Cloudflare DNS vs Cloudflare
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Cloudflare DNS and Cloudflare.
Quick Verdict
4.4/5
Cloudflare DNS
0 reviews
4.3/5
Cloudflare
0 reviews
Cloudflare DNS is rated higher (4.4 vs 4.3). Cloudflare DNS provides authoritative DNS management for any domain — free forever. Anycast routing ensures fastest DNS resolution globally. DNS analytics, DNSSEC, and DDoS protection included. Global network that speeds up and protects websites with CDN caching, DDoS protection, free SSL and DNS. Free plan; Pro costs $20/month billed annually ($25 monthly).
Cloudflare DNS Fastest and most trusted free DNS service | Cloudflare Global CDN and DDoS protection with object storage | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.4 (0 reviews)✓ | 4.3 (0 reviews) |
| Pricing model | free | freemium |
| Starting price | Free✓ | From $20/mo |
| Best for | Anyone who owns a domain and wants fast, free, DNSSEC-capable authoritative DNS with a serious API behind it — the default we recommend before comparing anything else. | Websites and SaaS front ends that want a free or flat-priced global CDN with DDoS protection and TLS included — and can accept proxying all traffic through one vendor. |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ||
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Global — 300+ cities |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | free tierapi accessddos protection | free tiers3 compatibleddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accessipv6terraform provider |
| Visit Cloudflare DNS → | Visit Cloudflare → | |
Cloudflare DNS
Pros
- + Free authoritative DNS with unlimited records on every plan
- + DNSSEC, full API and Terraform provider included at no cost
- + 330+ city anycast network with fast global resolution
- + DNS-layer DDoS protection included
- + Registrar and CDN integration from one account
Cons
- - No contractual uptime SLA below the Business plan
- - Query and traffic data necessarily passes through a US-based provider
- - Domains on Cloudflare Registrar must use Cloudflare nameservers
- - Useful DNS analytics and WAF features sit on higher paid tiers
- - Network-level incidents affect all domains at once
Cloudflare
Pros
- + Unmetered bandwidth and requests on every plan, including Free
- + Free managed WAF ruleset, Universal SSL and unmetered DDoS protection by default
- + 330+ city network with Anycast routing and no region pricing
- + Flat per-domain pricing is easy to budget; no egress surprises
- + Terraform provider and full API for configuration as code
Cons
- - No uptime SLA below the Business plan
- - Per-domain billing gets expensive for domain portfolios
- - Advanced WAF tuning and rate limiting are plan-gated
- - Proxy architecture is a concentration risk during network-level incidents
- - Large feature surface means caching misconfigurations can go unnoticed
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