Haltdos

Haltdos is a web application and API security platform for organizations running workloads on-premise, in public or private clouds, or across hybrid infrastructure. It suits teams that want WAF, API controls, bot defenses, and DDoS mitigation in one product. The strongest protection and support are concentrated in Enterprise, while the free tier is deliberately narrow.

Overview

Haltdos combines application security and delivery functions with API security, bot management, and protection against network and application-layer attacks. Enterprise WAF covers OWASP Top 10 threats, known vulnerabilities, zero-day vulnerabilities, and Layer 3 through Layer 7 DDoS attacks. That broad scope can reduce the need to assemble separate controls, but readers should distinguish Enterprise capabilities from the much smaller Community package.

Key features

WAF and threat protection

Enterprise WAF supplies more than 4,000 signatures, machine-learning-based zero-day protection, and antivirus scanning with sandboxing for uploaded files. These controls address both established attack patterns and suspicious new content. Bot detection and mitigation add device fingerprinting, mobile SDK protection, JavaScript and CAPTCHA challenges, and deception technology, making the Enterprise tier more suitable for services exposed to automated abuse.

API security and governance

The API gateway provides authentication, rate limiting, transformation, and observability. Haltdos also supports API discovery, runtime protection, API posture management, sensitive-data detection, and specification governance. Together, those functions are useful for teams that need to understand an expanding API estate and enforce behavior at runtime, rather than relying only on a traditional website firewall.

Operations and compliance

Incident logging, analytics, dashboards, SIEM integration, and PCI compliance reporting give security and compliance teams material for investigation and audit work. Integrations include SIEM, syslog, SNMP, SMTP email, SMS gateways, Active Directory and SAML, plus antivirus or sandboxing through ICAP.

Pricing

Community WAF

Community WAF costs free and allows one website with one security profile. It is a sensible starting point for a single small deployment or an evaluation, but the site and profile cap makes it unsuitable for portfolios, multi-tenant services, or teams needing separate policies.

Professional WAF

Professional WAF costs $30 a month on a monthly subscription, billed at the end of each monthly billing period according to requests processed. The first 100K requests are free, and websites are unlimited. This is the practical tier for organizations outgrowing one site; request-based billing means traffic volume matters when forecasting spend.

Enterprise WAF

Enterprise uses custom pricing. It is the tier for the full signature set, machine-learning zero-day defense, upload sandboxing, bot controls, API gateway functions, compliance reporting, and 24x7 email plus toll-free phone support. Community support is email with no ETA, while Professional provides 8x5 email with a seven-day response window, so support expectations change materially by plan.

Platforms

Haltdos supports API, Linux, self-hosted, and web environments. Deployment formats include SaaS, virtual, hardware, and MSSP, with on-premise and public- or private-cloud installation. Community WAF can run on a VM, Docker, or hardware and requires at least 2 GB RAM, 60 GB of disk space, and 2 vCPU cores. Documented operating systems include Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, and 22.04; Debian 11; Rocky Linux 8.9 and 9.3; CentOS Stream 8 and 9; Fedora 38 and 39; and RHEL 8 and 9.

Who it's for

Choose Haltdos when application and API protection must span mixed infrastructure, or when one deployment needs WAF, bot, DDoS, and API governance functions. Community fits a single website with modest requirements. Professional suits multi-site deployments that can manage usage-based monthly billing. Enterprise is aimed at organizations requiring deeper threat coverage, compliance evidence, and round-the-clock escalation. It is less compelling for a simple static site or a team seeking only basic, low-cost DDoS filtering.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad security scope: Enterprise combines WAF, API gateway controls, bot mitigation, and Layer 3–7 DDoS protection.
• Flexible deployment: SaaS, virtual, hardware, MSSP, on-premise, and cloud options accommodate varied architecture.
• Useful integration surface: SIEM, identity, messaging, monitoring, and ICAP connections support existing operations.
• Accessible entry tier: Community is free for one website and one security profile.

Cons

• Free-tier ceiling: One website and one profile quickly restrict larger or segmented environments.
• Key defenses require Enterprise: Zero-day ML protection, sandboxing, advanced bot controls, and stronger support are not part of the free offer.
• Professional cost can vary: Billing is tied to processed requests after the first 100K free each month.
• Community support is limited: Email support has no stated ETA.

Alternatives

Fastly Image Optimizer is a better fit when the requirement is image delivery and optimization, with 100,000 image requests per month free. F5 BIG-IP APM suits organizations seeking an access-management product across a broad set of operating systems and deployment forms. For DDoS-focused deployments, Gcore DDoS Protection offers a free PAYG entry with defined network allocations, while AWS Shield is the natural choice for customers already using AWS and wanting automatically configured standard network and transport-layer protection. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Secret Management is for secret storage rather than WAF or API defense. Tencent Cloud API Gateway targets API gateway workloads with a first-year free allowance, and FastNetMon is oriented toward network DDoS monitoring and mitigation. Project Shield is a free option for eligible organizations needing unlimited DDoS protection for websites.

Browse the DDoS Protection Software, API Security Software, and Web Application Firewall Software categories for more choices.

Verdict

Haltdos is a strong choice for organizations that need one platform to protect websites and APIs across hybrid infrastructure, especially at Enterprise level. Its main reason to choose it is the combination of broad WAF, API, bot, and DDoS controls with flexible deployment. Look elsewhere if you need only basic DDoS protection, secret management, or a multi-site service without request-based billing and Enterprise pricing.