DDoS Protection Services Compared (EU Options Included, 2026)
A DDoS attack doesn’t hack your site — it drowns it. Thousands of requests per second from many sources at once, until your server buckles and legitimate visitors get an error. For anything that earns money, the question isn’t if you need protection but which service to put in front. Here’s how to compare them, EU options included.
How DDoS protection works (in one paragraph)
Nearly every serious service works the same way: your traffic is routed through the provider’s anycast network first. Attack traffic gets absorbed or filtered across dozens of locations, so no single point takes the full blast; clean requests are forwarded to your origin server. You point your DNS at the shield, and your real server address stays hidden behind it.
What to actually compare
| Criterion | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| L3/L4 mitigation | stops volumetric floods that saturate bandwidth |
| L7 mitigation + WAF | stops application-layer attacks, bots, exploit attempts (what a WAF is) |
| Always-on vs. on-demand | always-on catches attacks instantly; on-demand is cheaper but reacts slower |
| Anycast footprint | more locations = better absorption and lower latency |
| Jurisdiction | EU provider = no US CLOUD Act exposure, simpler GDPR |
| SLA | the uptime promise you can hold them to |
| Pricing model | flat plan vs. usage-based (attack traffic can spike bills) |
The options, honestly
WEDOS Protection — the EU-based pick
A European reverse-proxy shield: L3/L4/L7 DDoS mitigation, a built-in WAF and CDN on an anycast network across the EU, with a 100% SLA and a free trial. Because the company is Czech and operates under EU law, there’s no US CLOUD Act exposure — the reason to pick it over the US giants if data residency matters. Setup is the familiar pattern: point DNS, toggle protection.
Full breakdown in our WEDOS Protection review.
Cloudflare — the default giant
Huge free tier and the biggest edge network. Excellent, but US jurisdiction and, for larger sites, pricing that can jump at the enterprise tier. See our Cloudflare alternatives if either is a concern.
AWS Shield / Akamai — the enterprise route
Both handle global scale. Expect enterprise complexity and pricing; Akamai remains the heavyweight for large-scale volumetric attacks. Both are US companies.
Your host’s built-in filtering — the baseline
Many EU hosts and VPS providers include network-level (volumetric) filtering. It’s a useful baseline, but rarely includes L7/WAF — pair it with a shield for public sites.
How to choose in 30 seconds
- Small site, tight budget → your host’s built-in filtering + a free-tier shield.
- Revenue-critical site, EU data matters → WEDOS Protection (L3–L7 + WAF, EU jurisdiction).
- Global audience, enterprise scale → Cloudflare or Akamai.
Before you switch, understand the enemy: how DDoS attacks work. Running WordPress? See how to protect WordPress from DDoS.
Frequently asked questions
What does a DDoS protection service actually do?
It sits in front of your site, usually as a reverse proxy on an anycast network, and absorbs or filters attack traffic before it reaches your server. Clean requests pass through; floods and malicious traffic get dropped at the edge, so your origin stays up.
What's the difference between L3/L4 and L7 protection?
L3/L4 (network/transport) protection stops volumetric floods — raw packets meant to saturate your bandwidth. L7 (application) protection stops attacks that look like real requests but overwhelm your app, plus bots and exploit attempts via a WAF. Serious sites need both.
Do I need DDoS protection for a small website?
For a hobby site, probably not. For anything that earns money or where downtime costs you — e-shops, lead-gen sites, SaaS — yes. Attacks are cheap to launch and increasingly automated; one afternoon offline can cost more than a year of protection.
Is there a European alternative to Cloudflare for DDoS?
Yes. WEDOS Protection (Czech Republic) offers L3–L7 mitigation with a WAF and CDN on an EU anycast network, under EU jurisdiction — the closest like-for-like swap if data residency matters to you.