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Cloudflare vs Fastly

Not sure which of these tools fits your work? Compare Cloudflare and Fastly to see what you can do with each, what you'll pay and what to check before you choose.

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Check if these tools match how you work. Confirm the plans, limits and renewal prices with each provider before you choose.

Compare features and pricing for Cloudflare, Fastly
What matters to youCloudflareFastly
Best suited to
  • Startups and SMBs
  • Enterprise security teams
  • SaaS applications
  • Developers building edge apps
  • Websites needing CDN and DDoS protection
  • Media and streaming platforms
  • API-first SaaS applications
  • Ecommerce platforms
  • Security-sensitive workloads
  • Engineering teams needing programmable edge control
Starting priceFrom $0.00 / free plan availableFrom $0.00
CategoryHosting ProvidersHosting Providers
Ratings shown4.8 / 5 (12,500 reviews shown)4.7 / 5 (3,200 reviews shown)
Features to compare
  • Global CDN
  • DDoS protection
  • Web application firewall
  • Universal SSL
  • Fast DNS
  • Zero Trust security
  • Cloudflare Workers
  • Edge compute platform
  • Bot management
  • Rate limiting
  • Image optimization
  • R2 object storage
  • Stream video delivery
  • API integrations
  • Anycast network with 300+ data centers
  • Global CDN delivery
  • Compute@Edge programmable functions
  • VCL configuration engine
  • Edge dictionaries and tables
  • Web application firewall
  • DDoS protection
  • API acceleration
  • Structured JSON and KVP logging
  • Real-time cache purging
  • Fastly Image Optimization
  • TLS edge termination
  • CI/CD integrations
  • APIs and CLI tooling
  • Visual Studio Code extension
  • Enterprise compliance and observability
Strengths
  • Extremely generous free plan
  • Powerful integrated security platform
  • Excellent global CDN performance
  • Strong developer ecosystem
  • Industry-leading DDoS protection
  • Extremely programmable edge infrastructure
  • Excellent observability and logging tools
  • Strong global CDN performance and low latency
  • Mature enterprise-grade security capabilities
  • Powerful APIs and infrastructure-as-code workflows
Considerations
  • Advanced features can become expensive
  • Configuration complexity for beginners
  • Security rules may require tuning
  • Support quality varies by pricing tier
  • Usage-based pricing can become expensive
  • Steeper learning curve than simple CDNs
  • Better suited for technical engineering teams
  • Some advanced use cases require custom VCL logic

Before you decide

  1. Which tool fits the way you work?
  2. What will it cost you now and when you renew?
  3. Can you try it on a real task before you choose?

Questions you may have when comparing Cloudflare and Fastly

What's different about Cloudflare and Fastly?

Cloudflare lists Global CDN, DDoS protection and Web application firewall. Fastly lists Global CDN delivery, Compute@Edge programmable functions and VCL configuration engine. Start with the features you would actually use, then check which plan includes them. A shorter feature list doesn't necessarily mean a tool can't do something you need.

Which one will cost me less?

Compare the total for your team, not just the starting price. Check the billing period, currency, number of users, usage limits and renewal rate, then add any extras you need. If you try a free plan or trial, check what happens when you reach its limits.

How do I choose between Cloudflare and Fastly?

Pick a task you do often and try it in both tools. If you need CDN and Web Application Firewall, start there. See which feels easier to use and works with the tools you already rely on. Before you pay, check the plan limits and whether you can get the support you need.