Web application firewalls · November 2026 Edition
Barracuda WAF vs ModSecurity
One of fourteen models named Barracuda WAF first on the direct prompt; zero named ModSecurity. Barracuda WAF was named by eight of the fourteen models and ModSecurity by ten and Barracuda WAF carries 10 labels and ModSecurity 20, so the shares are not directly comparable.
Named in one category this edition.
Named in one category this edition.
First-choice share2%2%Of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts, 0 to 100.
Negative rate0%50%Negative labels as a share of the product's labels, 0 to 100.
Rank in category#5#6A position in a field of 12; printed, not drawn.
Labels1020A count; the two differ.
The two percentage rows are drawn on one 0 to 100 track, Barracuda WAF reading right to left. Rank and label count are printed, not drawn.Cloudflare WAF was named alongside these two in fourteen of the fourteen direct answers. Cloudflare WAF vs Barracuda WAF · Cloudflare WAF vs ModSecurity · Sucuri WAF vs Barracuda WAF
Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category; every quote names the model and the prompt it came from. Both figures come from the web application firewalls page.
By framing
How many of the fourteen models made each the first choice, per way of asking, and how many argued against it.
Barracuda WAFFirst choices, of fourteen modelsModSecurity
Direct101 against ModSecurity
Paraphrase002 against ModSecurity
Comparative002 against ModSecurity
Budget-constrained01
Scale-constrained00
Negative005 against ModSecurity
Bars are first choices, 0 to 14 each sideModels that argued againstA model can name both, so the two sides of a row do not sum to fourteen.
Every model, every framing
The eighty-four answers behind the chart above, one cell each: where Barracuda WAF and ModSecurity stood in it.
| Model | Direct | Paraphrase | Comparative | Budget-constrained | Scale-constrained | Negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | | |||||
| GPT-5.4 mini | ||||||
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | | |||||
| Perplexity Sonar | | |||||
| Grok 4.20 | | | | | | |
| Mistral Small | ||||||
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | | | | |||
| Llama 4 Maverick | ||||||
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | | | ||||
| Kimi K2 | | |||||
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | | | ||||
| MiniMax M2.5 | ||||||
| GPT-6 Luna | | |||||
| Muse Glimmer 30B | |
Barracuda WAF ModSecurity first choice named as an alternative argued againstblank: not namedEach cell is one answer, Barracuda WAF on the left and ModSecurity on the right.The direct prompt
The plain question, one answer per model, grouped by where Barracuda WAF and ModSecurity stood in it.
Barracuda WAF first, ModSecurity not the choice
1 of 14 modelsModSecurity was named in the answer but not as the choice, or not at all.Claude Haiku 4.5Barracuda WAF alternatives: Cloudflare WAF, Microsoft Azure WAF
Neither was the first choice, one was named
2 of 14 modelsThe answer put something else first and named one of the two as an alternative.Perplexity SonarCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Barracuda WAF, Fastly Next-Gen WAF
Grok 4.20Cloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Azure WAF, Barracuda WAF, Fastly Next-Gen WAF
Neither was named
11 of 14 modelsThe answer made no first choice from these two in this category.GPT-5.4 miniCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, F5 Distributed Cloud WAF, Fastly Next-Gen WAF
Gemini 3.5 FlashCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Fastly Next-Gen WAF, Imperva App Protect
Mistral SmallCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Imperva SecureSphere
DeepSeek V4 FlashCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Barracuda WAF-as-a-Service, Imperva Application Security
Llama 4 MaverickCloudflare WAF
Qwen 3.7 FlashCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Azure Front Door, F5 Distributed Cloud WAF, Imperva Cloud WAF
Kimi K2Cloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Imperva Cloud WAF
GLM 4.7 FlashXCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Imperva Cloud WAF
MiniMax M2.5Cloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Azure WAF, Fastly Next-Gen WAF, Fortinet FortiWeb, Google Cloud Armor, Imperva Cloud WAF, Radware Cloud WAF Service
GPT-6 LunaCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF
Muse Glimmer 30BCloudflare WAF alternatives: AWS WAF, Barracuda Web Application Firewall
Bold names in an answer are the products the judge labeled a first choice; a model naming several gives each of them that label. The full answer text for every row is in the record.
By buyer segment
The same question asked on behalf of a different buyer. Each standing is computed within its segment and they are never added together. The figures above are the mid-market standing, which is the one the category orders by.
Small business
Level: the same share of first choices.
Barracuda WAF0%#– of 9ModSecurity0%#6 of 9Mid-marketThe figures above
Level: the same share of first choices.
Barracuda WAF2%#5 of 12ModSecurity2%#6 of 12Enterprise
Level: the same share of first choices.
Barracuda WAF0%#– of 9ModSecurity0%#– of 9What the models said about Barracuda WAF
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Three of four in this category shown.
“Best for mid-market organizations wanting capable WAF without enterprise complexity” Claude Haiku 4.5 · direct prompt · first choice
“Straightforward mid-market protection for web applications and APIs” Perplexity Sonar · direct prompt · alternative
“Best for Mid-Market Simplicity and Balance” Grok 4.20 · direct prompt · alternative
What the models said about ModSecurity
Every negative label with a quote, up to three, then the highest-weighted positives, up to three. Six of eight in this category shown.
“Do not install this unless you are prepared to spend weeks maintaining the OWASP Core Rule Set (CRS). An unpatched open-source WAF is often less secure” Qwen 3.7 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Deploying legacy self-hosted open-source WAF engines (like unmaintained ModSecurity v2/v3 builds) without active maintenance or rule updates.” Gemini 3.5 Flash · negative prompt · hard negative
“Avoid purely open-source options like ModSecurity unless you have dedicated security staff” Grok 4.20 · paraphrase prompt · hard negative
“Top Recommendation: ModSecurity (with OWASP Core Rule Set)” Grok 4.20 · budget prompt · first choice
“don't reject ModSecurity simply because it's older: its project says it is now under OWASP stewardship and actively maintained” GPT-6 Luna · negative prompt · alternative
“ModSecurity or Coraza offer powerful, free protection with complete customization” Kimi K2 · budget prompt · alternative
Also compared
Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category, each against each. The output is the models' output; nothing here is a recommendation by the index.