Overview
Cloudflare operates a reverse-proxy content delivery and security service. A proxied DNS record directs HTTP traffic to Cloudflare’s Anycast network before the request reaches the origin. The service can cache eligible responses and apply DDoS mitigation, web application firewall rules, rate limits, and other controls. Cloudflare also provides Workers for edge application code. Product availability and limits vary by plan.
Network & Architecture
Cloudflare advertises shared Anycast addresses from its network locations. Internet routing selects a reachable location according to BGP policy and current network conditions; it does not guarantee the geographically nearest data center. Cloudflare publishes its current footprint on its network page. Operators should verify performance on the access networks and regions that matter to the workload rather than use a point-of-presence count as a performance measure.
Features
| Feature | Supported |
|---|---|
waf | ✓ |
bot_mitigation | ✓ |
ddos | ✓ |
rate_limit | ✓ |
http3_quic | ✓ |
tls13 | ✓ |
tiered_cache | ✓ |
origin_shield | ✗ |
instant_purge | ✓ |
stale_while_revalidate | ✓ |
stale_if_error | ✓ |
image_optimization | ✓ |
video_vod | ✓ |
video_live | ✓ |
drm | ✗ |
hls_dash_packaging | ✗ |
websockets | ✓ |
signed_urls | ✓ |
edge_compute | ✓ |
functions | ✓ |
kv_storage | ✓ |
api_first | ✓ |
realtime_logs | ✓ |
log_push | ✓ |
terraform | ✓ |
Legend: ✓ = Supported, Partial = Partially supported, ✗ = Not supported
Pricing
Cloudflare offers a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model, a free tier, and enterprise plans. The free tier includes basic CDN, DDoS protection, and an SSL certificate, suitable for small sites. Paid plans (Pro, Business, Enterprise) add advanced features like WAF, bot mitigation, and analytics, with pricing starting at $20/month for Pro plans. Enterprise pricing is customized, often requiring committed contracts. Data transfer and HTTP/HTTPS requests are included in subscription plans, with additional costs for features like edge computing or advanced WAF rules. Full details are available at https://www.cloudflare.com/plans/.
Integrations & DevEx
Cloudflare exposes product APIs and maintains a Terraform provider for configuration automation. Logpush sends supported datasets to configured storage or analytics destinations. Workers and related developer services use separate product interfaces and limits. Confirm API coverage, log availability, retention, and plan requirements for each product before designing an operational workflow.
When it fits
- Workloads that need reverse-proxy caching and security controls under one provider configuration.
- Teams that can validate plan-specific limits and automate configuration through APIs or Terraform.
- Applications designed for the Workers execution model and its documented limits.
When it doesn’t
- Workloads that require a feature or limit not documented for the selected Cloudflare plan.
- Deployments that cannot route traffic through a shared reverse-proxy service.
- Architectures that require identical proprietary behavior across several CDN providers without an application-level compatibility layer.