What is Cloudflare?
Cloudflare can act as a domain's authoritative DNS provider and, for proxied records, route HTTP traffic through its network before it reaches an origin server. CDN caching and traffic filtering can be configured on that path. Its WAF applies rules to incoming web and API requests, while Workers runs application code on Cloudflare's platform. These are separate services with different settings and limits.
Read the full overview
Sources checked 27 September 2026: proxy and DNS concepts, WAF concepts, and Workers operation.
Key capabilities
- Authoritative DNS: manage domain records.
- Reverse proxy and CDN: route and optionally cache eligible web traffic.
- WAF rules: filter requests using configurable rulesets.
- Workers: run code in response to requests at the edge.
Plan DNS changes, TLS mode, origin authentication, caching exclusions, and false-positive review. Test each hostname and path after enabling the proxy; security and performance depend on rules and application behavior.
Cloudflare is relevant when a site needs DNS management, traffic handling in front of an origin, or code at the edge. A DNS-only record does not use the same proxy features as a proxied record. Evaluate the actual hostname configuration, cache rules, security rules, and origin protections rather than assuming all features are active by default.
Cloudflare's value comes from placing configured network services between visitors and an origin. The official network explanation and WAF documentation were checked 27 September 2026. City counts and blanket DDoS or speed guarantees were removed.
Technical details
- Access
- Web platform
- Source model
- Other license
- Founded
- 2009
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California, USA
- Pricing model
- Freemium
- Starting price
- 0 USD · verify current price ↗
- API
- Available
- Website
- www.cloudflare.com ↗
Official resources
What to verify for your environment
Start from the users, systems and operating responsibilities the tool needs to support.
- Confirm current features, licensing and support terms with the publisher.
- Validate deployment, data location, access control, backup and recovery requirements.
- Test integrations, export paths and a representative operational workflow before committing.
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Reviews of Cloudflare
Incredible value on the free tier5/5 starsWe started with Cloudflare's free plan for DNS and DDoS protection, and gradually adopted Workers, R2, and their WAF. The performance improvement was noticeable immediately. Their edge network is massive and the API is well-documented. Enterprise features are expensive but the free tier is genuinely generous.
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