Cloudflare Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Cloudflare costs Free to $250 per month as of September 2026, with 4 plans available including a free tier. Plans: Free (free), Pro at $25/month, and Business at $250/month. Custom pricing is available on request. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: Yes
Cloudflare offers 4 pricing tiers: Free, Pro, Business, Contract. A free plan is available. Paid plans include Pro at $25/month, Business at $250/month. The Pro plan is professional websites that aren't business-critical.
Yes, Cloudflare offers a forever free plan as of September 2026. The free tier includes 8 features with limits on workers requests and upload size. Paid plans start at $25/month (Pro). Pricing verified from 2 sources by CostBench.
Cloudflare's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Fast, easy-to-use DNS
- Unmetered DDoS protection
- Global CDN
- Universal SSL certificate
- Free managed WAF ruleset
- Web Application Firewall (WAF)
- Single-sign-on (SSO) support
- Role-based account control
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Everything in Free
- Lossless image optimization
- Enhanced WAF with managed rulesets
- Cache analytics
- Priority email support
- Rocket Loader for JavaScript optimization
- Pro-level bot management
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Workers requests | 100,000/day | Unlimited/Higher |
| Upload size | 100 MB | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Everything in Free or Lossless image optimization
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Cloudflare branding may appear on your content or communications
- Support is limited to community forums or email with longer response times
- Export options may be restricted or include watermarks
- API access is typically limited or not available
- Advanced reporting and analytics require paid plans
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Pro Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Pro $25/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 8 included | 7+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Cloudflare branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Personal or hobby projects that aren't business-critical | Professional websites that aren't business-critical |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Cloudflare free?
Yes, Cloudflare offers a forever free plan with 8 core features included. However, there are limits on workers requests, upload size that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Cloudflare's free plan?
Cloudflare's free plan includes: Fast, easy-to-use DNS, Unmetered DDoS protection, Global CDN, Universal SSL certificate, Free managed WAF ruleset, and 3 more features. Key limits include Workers requests: 100,000/day, Upload size: 100 MB.
03 What's NOT included in Cloudflare's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Everything in Free, Lossless image optimization, Enhanced WAF with managed rulesets, Cache analytics, Priority email support. You'll also have Cloudflare branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Cloudflare's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Everything in Free or Lossless image optimization, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $25/month.
05 Is Cloudflare's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Cloudflare's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.
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