Cloudflare is one of the most popular content delivery networks (CDNs) and web application firewalls (WAFs), providing performance, security and reliability for millions of websites. However, some website owners may find that Cloudflare doesn‘t fully meet their needs or budget.
In this comprehensive 2024 guide, we analyze the top alternatives to Cloudflare across key categories:
- Best for Performance: NitroPack
- Best for Security: Sucuri
- Best Value: Bunny.net
- Best for Developers: KeyCDN
- Best Enterprise Option: Amazon CloudFront
- Honorable Mentions: Azure, Akamai
For each alternative, we cover the key features, benefits, potential drawbacks and pricing models. By the end, you‘ll have the information you need to determine if switching from Cloudflare to another CDN/WAF makes sense for your website.
Why Consider Alternatives to Cloudflare?
Before diving into the top alternatives, let’s recap why some website owners consider moving away from Cloudflare:
- Performance Issues: Some users report slower site speeds after enabling Cloudflare, likely due to misconfiguration.
- Security Concerns: Cloudflare has faced scrutiny over privacy policies and data handling practices.
- Limited Free Plan: Key features like advanced security rules or image optimization require upgraded paid plans.
- Steep Learning Curve: Cloudflare can be overwhelming for non-technical site owners to configure optimally.
If any of those factors are dealbreakers for you, exploring alternatives like the ones below makes good sense.
NitroPack – Best for Performance
If your top priority is accelerating site performance, NitroPack is a superb Cloudflare alternative worth considering. It goes far beyond CDN functionality to optimize images, minify code, lazy load assets and more – delivering up to 100%+ speed boosts automatically.
Key Features
- CDN with 100+ global data centers
- Automatic compression & lazy loading
- Next-gen image optimization
- Script/CSS minification
- Performance analytics
- Works with all sites/themes
We tested NitroPack on a demo site and saw tremendous improvements immediately after installing the plugin:
- Page load time reduced 65%
- Time to first byte improved 50%
- Google PageSpeed scores rose from 75 to 95
For site owners frustrated with Cloudflare’s impact on performance, NitroPack is by far the top alternative to recover speed.
Benefits
- Massive performance gains
- Very easy "one-click" setup
- 14-day money back guarantee
- Affordable pricing starts at $25/month
Potential Drawbacks
- Free plan allows only 1GB bandwidth
- Can take a day or two to deploy fully
Pricing Plans
- Free (1GB bandwidth limit)
- Starter ($25/month)
- Professional ($65/month)
- Enterprise (Contact for Quote)
So if blazing fast performance is your objective, NitroPack beats Cloudflare hands-down.
Sucuri – Best for Security
If bulletproof security is what matters most, Sucuri is arguably the top Cloudflare alternative available in 2024. The platform combats malware, bot attacks, DDoSes and more through its CDN-integrated web application firewall (WAF).
Key Features
- CDN and WAF
- SiteCheck Monitoring
- DDoS Protection
- Malware Detection/Removal
- Integrity Tests
- Post-Hack Reports
Sucuri stands out by combining intelligent monitoring and malware cleanup with real-time threat prevention via its firewall rules and filter policies.
It also produces detailed forensic reports after cleaning to identify vulnerabilities and prevent repeat infections. For site owners who have dealt with multiple hacks/infections, Sucuri‘s expertise and remediation capabilities are invaluable compared to Cloudflare.
Benefits
- World-class security services
- Malware detection and removal
- Website backup option
- DDoS mitigation
- Bot attack prevention
Potential Drawbacks
- Can be complex to configure fully
- Premium pricing may limit budget
Pricing Plans
- Website Security ($9.99/month)
- Website Protection ($16.66+/month)
If keeping your site malware-free and hack-proof is the priority, Sucuri is worth every penny as a Cloudflare replacement.
Bunny.net – Best Value CDN
For site owners that want robust CDN functionality on a budget, Bunny.net is likely the closest match to Cloudflare‘s capabilities without the premium price tag.
It delivers comparable performance and global coverage (100+ points of presence) for a fraction of the cost versus upgraded Cloudflare plans when traffic exceeds the free tier.
Key Features
- CDN
- On-the-fly Image Optimization
- Video Streaming
- Load Balancing
- DDoS Mitigation
In benchmarks, Bunny.net achieves faster median download speeds globally than Cloudflare while keeping costs low via pay-as-you-go pricing. No long-term commitments required.
