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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Alibaba Cloud vs Cloudflare

Alibaba Cloud logo

Alibaba Cloud

Cloud & Infrastructure

Asia's leading cloud computing provider

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cloudflare logo

Cloudflare

Network & Connectivity

The web performance and security company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Alibaba Cloud technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included; Cloudflare free tier limited to basic features (no advanced analytics or premium features)
  • They diverge on capability: Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Cloudflare covers Global CDN.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Alibaba Cloud and Cloudflare actually diverge.

Attributes where Alibaba Cloud and Cloudflare differ
AttributeAlibaba CloudCloudflare
Pricing modelusage-basedUnknown
PlatformsLinux, Windows, Api, CliWeb
CategoryCloud & InfrastructureNetwork & Connectivity

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), founded (2009).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Alibaba Cloud

  • Elastic Compute Service
  • Object Storage Service
  • RDS Database
  • MaxCompute
  • Function Compute
  • CDN
  • Load Balancer
  • API Gateway

Only in Cloudflare

  • Global CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • WAF
  • DNS
  • SSL/TLS
  • Load Balancing
  • Bot Management
  • Workers (Serverless)

Both cover

  • SOC2
  • ISO27001
  • Cloud deployment
  • Api support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in China and Asia Pacificnot Cloudflare
  • Pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitmentnot Cloudflare
  • Committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloadsnot Cloudflare
  • CDN and data transfer packages for content deliverynot Cloudflare

Cloudflare

  • Global content delivery network (CDN) with 330+ data centres worldwidenot Alibaba Cloud
  • DDoS protection and bot blockingnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Web application security and rate limitingnot Alibaba Cloud
  • DNS management and domain protectionnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Static and dynamic content cachingnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Serverless computing via Cloudflare Workersnot Alibaba Cloud
  • Database and storage services (D1, R2)not Alibaba Cloud
  • Performance optimisation for Core Web Vitalsnot Alibaba Cloud

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Alibaba Cloud

  • Technical support is a separate subscription, from $19.99 a month for Developer up to $8,000 a month for Enterprise, with only Basic included
  • Service prices are not shown as a rate card and route through a calculator or sales
  • Committed discounts require savings plans, reserved instances or capacity packages rather than being automatic

Cloudflare

  • Free tier limited to basic features (no advanced analytics or premium features)
  • Pro tier ($20-25/month) caps at professional websites (higher tiers needed for enterprise scale)
  • Caches only anonymous API GET responses (authenticated requests and non-GET methods not cached)
  • Geographic coverage limited to announced 330+ cities (may not cover all regions globally)

Pricing, plan by plan

Alibaba Cloud

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • Free tier credits
    • ECS instances
    • Cloud storage
  • Pay-as-You-GoFree
    • Flexible billing
    • No commitments
    • Global reach

Cloudflare

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cloudflare review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Alibaba Cloud if

  • You need elastic compute service.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
  • You also want object storage service.
Alibaba Cloud review

Choose Cloudflare if

  • You need global cdn.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want ddos protection.
Cloudflare review

Questions people ask

Is Alibaba Cloud or Cloudflare better?
Neither clearly leads. Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Cloudflare at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Alibaba Cloud or Cloudflare?
Alibaba Cloud starts at Free and Cloudflare at Free.
Does Alibaba Cloud or Cloudflare run on more platforms?
Alibaba Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Cloudflare runs on Web.
Can I use Alibaba Cloud for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Alibaba Cloud best used for?
Alibaba Cloud is most often used for cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific, pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment, committed-use discounts through savings plans for steady workloads, cdn and data transfer packages for content delivery. Of those, cloud compute and storage with a strong footprint in china and asia pacific and pay-as-you-go infrastructure without upfront commitment are not what Cloudflare is typically brought in for.
What can Alibaba Cloud do that Cloudflare cannot?
Alibaba Cloud covers Elastic Compute Service, Object Storage Service, RDS Database, MaxCompute. Cloudflare covers Global CDN, DDoS Protection, WAF, DNS. Both handle SOC2, ISO27001, Cloud deployment, Api support.
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