# AWS Shield: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 59 judge labels across 1 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/aws-shield/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DDoS protection | 0% | 4 | 12% | 59 |

## What the models said for it

- "Cloudflare, Akamai Prolexic, and AWS Shield are noted for offering unmetered or more predictable pricing" (Mistral Small, DDoS)
- "Use cloud‑native protection (AWS Shield Standard, Azure DDoS Basic) if you’re running workloads in those clouds." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, DDoS)
- "If your infrastructure is already on AWS: - AWS Shield Standard ($0) — automatic L3/L4 protection" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, DDoS)
- "AWS Shield/Azure DDoS Protection - If you're already heavily invested in AWS or Azure infrastructure" (MiniMax M2.5, DDoS)

## And against it

- "What to Avoid on a Limited Budget ... AWS Shield Advanced: ~$3,000/month" (Kimi K2, DDoS)
- "Do not upgrade to AWS Shield Advanced, which costs $3,000/month" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, DDoS)
- "native shields (AWS Shield Advanced, Azure DDoS Protection) exist, they are often best used as a secondary layer behind a specialized provider" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, DDoS)
- "you would eventually need to pay for their advanced tiers (e.g., AWS Shield Advanced), which can get expensive ($3,000+/month)" (Qwen 3.7 Flash, DDoS)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.