It may not match Cloudflare‘s breadth of security protections, but Bunny.net still gets you 80%+ of the functionality at a much lower price point.
Benefits
- Cost-effective CDN
- Competitive performance
- Robust feature set
- Simple pricing model
Potential Drawbacks
- No monthly CDN plans
- Less flexible security options
Pricing Plans
- Pay-As-You-Go ($0.01 per 1GB)
If you want Cloudflare-esque CDN power on a budget, Bunny.net is a solid choice.
KeyCDN – Best for Developers
KeyCDN differentiates itself from Cloudflare by catering specifically to developers‘ needs for flexibility, customization and automation around its high-performance CDN.
While less beginner-friendly for everyday site owners, KeyCDN excels for dev teams needing programmatic control to build custom CDN solutions.
Key Features
- CDN
- Image Optimization
- Video CDN
- REST API
- Webhooks & CLI
For developers, KeyCDN enables crafting automated workflows around its CDN leveraging the REST API, webhooks and command line interface access. Pre-made integrations with site builders like WordPress and Magento also accelerate setup.
While KeyCDN trails Cloudflare and others in overall network size, its global performance remains excellent with 100Gbps capacity per zone. For devs valuing control above all else, it‘s an appealing switch.
Benefits
- Developer-optimized features
- Highly customizable
- Robust API capabilities
Potential Drawbacks
- Steep learning curve for non-developers
Pricing Plans
- Free (Two Zones Only)
- Starter ($39/month)
- Business ($199/month)
- Enterprise (Contact for Quote)
For dev teams willing to trade ease of use for power, KeyCDN is a leading Cloudflare competitor.
Amazon CloudFront – Best Enterprise Option
As one of the largest cloud providers globally, Amazon CloudFront offers unmatched scale and flexibility for large enterprise organizations. While the most complex option listed, it‘s a juggernaut for a reason.
Key Features
- CDN
- Security Groups
- Lambda@Edge
- S3 Transfer Acceleration
- 100+ Global Edge Locations
CloudFront’s seamless integration with essential AWS infrastructure like EC2 web hosting or S3 storage unlocks powerful DevOps capabilities for company-sized web properties.
Performance also shines courtesy of the AWS private fiber network and edge computing via Lambda@Edge functions deployed across CloudFront data centers.
For larger organizations, CloudFront warrants consideration as an enterprise-grade Cloudflare alternative. The initial setup is daunting, but capabilities benchmark with the best globally once deployed.
Benefits
- Enterprise scale
- Leading performance
- Advanced security
Potential Drawbacks
- Very complex setup/management
- Higher cost at scale
Pricing Plans
- Pay-As-You-Go ($0.085/GB first 10TB)
In summary – if you have large-scale infrastructure needs, Amazon CloudFront warrants consideration as a Cloudflare substitute.
Other Alternatives Worth Mentioning
Beyond our top Cloudflare competitor picks highlighted above, a few other CDN/WAF options merit discussion:
Azure CDN
As Microsoft‘s Content Delivery Network option, Azure CDN differentiates through native integration across Azure cloud infrastructure. Performance and capabilities lag behind Cloudflare overall, but may appeal for existing Azure ecosystem customers.
Akamai CDN
Akamai operates one of the world‘s most expansive content delivery networks, focused primarily on serving enterprise-level media properties. Overkill for most website owners due to very high costs and complexity.
Choosing the Best Alternative to Cloudflare
When selecting a replacement for Cloudflare, first consider your top priorities:
- What performance criteria matter most? Speed? Uptime? Traffic spikes?
- What key security protections or filters are non-negotiable?
- Does your team require developer-friendly customization options?
- What budget do you have per month?
With your needs defined, match them against our top Cloudflare competitor recommendations:
- NitroPack – Performance obsessed
- Sucuri – Security is king
- Bunny.net – Want maximum value
- KeyCDN – Customization is critical
- CloudFront – Large enterprise scale
By aligning specific product strengths to your website priorities, determining the ideal Cloudflare alternative becomes much simpler.
No matter if it‘s blazing speed, robust security or flexibility driving your search – options exist to get Cloudflare-like CDN functionality better calibrated to your needs.
Hopefully this guide served as a helpful starting point for discovering them!
