AWS Shield vs Gcore DDoS Protection

AWS Shield helps AWS customers identify network security configuration issues and defend applications against web exploitation and distributed denial of service events. Shield Standard is automatically configured for AWS customers and provides common network- and transport-layer DDoS protection at no charge. Shield Advanced adds detection and automatic inline mitigation for sophisticated events across network, transport, and application layers. It monitors traffic patterns for anomalies such as HTTP and DNS query floods and supports EC2, Elastic Load Balancing, CloudFront, Global Accelerator, and Route 53. Advanced integrates with AWS WAF and AWS Firewall Manager, with event visibility through Amazon CloudWatch. It includes DDoS cost protection for qualifying usage spikes and up to 50 billion AWS WAF requests per subscribed payer account per calendar month for protected resources. The Advanced plan costs $3,000/mo, requires a one-year subscription commitment, and usage fees may apply. Network security director is in preview and is not included with either listed plan.

Gcore DDoS Protection is a cloud service that filters distributed denial-of-service attacks at network (L3), transport (L4), and application (L7) layers. Traffic passes through Gcore scrubbing centers for analysis; malicious traffic is blocked and verified clean traffic is delivered to servers. Gcore states that its global network has over 200 Tbps of filtering capacity and advertises a 99.99% uptime SLA guarantee with 24/7 expert support. L3/L4 plans provide unmetered mitigation, 95th-percentile billing, and charges based only on clean traffic. The service has web and API access, with automation integrations documented for CI/CD pipelines, Terraform, Kubernetes Operators, and custom back-office tools. Enterprise options include cross-connect to scrubbing centers, Gcore-provided IP transit, and API control. A free PAYG plan is listed. Paid monthly plans include Start at $275 a month, Pro at $495 a month, and Pro+ at $1,045 a month; Enterprise starts from €1,500 /mo.