Choose Cloudflare if you want a free plan that bundles CDN, DNS, DDoS protection and SSL for a website, with paid tiers as your business grows. Choose Fastly if you're a developer or media team that needs fine control over caching and near-instant purging of changed content. Cloudflare is the easier start for most small businesses; Fastly appeals most when cache control is the job.
I read Fastly's home, plans and CDN pages and Cloudflare's plans, network and CDN pages. Both sell far more than a CDN now, but their own pages show different priorities.
Fastly and Cloudflare side by side
| Fastly | Cloudflare | |
|---|---|---|
| Positioning | Edge platform to build, secure and deliver apps, AI and data | Global network with CDN, security and performance |
| Plans | Free, Growth, Enterprise (usage-based) | Free, Pro, Business, Contract |
| Standout claim | Under 150 ms regional mean purge with Instant Purge | Network in 348 cities across 8 regions |
| Security | DDoS, next-gen WAF and TLS built in | Unmetered DDoS protection and a free managed WAF ruleset |
| Uptime SLA | Not covered on the pages I read | 100% on Business and Contract plans |
| Free option (as of October 2026) | Free tier: 100 GB bandwidth and 1 million requests a month on Full Site Delivery | Free plan for personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical |
Fastly's edge: purging and control
Fastly's home page claims a regional mean purge time under 150 milliseconds with its Instant Purge feature, and its CDN page explains why that matters: you can cache rapidly changing content such as stock levels or breaking news for longer, because you can clear it the moment it changes. The Guardian is quoted saying updates appear on its pages within milliseconds.
Control is the other theme. Fastly says you can customise caching rules, test them in staging, switch them on or off in real time and roll back changes through its UI or API. Real-time log streaming sends traffic data to your own logging provider, which helps with troubleshooting.
Cloudflare's edge: one bundle for everyone
Cloudflare's plans page lists DNS, unmetered DDoS protection, the CDN, a Universal SSL certificate, a free managed ruleset and a web application firewall on every plan, including Free. For a small site, that's a lot of protection on day one. Cloudflare is clear that the Free plan is for personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical; Pro is aimed at professional sites and Business at small businesses operating online, which also brings a 100% uptime SLA.
Its network page says every service runs in every data centre, across 348 cities in 8 regions. Beyond the website plans, Cloudflare also offers a Zero Trust security platform free for teams under 50 users.
Cloudflare's wider platform is compared with AWS in our Cloudflare vs AWS guide.
Which one to start with
- Running a business website and want security plus speed in one switch? Cloudflare's bundle is built for that.
- Publishing content that changes by the minute? Fastly's Instant Purge is the feature to look at.
- Want fine-grained, code-level control of caching? Fastly's configurability is a core selling point.
- Need a free start for a hobby project? Both have free options, with different limits.
- Is your site business-critical? Cloudflare itself points those sites to Pro or Business rather than Free.
Whichever you choose, keep the basics covered with my guide to securing and protecting your website, and if you're weighing other CDNs, my look at AWS CloudFront vs BunnyCDN covers two more options.
My advice on Fastly or Cloudflare
For most small businesses, Cloudflare is the sensible first step: you get DNS, SSL, DDoS protection and caching in one place, and you can move up a tier when the site becomes critical to revenue. Fastly makes more sense when you have developers who want precise control and content that must update instantly, such as news, inventory or live events. Don't run both on the same site unless an engineer has a clear reason.
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Do you make CDN or website performance tools? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place in comparisons like this one.
Frequently asked questions
Does Cloudflare have a free plan?
Yes. Cloudflare's Free plan is for personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical and includes DNS, the CDN, unmetered DDoS protection and Universal SSL.
Does Fastly have a free tier?
Yes. Fastly lists a Free plan, and its Full Site Delivery free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1 million requests a month.
What is Fastly Instant Purge?
Fastly says Instant Purge clears cached content with a regional mean purge time under 150 milliseconds, so changed pages update almost immediately.
How many cities is Cloudflare in?
Cloudflare's network page lists 348 cities across 8 regions and says every service runs in every data centre.
Which is better for a small business website?
Cloudflare's plans page points small businesses operating online to its Business plan and hobby projects to Free, so it's the easier place to start for most small sites.
