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Databases & Backend

Cloudflare

Makes your website faster and safer, and hosts sites, apps and AI features cheaply.

4.5our rating
FreemiumFrom $20/moWorks with Claude Code
Visit website Compare

Quick take

  • The free plan gives any website a faster global network, free SSL, DNS and attack protection. Most small sites never need more.
  • Pro is $20 a month billed yearly and Business $200, mostly for image optimisation, stronger bot rules and an uptime guarantee.
  • Workers, Pages, D1 and R2 let you host apps and data cheaply, from $5 a month, and Workers AI includes 10,000 free units a day.
  • It's mostly infrastructure with some AI on top. The dashboard is big and the developer side assumes you write code or have Claude Code do it.

What is Cloudflare?

Cloudflare sits between your website and the internet. On its free plan it speeds your site up by keeping copies close to visitors, adds free SSL (the padlock), handles your domain's DNS settings and blocks attacks. It runs a large share of the web, and most website builders and hosts work with it.

It's also a full place to build. Workers runs small pieces of app code on Cloudflare's network, Pages hosts websites, D1 and R2 store data and files, and Workers AI runs open AI models with 10,000 free units a day. For business owners, one practical feature is AI Crawl Control, which lets you see and block the AI bots that read your site.

The catch is the size of it. The dashboard has hundreds of settings and products, and the developer side expects you to be comfortable with code or have Claude Code do it. It's mostly infrastructure, so most small businesses will use the free plan for speed and security and never touch the rest.

Who's using it, and who it's for

  • Small businesses
  • Developers
  • Agencies
  • Online stores
  • Large companies

Any business with a website that wants it faster and safer for free, and builders who want cheap hosting for apps and AI features.

Key features

  • CDN and DNS

    Keeps copies of your site close to visitors and runs your domain settings, so pages load faster everywhere.

  • Security

    Free SSL, a web firewall and unmetered protection from DDoS attacks, where someone floods your site with fake traffic.

  • AI Crawl Control

    See which AI bots visit your site and allow, block or charge them.

  • Workers and Pages

    Host websites and run app code on Cloudflare's network, with static files served free.

  • Workers AI

    Run open AI models for chat, images and speech from your app, with 10,000 free units a day.

  • D1 and R2

    A simple database and file storage with no fees for downloading your data.

How we rate it

4.5 / 5

Our rating

From using the tool ourselves. The average of the five scores.

Ease of use
3.0

How quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.

Features
5.0

How completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.

Output quality
4.5

How good the results are before you fix them.

Value for money
5.0

What you get for the price, including the free plan.

Speed & reliability
5.0

How fast it is and how often it falls over.

Cloudflare pricing

  • Our pick

    Free

    Free

    Almost every small business website.

    • Global CDN, DNS and free SSL
    • Unmetered DDoS protection and basic firewall
    • Workers free tier: 100,000 requests a day
    • 10,000 Workers AI units a day

  • Pro

    $20/mo billed yearly, or $25 monthly

    Professional sites that want faster images and support tickets.

    • Image optimisation
    • More firewall and redirect rules
    • Better bot protection
    • Ticket support

  • Workers Paid

    From $5/mo plus usage

    Builders hosting apps on Cloudflare.

    • 10 million requests a month included
    • Longer running code
    • Pay as you go above the included usage

  • Business

    $200/mo billed yearly, or $250 monthly

    Online businesses that need an uptime guarantee.

    • 100% uptime SLA
    • PCI compliance for card payments
    • Chat support
    • Advanced bot analytics

  • Enterprise

    Custom

    Mission-critical sites and large companies.

    • 24/7 phone support
    • Advanced security add-ons
    • Custom contracts

Which plan should you pick?

Put your site on the free plan. It covers speed, SSL and security for most small businesses. If you host an app on Workers, the $5 a month Workers Paid plan lifts the limits. Pro and Business only make sense when you need their image tools, support or uptime guarantee.

Prices in USD unless noted, checked 3 November 2026. Vendors change plans often, so confirm on their site before you buy.

Best use cases

Ways Cloudflare can slot into your week.

  1. 1

    Speed up and protect your site

    Point your domain to Cloudflare and get faster pages, the padlock and attack protection in about 15 minutes.

  2. 2

    Decide what AI bots can read

    Use AI Crawl Control to see which AI crawlers visit your pages and block the ones you don't want.

  3. 3

    Host a small app cheaply

    Have Claude Code build a tool on Workers with a D1 database, and pay little or nothing to run it.

  4. 4

    Store files without download fees

    Keep images, videos or backups in R2, which doesn't charge when people download them.

How it fits your tech stack

It sits in front of whatever hosts your site, whether that's Shopify, WordPress, Webflow or Vercel, and also runs your domain. Developers use Workers and R2 alongside Supabase or Neon.

Connects to

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Free plan covers speed, SSL and security for most sites
  • Very cheap hosting, storage and AI for builders
  • One of the biggest, fastest networks in the world
  • Tools to see and block AI crawlers
  • Official MCP servers so Claude can manage your account

Cons

  • Huge dashboard with hundreds of settings
  • Developer products assume you write code
  • Changing DNS settings wrong can take a site offline
  • Support on the free plan is forums only

Cloudflare alternatives

The closest alternatives to Cloudflare in the library, best rated first.

Why it made the list

Cloudflare.com is one of the most visited sites in the world, its free plan protects millions of sites, and its developer platform is one of the cheapest places to run an AI app.

Cloudflare FAQ

How much does Cloudflare cost?

There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $20/mo. Prices checked 3 November 2026 against Cloudflare's pricing page.

Is Cloudflare free?

Yes, Cloudflare has a free option. Put your site on the free plan. It covers speed, SSL and security for most small businesses. If you host an app on Workers, the $5 a month Workers Paid plan lifts the limits. Pro and Business only make sense when you need their image tools, support or uptime guarantee.

What is Cloudflare best for?

Cloudflare is best for making any website faster and safer for free, blocking or managing AI crawlers and cheap hosting for apps and static sites. Any business with a website that wants it faster and safer for free, and builders who want cheap hosting for apps and AI features.

What are the best Cloudflare alternatives?

The closest alternatives are Clerk, Vercel, Supabase and Neon. Clerk is best for adding sign-up and login to an app.

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