Fastly vs Cloudflare Pricing (2026)
How do these two stack up on price? Here's what each one costs, what you get, and where the value sits.
| Fastly | Cloudflare | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Custom | $25/mo |
| Number of plans | 3 | 4 |
| Free plan | ||
| Free trial | — | — |
| Pricing model | usage-based | hybrid |
Free Tier
- Fast, reliable content delivery network
- TLS
- Image Optimizer
- Domain Research API
- AI Accelerator
- Compute
- Fanout
- Websockets
- DDoS Protection
- Object Storage
- Key Value Store
- Secret Store
Usage-based, volume discounts
- Full Site Delivery
- TLS
- Image Optimizer
- Domain Research API
- AI Accelerator
- Compute
- Fanout
- Websockets
- DDoS Protection
- Object Storage
- Key Value Store
- Secret Store
- Alerts
- Edge Observer
Enterprise solutions
Free
- Fast, Easy-to-use DNS
- Unmetered DDoS Protection
- CDN
- Universal SSL Certificate
- Free Managed Ruleset
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Single-Sign-On (SSO) Support
- Role-based Account Control
Pro
- Fast, Easy-to-use DNS
- Unmetered DDoS Protection
- CDN
- Universal SSL Certificate
- Free Managed Ruleset
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Lossless Image Optimization
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
- Single-Sign-On (SSO) Support
- Role-based Account Control
Business
Popular- Fast, Easy-to-use DNS
- Unmetered DDoS Protection
- CDN
- Universal SSL Certificate
- Free Managed Ruleset
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Lossless Image Optimization
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
- PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance
- Single-Sign-On (SSO) Support
- Role-based Account Control
Contract
- Fast, Easy-to-use DNS
- Unmetered DDoS Protection
- CDN
- Universal SSL Certificate
- Free Managed Ruleset
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Lossless Image Optimization
- Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
- PCI DSS 4.0 Compliance
- Single-Sign-On (SSO) Support
- Network Prioritization
- Role-based Account Control
Fastly vs Cloudflare FAQ
- Which one is cheaper?
- One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.
- Can I use either one for free?
- Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.
- How do they charge?
- Different approach here. Fastly uses usage-based pricing, while Cloudflare goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.
- Which one is a better deal?
- Depends on what you need. Fastly: Fastly positions as the premium, developer-first CDN and edge compute platform — they're not trying to win on price against Cloudflare's free tier or commodity CDN players. They're going after engineering-led teams at mid-market and enterprise companies where performance, programmability, and support SLAs matter more than the lowest per-GB rate. Cloudflare: Cloudflare undercuts traditional CDN/security vendors like Akamai and Fastly hard at the low end — free and $25 tiers are practically loss-leaders to get developers hooked. But the $250 Business tier and custom Enterprise pricing show they're not afraid to charge premium once you need real compliance and support, positioning them as the affordable entry point that scales into enterprise-grade pricing.
Still deciding? See the best Fastly alternatives or the best Cloudflare alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.
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