent on each server that monitors traffic at the kernel level. The agent detects anomalies within one second, automatically classifies the attack type, captures PCAP forensic data, and triggers multi-channel alerts.
Strengths: 1-second detection speed. Per-node granularity showing exactly which server is under attack. Automatic classification into 8 attack types. PCAP forensics with AI analysis. Auto-mitigation via iptables/nftables with BGP FlowSpec and cloud scrubbing escalation. Multi-tenant workspaces with white-label branding for MSPs and hosting providers. Transparent per-node pricing with no hidden fees.
Limitations: Flowtriq is a detection and response platform, not a volumetric scrubbing service. For attacks that exceed your upstream bandwidth, you still need a cloud scrubbing provider. Flowtriq is designed to work alongside scrubbers, not replace them.
Pricing: $9.99/node/month or $7.99/node/year on annual billing. 7-day free trial. Unlimited team seats. No bandwidth charges, no overage fees.
FastNetMon
FastNetMon is an open-source (Community Edition) and commercial (Advanced) DDoS detection tool that analyzes NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, and span/mirror traffic. The Advanced edition adds BGP integration for automated mitigation, a web interface, and enterprise support.
Strengths: Open-source community edition available. Supports multiple flow protocols. BGP Blackhole and FlowSpec integration. Good fit for ISPs and network operators who already have flow infrastructure.
Limitations: Flow-based detection has inherent latency (30-120 seconds). No per-server agent deployment. Limited attack classification compared to packet-level analysis.[3] The community edition lacks many features needed for production use.[3] No PCAP forensics.[3]
Pricing: Community Edition is free. Advanced: $115/mo (10G) · $220/mo (40G) · $350/mo (100G).[1]
Kentik
Kentik is a network observability platform with DDoS detection capabilities. It ingests NetFlow, sFlow, BGP, and other network telemetry to provide traffic analysis, performance monitoring, and attack detection.
Strengths: Comprehensive network observability beyond just DDoS. Strong visualization and analytics. Good API. Supports BGP-based mitigation triggering.
Limitations: DDoS detection is part of a broader network monitoring platform, not the primary focus. Flow-based detection with the usual latency trade-offs. Expensive for organizations that only need DDoS protection. No per-server agents or PCAP forensics.
Pricing: Custom-quoted. Enterprise pricing typically starts at $1,000+/month depending on flow volume.
On-premise appliances
Hardware appliances sit inline in your network and inspect every packet. They offer the lowest latency mitigation but are limited by their hardware capacity and location in the network.
Arbor Networks (NETSCOUT) TMS
Arbor TMS (Threat Mitigation System) is the most widely deployed dedicated DDoS mitigation appliance. It works in conjunction with Arbor Sightline for detection and can scrub traffic inline or via BGP diversion.
Strengths: Deep packet inspection with sophisticated filtering. Handles multi-vector attacks. Tight integration with Arbor Sightline for detection. Trusted by large ISPs and enterprises globally.
Limitations: Very expensive. Hardware appliances start around $100,000. Requires Sightline for detection (additional cost). Complex deployment and management. Capacity limited by hardware model purchased.
Pricing: Hardware starts at approximately $100,000 for entry-level models. Annual maintenance and licensing fees add 15-20% of purchase price. Sightline is licensed separately.
Radware DefensePro
Radware DefensePro is an inline DDoS protection appliance that uses behavioral analysis and machine learning for detection and mitigation. It handles both volumetric and application-layer attacks.
Strengths: Behavioral-based detection reduces false positives. Handles application-layer attacks inline. Available as both hardware and virtual appliance. Good integration with Radware's cloud scrubbing service for hybrid deployments.
Limitations: Expensive hardware. Complexity of inline deployment. Capacity limited by appliance model. Requires network architecture changes to deploy.
Pricing: Hardware starts around $50,000-$80,000. Virtual appliances are subscription-based, typically $2,000-$5,000/month.
Corero SmartWall
Corero SmartWall is an always-on inline DDoS protection appliance focused on real-time detection and mitigation. It sits at the network edge and inspects every packet with sub-second response time.
Strengths: True real-time inline mitigation. Automatic protection without traffic re-routing. Good fit for ISPs and hosting providers. Lower false positive rates through behavioral analysis.
Limitations: Hardware cost and capacity constraints. Limited to the network segments where deployed. Less effective against attacks that saturate upstream links before reaching the appliance.
Pricing: Custom-quoted. Hardware appliances typically start around $40,000-$60,000 plus annual licensing.
Building the right stack
No single provider covers every aspect of DDoS defense. The most effective approach combines providers that complement each other. Here are recommended stacks for different scenarios:
Small to mid-size businesses
For organizations running 5 to 50 servers with standard web and application workloads:
- Detection and response: Flowtriq ($9.99/node/month) for per-server detection, classification, auto-mitigation, and forensics.
- Web protection: Cloudflare Pro or Business ($20-$200/month) for HTTP/HTTPS scrubbing.
- Total cost: $70-$700/month for comprehensive protection. This is accessible for most businesses and provides both detection granularity and volumetric scrubbing.
Hosting providers and MSPs
For organizations managing infrastructure on behalf of customers:
- Detection and response: Flowtriq with white-label branding for customer-facing dashboards and per-node detection across your fleet.
- Network-level mitigation: BGP FlowSpec integration with your upstream routers (built into Flowtriq's auto-mitigation).
- Volumetric scrubbing: A cloud scrubbing provider (Cloudflare Magic Transit or Akamai Prolexic) for attacks exceeding your upstream capacity.
- Revenue model: White-label Flowtriq at your own price point to customers as a premium service.
Large enterprises
For organizations with significant network infrastructure and high-value targets:
- Edge scrubbing: Akamai Prolexic or Cloudflare Enterprise for volumetric absorption.
- Per-server detection: Flowtriq for server-level granularity, attack classification, and PCAP forensics that cloud scrubbers do not provide.
- Network visibility: Arbor Sightline or Kentik for network-wide flow analysis.
- Inline mitigation (optional): Arbor TMS or Radware DefensePro at critical network points.
The detection gap most organizations miss
Here is the pattern we see repeatedly: organizations invest heavily in cloud scrubbing or hardware appliances for mitigation but have poor detection. They cannot tell which server is under attack until the impact is visible in application monitoring or customer complaints. They do not know the attack type until they manually analyze logs. They have no PCAP evidence for post-incident analysis.
Cloud scrubbers are excellent at absorbing volumetric traffic, but they operate at the network edge. They do not see what is happening on individual servers. Hardware appliances see traffic at their deployment point but offer limited per-server granularity in large environments.
This is the gap that Flowtriq fills. Per-server agents give you 1-second detection, automatic classification, and PCAP forensics regardless of what other mitigation layers you have in place. It is not a replacement for cloud scrubbing or hardware appliances. It is the detection and response layer that makes everything else work better.
Add per-server detection to your DDoS stack
Flowtriq gives you 1-second detection, automatic classification, PCAP forensics, and auto-mitigation on every server. Works alongside any cloud scrubber or hardware appliance. $9.99/node/month.
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