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Cybersecurity · head to head

Arnica vs Cloudflare

Arnica logo

Arnica

Cybersecurity

AI-native application security platform detecting and fixing vulnerabilities across the SDLC

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cloudflare logo

Cloudflare

Networking

The web performance and security company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Arnica per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers; Cloudflare free tier limited to basic features (no advanced analytics or premium features)
  • They diverge on capability: Arnica covers AI SAST, Cloudflare covers Global CDN.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Arnica and Cloudflare actually diverge.

Attributes where Arnica and Cloudflare differ
AttributeArnicaCloudflare
Pricing modelPer-identity subscription with annual discountfreemium
PlatformsWeb, GitHub, IDEWeb
CategoryCybersecurityNetworking
FoundedUnknown2009

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

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 Arnica

  • AI SAST
  • Software Composition Analysis
  • Secrets detection
  • IaC scanning
  • Container scanning
  • SBOM generation
  • Agentic rules
  • Pipelineless integration

Only in Cloudflare

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

What people use each for

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

Arnica

  • Detecting AI-generated vulnerabilities in Copilot and Cursor suggestionsnot Cloudflare
  • Finding hardcoded secrets before they reach productionnot Cloudflare
  • Mapping container vulnerabilities back to source codenot Cloudflare
  • Generating SBOM for supply chain compliance requirementsnot Cloudflare
  • Scanning infrastructure-as-code for misconfiguration risksnot Cloudflare

Cloudflare

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

Where each one falls short

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

Arnica

  • Per-identity pricing ($25-$50/person/year) requires tracking active developers
  • Overage identity tracking via 90-day PR activity can be unpredictable
  • Free plan limited to weekly updates, requiring upgrade for real-time scanning
  • Advanced add-ons (Image Scanning, AI SAST, Agentic Rules Enforcer) pricing not published
  • On-premises deployment limited to Enterprise tier

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

Arnica

Free
  • FreeFree
    • No credit card required
    • 14-day trial available
    • Weekly risk identification updates
  • Core Business$360/year
    • Monthly billing option at $30/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $25/identity/month (17% discount)
    • Real-time risk scanning and notifications
  • Core Enterprise$720/year
    • Monthly billing option at $60/identity/month
    • Annual billing at $50/identity/month (17% discount)
    • All Core Business features

Cloudflare

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cloudflare review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Arnica if

  • You need ai sast.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, GitHub, IDE.
  • You also want software composition analysis.
Arnica 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 Arnica or Cloudflare better?
Neither clearly leads. Arnica 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, Arnica or Cloudflare?
Arnica starts at Free and Cloudflare at Free.
Does Arnica or Cloudflare run on more platforms?
Arnica runs on Web, GitHub, IDE. Cloudflare runs on Web.
Can I use Arnica for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Arnica best used for?
Arnica is most often used for detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions, finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production, mapping container vulnerabilities back to source code, generating sbom for supply chain compliance requirements. Of those, detecting ai-generated vulnerabilities in copilot and cursor suggestions and finding hardcoded secrets before they reach production are not what Cloudflare is typically brought in for.
What can Arnica do that Cloudflare cannot?
Arnica covers AI SAST, Software Composition Analysis, Secrets detection, IaC scanning. Cloudflare covers Global CDN, DDoS Protection, WAF, DNS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Arnica: How are identities defined in Arnica pricing?

Identities are any users and other contributing entities that contributed code and/or had PR activity during the last 90 days. This ensures billing matches active developers.

Source
Cloudflare: Does Cloudflare have a free tier?

Yes, Cloudflare includes a free tier with generous allowances: 100k daily requests for Workers, 10 GB monthly storage for R2, and 1 GB for Workers KV.

Source
Arnica: What is the annual discount?

Annual prepayment offers approximately 17% savings versus monthly billing. Core Business annual is $300/identity versus $360 for monthly.

Source
Cloudflare: How much does Cloudflare cost beyond the free tier?

Cloudflare uses pay-as-you-go pricing beyond free allocations, charging per million requests, per GB-month of storage, or per vCPU-second depending on the service.

Source
Arnica: Can I cancel or downgrade Arnica anytime?

Yes. Subscriptions can be cancelled or downgraded at any time. Overage identities receive automatic protection with true-up invoicing.

Source
Cloudflare: Does Cloudflare charge egress fees?

No, Cloudflare explicitly states no egress fees and no hidden costs; you only pay for the usage metrics specific to each service.

Source
Cloudflare: What's the Enterprise pricing model for Cloudflare?

Cloudflare Enterprise offers custom pricing and volume discounts available through direct sales for organizations with specialized needs and large-scale usage.

Source
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