Amazon CloudFront vs Cloudflare CDN

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Amazon CloudFront

AWS content delivery network for caching and accelerating websites, APIs and video.

Free plan + paid

Visit Amazon CloudFront Amazon CloudFront profile

Cloudflare CDN

Global CDN and reverse proxy with DDoS protection, DNS and SSL, including a free plan.

Free plan + paid

Visit Cloudflare CDN Cloudflare CDN profile

The short answer

Amazon CloudFront fits teams already on AWS, wiring the CDN directly into S3, load balancers and AWS WAF. Cloudflare CDN fits site owners who want a free CDN with DNS, SSL and unmetered DDoS protection running in minutes. The biggest difference is setup: CloudFront is configured inside AWS, while Cloudflare sits in front of your whole domain once you move its nameservers.

Amazon CloudFront or Cloudflare CDN: our take

Both cache static and dynamic content at the edge, handle TLS certificates and protect against DDoS attacks. CloudFront has 750+ points of presence and works with any HTTP origin, but fits most naturally in front of S3 buckets, load balancers and EC2. Cloudflare acts as a reverse proxy for your domain from data centres in 335+ cities; you point your nameservers to Cloudflare and its network handles caching, DNS and attack traffic.

Pricing models differ. CloudFront offers classic pay-as-you-go billing by data transfer and requests, which can be hard to predict across multiple meters, or newer flat-rate plans that bundle the CDN with WAF, DNS and other services with no overage charges. There is a $0/month flat-rate plan, and paid flat-rate plans start from $15/month per distribution. Cloudflare's free plan at $0/month includes the CDN, DNS, universal SSL and unmetered DDoS protection with no bandwidth-based billing; Pro starts at $20/month billed annually and adds image optimisation and more WAF rules, with Business and enterprise tiers above.

For edge code, CloudFront offers CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge, while Cloudflare offers Workers, alongside R2 storage and Zero Trust tools on the same account. CloudFront is configured through the AWS console, CLI or infrastructure-as-code, which is flexible but has a learning curve, especially around IAM. Cloudflare is quicker to start, but routes your traffic and DNS through one company, keeps advanced cache and WAF features for higher tiers, and offers limited support on free and Pro plans.

Choose CloudFront if your origin already lives on AWS and you manage infrastructure as code. Choose Cloudflare if you want a free, fast setup for a website with DDoS protection and SSL, or you plan to use Workers and R2.

Choose Amazon CloudFront if…

Teams hosting on AWS who want a CDN tightly wired into S3, load balancers and AWS security tools
Large global network of points of presence
Close integration with S3, EC2, load balancers and AWS WAF

Choose Cloudflare CDN if…

Site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection and SSL in minutes
Free plan includes CDN, DNS, SSL and unmetered DDoS protection
No bandwidth-based billing on standard plans

What is Amazon CloudFront?

Amazon CloudFront is the content delivery network run by Amazon Web Services. It caches static files such as images, scripts and video at edge locations around the world and also speeds up dynamic traffic like APIs by keeping persistent connections back to the origin. It works with any HTTP origin but fits most naturally in front of AWS services such as S3 buckets, load balancers and EC2. Beyond caching, it handles TLS certificates, access controls, origin failover and DDoS protection, and lets you run small pieces of code at the edge through CloudFront Functions or Lambda@Edge. There are two ways to pay: the classic pay-as-you-go model, billed by data transfer and requests, and newer flat-rate monthly plans that bundle the CDN with WAF, DNS and other services and have no overage charges, including a free plan for small sites. Configuration happens in the AWS console, CLI or infrastructure-as-code tools, which is flexible but has a learning curve for people new to AWS.

What is Cloudflare CDN?

Cloudflare's CDN sits in front of a website as a reverse proxy: you point your domain's nameservers to Cloudflare, and its network caches static and dynamic content in data centres in more than 330 cities, absorbs attack traffic and handles TLS certificates. It is the default choice for many small sites because the free plan includes the CDN, DNS, universal SSL and unmetered DDoS protection with no bandwidth charges. Paid Pro and Business plans add image optimisation, a web application firewall with more rules, better support and SLAs, and enterprise contracts unlock features such as Cache Reserve and dedicated support. The same account gives access to Cloudflare's wider platform, including Workers for edge code, R2 storage, Zero Trust security and analytics. The trade-off is that your traffic and DNS run through one company, some advanced caching controls are reserved for higher tiers, and support on lower plans is limited.

Side by side

Attribute	Amazon CloudFront	Cloudflare CDN
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web
Best for	Teams hosting on AWS who want a CDN tightly wired into S3, load balancers and AWS security tools	Site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection and SSL in minutes
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

Facts both apps publish, checked on each vendor's own site.

Fact	Amazon CloudFront	Cloudflare CDN
Starting price	$15 a month per distribution (flat-rate plan)	$20 a month, billed annually (Pro)
Free plan	Yes, $0 a month flat-rate plan	Yes, $0 a month