AWS Shield vs Azure DDoS Protection vs Google Cloud Armor
Overview
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks remain one of the most common and devastating cyber threats. Cloud providers offer native DDoS protection services that integrate with infrastructure and edge locations to safeguard web applications and APIs.
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AWS Shield (Standard & Advanced)
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Azure DDoS Protection (Basic & Standard)
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Google Cloud Armor
This comparison breaks down protection features, scalability, detection mechanisms, mitigation techniques, integration, and pricing.
Core Capabilities
| Feature | AWS Shield | Azure DDoS Protection | Google Cloud Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Included by Default | Yes (Shield Standard) | Yes (Basic) | No (Must enable Cloud Armor) |
| Advanced Plan Available | Yes (Shield Advanced) | Yes (Standard) | Yes (Adaptive Protection) |
| Layer 3/4 Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Layer 7 Protection | No (Use WAF) | No (Use Azure WAF) | Yes (L7 integrated) |
| Real-time Monitoring | Yes (with Shield Advanced) | Yes (DDoS Analytics) | Yes (with Logging & Monitoring) |
| Auto Mitigation | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Architecture & Detection
| Feature | AWS Shield | Azure DDoS Protection | Google Cloud Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection Method | Global threat detection + flow monitoring | Traffic profiling & telemetry | Machine learning + heuristics |
| Global Network Coverage | 400+ edge locations | Global (Microsoft backbone) | Google Front End + Anycast |
| Mitigation Response Time | Sub-minute | Real-time | Real-time |
| Multi-region Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Advanced Features
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AWS Shield Advanced:
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Integrated with AWS WAF, Route 53, CloudFront, ELB.
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24x7 DDoS Response Team (DRT).
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Cost protection for scaling-related charges during attack.
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Central console with attack diagnostics and analytics.
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Azure DDoS Protection Standard:
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Configurable DDoS policies per Virtual Network.
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Real-time attack telemetry.
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Integration with Azure Sentinel and Log Analytics.
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Attack metrics via Azure Monitor.
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Google Cloud Armor:
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Offers rate limiting, geo-based rules, IP whitelisting/blacklisting.
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Adaptive Protection for L7-based detection and ML-driven mitigation.
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Integrated with Google Cloud CDN and Load Balancers.
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Rich predefined rule sets for OWASP, XSS, SQLi.
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Enterprise Use Case Scenario
A global fintech firm hosting customer-facing applications across AWS, Azure, and GCP needs to ensure uptime and mitigate volumetric and protocol attacks:
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AWS Shield Advanced: Protects EC2-hosted apps behind ALB + CloudFront with automatic mitigation and DRT support.
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Azure DDoS Standard: Policies configured on VNet with auto-tuning, monitored via Sentinel.
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Google Cloud Armor: Adaptive L7 protection enabled on APIs served via HTTPS Load Balancer with real-time ML detection.
Costing and Plans
| Feature | AWS Shield | Azure DDoS Protection | Google Cloud Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Shield Standard | DDoS Basic | No free usage (beyond minimal quotas) |
| Advanced Plan Pricing | $3,000/month/account | ~$2,944/month per public IP | Pay-per-use (rules + data scanned) |
| Extra Charges | None for mitigation, but WAF separate | Overuse limits apply | Charges for rule evaluation, WAF, data processed |
Compliance and SLA
| Compliance Feature | AWS Shield Advanced | Azure DDoS Protection | Google Cloud Armor |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOC 1/2, ISO, PCI DSS | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SLA Availability | 99.99% | 99.99% | 99.9% |
| Mitigation SLA | Available (with Advanced) | Available (Standard plan) | No dedicated SLA |
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Disclaimer
This article is independently developed and not affiliated with or endorsed by Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP). All service names, prices, and descriptions are based on publicly available sources as of June 2025 and may change.
