--- title: "Vercel vs AWS WAF Bot Control | Agent Ready Crawlers" description: "Vercel vs AWS WAF Bot Control: rubric grades side by side, the sourced difference and verdicts for platform engineers, security engineers and publisher ops." canonical: https://agentreadycrawlers.com/compare/vercel-botid-vs-aws-waf-bot-control site: "Agent Ready Crawlers" last_updated: 2026-11-04 section: "Comparisons" --- # Vercel vs AWS WAF Bot Control | Agent Ready Crawlers > Vercel vs AWS WAF Bot Control: rubric grades side by side, the sourced difference and verdicts for platform engineers, security engineers and publisher ops. Source: https://agentreadycrawlers.com/compare/vercel-botid-vs-aws-waf-bot-control Site: Agent Ready Crawlers Last reviewed: 2026-11-04 Head-to-head # Vercel vs AWS WAF Bot Control In short Vercel splits AI crawlers from AI assistants on all plans for free; AWS WAF labels bots by category and name and can charge them, at USD 10 a month per web ACL plus request fees. On charging the rubric grades Vercel not published and AWS WAF Bot Control yes. For a platform engineer: Choose by where the app is hosted. ## The sourced difference Vercel splits AI crawlers from AI assistants on all plans for free; AWS WAF labels bots by category and name and can charge them, at USD 10 a month per web ACL plus request fees. [Source](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/latest/developerguide/waf-bot-control.html), read 2026-11-04. ## Side by side | Question | Vercel | AWS WAF Bot Control | | --- | --- | --- | | Tells a verified agent from a spoof | Yes; IP, reverse DNS and Web Bot Auth; directory at bots.fyi | Yes; Web Bot Auth (rule set Version_4.0+), verified self-identifying bots | | Per-purpose policy (train, search, answer, act) | Yes; AI crawlers and AI assistants handled separately since 2026-10-29 | Yes; rules on bot category and name labels; prices can differ by bot identity and verification status | | Charging for access | Not published; support (checked 2026-11-04) | Yes; HTTP 402 x402 monetization on CloudFront, Coinbase x402 settlement in stablecoins | | Lets signed commerce agents through | Not published; Visa TAP or Mastercard Agent Pay support (checked 2026-11-04) | Not published; Visa TAP or Mastercard Agent Pay support (checked 2026-11-04) | | Cost | published: Basic free; Deep Analysis USD 1 per 1,000 checks on Pro | published: USD 10/month per web ACL plus USD 1 or USD 10 per million requests after free allowance | | Reporting | Yes; Firewall tab BotID filter and Observability Plus metrics | Yes; Bot Control console dashboard, AI activity dashboard, CloudWatch metrics and logs | | Where it runs | both: managed rulesets at Vercel's edge firewall; BotID verdict read in server code via checkBotId() | edge or regional: CloudFront edge and regional resources such as load balancers and API Gateway | | Points, rank | 6 of 10, rank 6 (tied) | 8 of 10, rank 1 (tied) | | Price read 2026-11-04 | BotID Basic free on all plans; Deep Analysis USD 1 per 1,000 checkBotId() calls on Pro, custom on Enterprise; AI Bots managed ruleset on all plans. | Bot Control USD 10/month per web ACL. Common level: first 10M requests/month free, then USD 1.00 per million. Targeted level: first 1M requests/month free, then USD 10.00 per million. Standard AWS WAF web ACL and rule charges also apply; AI traffic monetization has no extra charge. | ## Verdicts by reader Platform engineer Choose by where the app is hosted; both are managed rules with no app code. Security engineer Both verify Web Bot Auth, so signed agents pass either one. Publisher operations Only AWS can charge AI bots, and only on CloudFront web ACLs. ## What each does not do ### Vercel - No charging or pay-per-crawl for AI crawlers (BotID and firewall docs read 2026-11-04). - BotID Deep Analysis is not on the Hobby plan; it is listed for Pro and Enterprise only (BotID pricing table). - BotID does not inspect passive page views; it only runs where the app calls checkBotId() (BotID docs). ### AWS WAF Bot Control - Monetize only works with CloudFront-associated web ACLs, not regional resources (Bot Control docs). - Stripe payouts and Machine Payments Protocol are not live yet; settlement is via Coinbase x402 in stablecoins (what's new, 2026-06-15). - Web Bot Auth is off unless the rule group version is pinned to Version\_4.0 or later (Bot Control docs). More: [alternatives to Vercel](https://agentreadycrawlers.com/vendors/vercel-botid/alternatives/), [alternatives to AWS WAF Bot Control](https://agentreadycrawlers.com/vendors/aws-waf-bot-control/alternatives/). ## Sources - [docs.aws.amazon.com: waf bot control](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/waf/latest/developerguide/waf-bot-control.html) read 2026-11-04 - [vercel.com: botid](https://vercel.com/docs/botid) read 2026-11-04 - [aws.amazon.com: pricing](https://aws.amazon.com/waf/pricing/) read 2026-11-04 - [vercel.com: vercels bot verification now supports web bot auth](https://vercel.com/changelog/vercels-bot-verification-now-supports-web-bot-auth) read 2026-11-04 - [vercel.com: block ai crawlers and assistants independently with managed rules](https://vercel.com/changelog/block-ai-crawlers-and-assistants-independently-with-managed-rules) read 2026-11-04 - [aws.amazon.com: aws waf ai traffic monetization](https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2026/06/aws-waf-ai-traffic-monetization) read 2026-11-04 - [vercel.com: verified bots](https://vercel.com/docs/botid/verified-bots) read 2026-11-04 Last reviewed 2026-11-04