Softwr

Networking · head to head

Cloudflare vs Fastly

Cloudflare logo

Cloudflare

Networking

The web performance and security company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fastly logo

Fastly

Cloud

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cloudflare free tier limited to basic features (no advanced analytics or premium features); Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • They diverge on capability: Cloudflare covers Global CDN, Fastly covers Edge Compute.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudflare and Fastly actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudflare and Fastly differ
AttributeCloudflareFastly
Pricing modelfreemiumusage-based
PlatformsWebWeb, Api
CategoryNetworkingCloud
Founded20092011

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 Cloudflare

  • Global CDN
  • WAF
  • DNS
  • Load Balancing
  • Bot Management
  • Workers (Serverless)
  • GitLab
  • WordPress

Only in Fastly

  • Edge Compute
  • CDN
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Streaming
  • API
  • Instant Purge
  • Terraform

Both cover

  • DDoS Protection
  • SSL/TLS
  • GitHub
  • DDoS Protection
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Cloudflare

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

Fastly

  • Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Cloudflare
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Cloudflare

Where each one falls short

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

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)

Fastly

  • Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
  • The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
  • Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
  • High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

Pricing, plan by plan

Cloudflare

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cloudflare review.

Fastly

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • CDN
    • DDoS protection
    • Real-time analytics
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Which should you pick?

Choose Cloudflare if

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

Choose Fastly if

  • You need edge compute.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want cdn.
Fastly review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudflare or Fastly better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudflare starts at Free and Fastly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudflare or Fastly?
Cloudflare starts at Free and Fastly at Free.
Does Cloudflare or Fastly run on more platforms?
Cloudflare runs on Web. Fastly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Cloudflare for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cloudflare best used for?
Cloudflare is most often used for global content delivery network (cdn) with 330+ data centres worldwide, ddos protection and bot blocking, web application security and rate limiting, dns management and domain protection. Of those, global content delivery network (cdn) with 330+ data centres worldwide and ddos protection and bot blocking are not what Fastly is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudflare do that Fastly cannot?
Cloudflare covers Global CDN, WAF, DNS, Load Balancing. Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, Real-time Analytics, Image Optimization. Both handle DDoS Protection, SSL/TLS, GitHub, DDoS Protection.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Fastly: Does Fastly charge based on usage or a flat monthly fee?

Fastly operates on a usage-based model with volume discounts. They offer a free tier with 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests for experimentation, then customers pay per unit consumed with tiered discounts as consumption increases.

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
Fastly: What are Fastly's main service packages and their costs?

Fastly offers Network Services Packages ($1,500-$6,000/month baseline), Security Packages (custom pricing), Compute Packages ($500/month entry level), and Observability Packages ($1,500/month entry level). Enterprise solutions include custom quotes for high-volume deployments.

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
Fastly: Can I start using Fastly for free?

Yes, Fastly offers a free tier with generous allowances for experimentation including 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests. You can start building free and only pay when you use additional resources.

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
Fastly: Are there surprise overage charges with Fastly?

Fastly advertises predictable pricing with no surprise overages. The pricing structure is designed to be transparent as consumption grows.

Source
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