Gcore WAAP

Gcore WAAP is a reverse-proxy security service for websites, web applications, and APIs. It is best suited to organizations that need edge protection across multiple domains or cloud environments. Its broad controls and CDN flexibility are appealing, but request quotas, overages, and add-on pricing make plan choice consequential.

Overview

WAAP filters traffic before it reaches an origin, forwarding clean requests onward. It can sit in front of any CDN, including a multi-CDN setup, or work with Gcore CDN for shared management and analytics. That makes it a practical fit for teams that want to retain their current delivery layer rather than replace it.

Gcore lists 210+ edge PoPs, 200 Tbps of DDoS filtering capacity, and a 99% platform uptime SLA for WAAP. Application-layer attacks are automatically mitigated at the edge, with sub-second detection stated by Gcore. Deployment is estimated at one to several hours depending on site complexity, while protection can be activated in minutes after connecting a domain.

Key features

The WAF blocks OWASP Top 10 risks, zero-day patterns, and suspicious behavior at the edge. Bot Management can allow trusted bots and AI agents, challenge suspicious traffic, or stop abusive automation. These capabilities suit services with a mix of legitimate automated access and abusive bot traffic, though Bot Management is an add-on on Pro rather than part of the lower tiers.

API security brings together API discovery, schema validation, anomaly detection, and sensitive-data detection. Rate limiting and managed rule sets are also supported. For organizations with formal security operations requirements, Enterprise offers Threat Intelligence, API Security, SIEM, role-based access control, and audit-log capabilities as add-ons.

WAAP supports multi-cloud and hybrid environments, including AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and customer data centers. Gcore says its infrastructure is ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certified and compliant with PCI DSS and GDPR. Those credentials and deployment options can matter to regulated or distributed organizations, but do not by themselves establish that a particular deployment meets an organization’s requirements.

Pricing

Gcore uses a freemium model, with paid plans starting at €25 per month. Prices exclude VAT, and monthly request quotas have per-million overage charges. The free plan includes one domain and 0.5M requests, with default rules, no IP Firewall rules, and €2/1M quota overage. It is a useful way to start with a single low-volume domain, but the small allowance and lack of custom rules limit its room for growth.

Start costs €25 a month and covers five domains, 1M requests, five custom rules, and five IP Firewall rules. Its €1.5/1M quota overage is lower than Free’s, but the request allowance remains modest for busy sites. This tier is the clearest fit for small teams protecting several domains with basic customization.

Pro costs €125 a month and includes 10+ domains, 5M requests, 20 custom rules, and 20 IP Firewall rules. Bot Management and Advanced Rules are add-ons, and overages cost €1/1M requests and €10 per domain. The larger quota and rule counts suit growing portfolios, but add-on and domain charges can raise the bill beyond the headline price.

Enterprise has custom pricing, with custom domain, request, rule, and overage terms. Threat Intelligence, API Security, SIEM, RBAC, and audit logs are add-ons. It is aimed at organizations needing tailored capacity and enterprise controls rather than a fixed entry package.

Platforms

WAAP is available for web and API use and deploys at the edge as a SaaS reverse proxy. Its support for public cloud and customer data-center environments makes it relevant to hybrid setups as well as cloud-first services.

Who it's for

Gcore identifies technology and SaaS, e-commerce, fintech, media and streaming, gaming, telecom, and MSSP organizations as use cases. It is particularly compelling for teams that want web, API, bot, and application-layer DDoS protections in one edge service, or that need to place protection in front of an existing CDN. It is less suitable for buyers who need predictable high-volume costs without carefully tracking request and domain overages.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Broad web, API, bot, and application-layer DDoS controls are available in one service.
• Pros: Any-CDN and multi-cloud support can accommodate existing infrastructure instead of requiring a migration.
• Pros: The free tier gives a single domain a 0.5M-request starting allowance, and paid plans begin at €25 per month.
• Cons: Free and Start have limited request quotas, so traffic growth can trigger overage charges.
• Cons: Pro’s Bot Management and Advanced Rules are add-ons, and Enterprise security capabilities are also add-ons.
• Cons: The 99% platform uptime SLA may be too low for organizations seeking a higher stated availability commitment.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Web Application Firewall Software. Choose Cloudbric if its listed platform coverage, including mobile and desktop operating systems, better matches your environment. BitNinja is another freemium option, with a VPS Free plan capped at 2 vCPU, 2 GB RAM, and 10 hosted users. Choose Fastly Image Optimizer when image-request optimization, rather than WAAP protection, is the need.

BunkerWeb is a free option with an AGPLv3 open-source plan. Haltdos offers a free Community WAF for one website and one security profile, with Professional WAF at $30 a month. Hide My WP Ghost is a WordPress plugin with a free version and a $29 a year plan for one website. Choose ModSecurity for a free open-source WAF engine that runs as a web-server module, or OWASP Coraza WAF for an Apache-2.0 self-hosted option.

Verdict

Gcore WAAP is a strong candidate for organizations protecting multiple domains and cloud environments that value integrated edge WAF, API, bot, and DDoS controls. Its CDN flexibility is a central advantage. Buyers should look elsewhere if they need a higher stated uptime SLA or cannot tolerate quota and add-on costs that vary with traffic and deployment scope.