Cloudflare CDN vs Sucuri

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

Sucuri

Website security service with a cloud firewall, CDN, malware scanning and hacked-site cleanup.

Paid

Visit Sucuri Sucuri profile

The short answer

Cloudflare CDN is a large global network with a free plan that includes CDN, DNS, SSL and unmetered DDoS protection. Sucuri is a paid security service with a cloud firewall, malware scanning and unlimited hacked-site cleanups by its own analysts. Pick Cloudflare for delivery and baseline protection at low cost; pick Sucuri if you want someone else to clean up and remove blocklist warnings after a hack.

Cloudflare CDN or Sucuri: our take

Both sit in front of a website at the DNS level, filtering traffic before it reaches your server, but they lead with different jobs. Cloudflare is first a delivery network: it caches content in data centres in 335+ cities, handles TLS certificates and absorbs attack traffic. Sucuri is first a security service: its web application firewall blocks attacks and bad bots, it scans for malware and blocklist warnings, and its CDN is mainly a caching add-on to the firewall rather than a large delivery network.

The clearest difference is what happens after a compromise. Sucuri includes unlimited manual malware cleanups on its platform plans and asks search engines and blocklists to remove warnings for you. Cloudflare doesn't clean infected sites; its value is in preventing attacks and speeding up delivery. Sucuri, owned by GoDaddy, works with any CMS or host and offers a free WordPress plugin.

On price, Cloudflare has a free plan at $0 a month, Pro at $20 a month billed annually and Business at $200 a month billed annually, with no bandwidth-based billing on standard plans. Advanced cache and WAF features are kept for higher tiers, and support on free and Pro is limited. Sucuri has no free tier for the service: the firewall-only plan is $9.99 per month and the full platform starts at $229 per year, with a 30-day money-back guarantee. The same Cloudflare account also unlocks Workers, R2 storage and Zero Trust tools.

Most small sites that mainly want speed, SSL and DDoS protection will be well served by Cloudflare's free or Pro plan. Site owners and agencies running WordPress or other CMS sites that are likely targets, or that have already been hacked, may prefer Sucuri for the cleanup guarantee and hands-on help.

Choose Cloudflare CDN if…

Site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection and SSL in minutes
You want a free option (Sucuri is paid only)
Free plan includes CDN, DNS, SSL and unmetered DDoS protection
No bandwidth-based billing on standard plans

Choose Sucuri if…

Site owners and agencies who want a firewall plus someone else to clean up a hacked website
Unlimited manual malware cleanups included on platform plans
Firewall works with any CMS or host because it runs at the DNS level

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 Sucuri?

Sucuri is a website security service owned by GoDaddy. It puts a cloud web application firewall and CDN in front of your site to block attacks, bad bots and DDoS traffic, scans the site for malware and blocklist warnings, and sends its own analysts to clean up a hacked site. Cleanups are unlimited on its platform plans, and it will also ask search engines and blocklists to remove warnings on your behalf. It works with any CMS or hosting provider because it sits at the DNS level, although many customers run WordPress, for which it also offers a free plugin. Plans are billed yearly for the full platform or monthly for the firewall alone, and agencies can buy multi-site bundles. There is no free tier for the service itself, and its CDN is mainly a caching add-on to the firewall rather than a large delivery network. A 30-day money-back guarantee applies.

Side by side

Attribute	Cloudflare CDN	Sucuri
Pricing	Free plan + paid	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	Site owners and agencies who want a firewall plus someone else to clean up a hacked website
Status	Active	Active

Verified facts, compared

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

Fact	Cloudflare CDN	Sucuri
Starting price	$20 a month, billed annually (Pro)	$229 per year (Basic Platform)