Cloudflare CDN vs Fastly

Q: Is Cloudflare CDN free?

Cloudflare CDN has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.

Q: Is Fastly free?

Fastly has a free plan, with paid plans for more features. See its verified pricing facts above for current limits.

Q: Which platforms do Cloudflare CDN and Fastly support?

Cloudflare CDN: Web. Fastly: Web.

Updated November 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

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

Fastly

Programmable edge cloud with CDN, edge compute and security, popular for fast purging and developer control.

Free plan + paid

Visit Fastly Fastly profile

The short answer

Cloudflare suits site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection, DNS and SSL set up in minutes. Fastly suits engineering teams that need near-instant cache purges and programmable edge logic. The biggest difference is approach: Cloudflare is flat-rate and click-to-enable, while Fastly is usage-billed and rewards configuration and code.

Cloudflare CDN or Fastly: our take

Cloudflare works as a reverse proxy: you point your domain's nameservers to it and it caches content across a network in 335+ cities, absorbs attacks and handles TLS certificates. Its free plan is $0 a month and includes the CDN, DNS, universal SSL and DDoS protection that is unmetered on all plans, with no bandwidth-based billing on standard plans. Pro starts at $20 a month, billed annually, and Business is $200 a month, billed annually, adding image optimisation, more WAF rules and better support. The same account opens Workers, R2 storage and Zero Trust tools. Most full-site setups require moving DNS to Cloudflare, and support on lower plans is limited.

Fastly is built for teams that want detailed control. Its Instant Purge clears cached content worldwide in under 150 ms regional mean, which matters for news sites, ecommerce and APIs whose content changes often. Compute runs WebAssembly code at the edge in Rust, JavaScript and Go. Pricing is usage-based: the free plan covers 100 GB bandwidth a month and 10 million edge compute requests a month, then bandwidth is $0.12 per GB in North America and Europe, after 100 GB, and compute is $0.50 per million. Extra TLS domains beyond 5 free cost $20 per domain a month. Fastly uses fewer, larger points of presence, with 622 Tbps of network capacity.

The practical split: Cloudflare's predictable flat pricing and one-click setup fit small sites, blogs and businesses that mainly want speed and protection. Fastly fits engineering teams with fast-changing content or custom edge logic who are comfortable with configuration and per-GB billing. For a small site, Cloudflare is simpler; for a high-traffic publisher that needs precise cache control, Fastly is the stronger fit.

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

Choose Fastly if…

Engineering teams that need fast cache purges and programmable edge logic
Instant Purge clears cached content globally in well under a second
Edge Compute with Rust, JavaScript and Go via WebAssembly

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.

What is Fastly?

Fastly is an edge cloud platform built around a CDN that developers can configure in detail. It is known for Instant Purge, which clears cached content worldwide in a fraction of a second, making it a favourite of news sites, ecommerce and APIs whose content changes often. Beyond delivery it offers Compute, which runs WebAssembly-based code at the edge in languages such as Rust, JavaScript and Go, plus image optimisation, object and key-value storage, a next-generation WAF, bot management, DDoS protection and newer AI-focused tools like semantic caching. Its network takes the approach of fewer, larger points of presence with high capacity. Pricing is usage based by bandwidth and requests, varying by region, with a monthly free allowance so small projects can start without paying; larger customers move to Growth or contract plans. It rewards teams comfortable with configuration and code; people who want a one-click setup for a small site may find Cloudflare simpler.

Side by side

Attribute	Cloudflare CDN	Fastly
Pricing	Free plan + paid	Free plan + paid
Open source	No	No
Self-hostable	No	No
Platforms	Web	Web
Best for	Site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection and SSL in minutes	Engineering teams that need fast cache purges and programmable edge logic
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

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

Fact	Cloudflare CDN	Fastly
Free plan	Yes, $0 a month	Yes, 100 GB bandwidth a month
Starting price	$20 a month, billed annually (Pro)	$0.12 per GB in North America and Europe, after 100 GB