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Networking · head to head

Catchpoint vs Cloudflare

Catchpoint logo

Catchpoint

Networking

Internet and digital experience monitoring, with a genuinely published entry price through its WebPageTest product line

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: Catchpoint its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site; Cloudflare free tier limited to basic features (no advanced analytics or premium features)
  • They diverge on capability: Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, Cloudflare covers Global CDN.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Catchpoint and Cloudflare actually diverge.

Attributes where Catchpoint and Cloudflare differ
AttributeCatchpointCloudflare
Pricing modelFree tier plus published entry tiers, enterprise quote-onlyfreemium
FoundedUnknown2009

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

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 Catchpoint

  • Global vantage point network
  • WebPageTest integration
  • BGP and DNS monitoring
  • Real user monitoring
  • Token-based points model

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.

Catchpoint

  • A web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of WebPageTest with longer retention and more locationsnot Cloudflare
  • An enterprise SRE or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, DNS and CDN performance at scalenot Cloudflare
  • An organisation wanting BGP-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its servicesnot Cloudflare
  • A team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendornot Cloudflare

Cloudflare

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

Where each one falls short

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

Catchpoint

  • Its flagship enterprise Internet Performance Monitoring product reverts to custom Enterprise pricing beyond the Quick Start package, so full-scale deployment cost is not knowable from the public site
  • The token-based points model, while flexible, requires understanding point consumption per test type to budget usage accurately, which is not always intuitive upfront
  • The IPM Quick Start Package carries a 12-month minimum commitment, so there is no genuinely short-term way to trial the enterprise product at scale
  • WebPageTest's published tiers are aimed at web performance testing specifically; the broader enterprise IPM feature set (BGP, DNS, CDN monitoring) is not available at those lower published prices
  • As with ThousandEyes, meaningful internet path visibility depends on a large distributed vantage point network that only the vendor controls, so coverage gaps in specific regions are not something a buyer can fix themselves
  • Session replay and RUM features are gated to the Expert tier and above, so lower tiers give synthetic testing only, without the real user data many teams actually want

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

Catchpoint

Free
  • WebPageTest StarterFree
    • 150 monthly test runs
    • 60-day retention
    • 30 global locations
  • WebPageTest Professional$180/year
    • 1,000-20,000 monthly test runs
    • 13-month retention
    • 40 global locations
  • WebPageTest Expert$11988/year
    • Real user monitoring with session replay
    • Unlimited users with SSO
    • 3,000+ agents across 300+ cities
  • IPM Quick Start$10000/year
    • Single end-to-end journey monitoring
    • DNS, SSL, CDN and API monitoring

Cloudflare

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cloudflare review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Catchpoint if

  • You need global vantage point network.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want webpagetest integration.
Catchpoint 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 Catchpoint or Cloudflare better?
Neither clearly leads. Catchpoint 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, Catchpoint or Cloudflare?
Catchpoint starts at Free and Cloudflare at Free.
Does Catchpoint or Cloudflare run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Catchpoint for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Catchpoint best used for?
Catchpoint is most often used for a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations, an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale, an organisation wanting bgp-level visibility into internet routing issues affecting its services, a team wanting real user monitoring with session replay alongside synthetic testing from one vendor. Of those, a web performance engineer wanting a fuller-featured, paid version of webpagetest with longer retention and more locations and an enterprise sre or network team monitoring internet-dependent application delivery, dns and cdn performance at scale are not what Cloudflare is typically brought in for.
What can Catchpoint do that Cloudflare cannot?
Catchpoint covers Global vantage point network, WebPageTest integration, BGP and DNS monitoring, Real user monitoring. Cloudflare covers Global CDN, DDoS Protection, WAF, DNS.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Catchpoint: Is there a free tier?

Yes, WebPageTest Starter is free with 150 monthly test runs.

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
Catchpoint: Is enterprise IPM pricing published?

Only the entry Quick Start Package at $10,000/year with a 12-month minimum; full Enterprise pricing is custom.

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
Catchpoint: Does Catchpoint own WebPageTest?

Yes, Catchpoint operates WebPageTest as a productised offering with its own tiered pricing.

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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