Cloudflare is a CDN and DDoS protection platform optimized for web performance and application security, while Zscaler is a Zero Trust network security platform focused on secure internet access and data loss prevention. Cloudflare excels at edge computing and performance, whereas Zscaler specializes in granular access control and threat prevention for remote users.
Cloudflare vs Zscaler — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Edge computing and security platform specializing in CDN, DDoS protection, and application performance.
Cloud-native Zero Trust security platform offering secure internet gateway, data loss prevention, and threat prevention for remote workforces.
Primary Use Case. Global Network Edge Locations. Zero Trust Architecture Support. DDoS Protection Throughput. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Capabilities. Starting Monthly Price. Mobile Device Management Integration
Choose Cloudflare if you need high-performance CDN, DDoS protection, and web application security at scale with a low entry cost. Choose Zscaler if your primary requirement is Zero Trust network security, advanced threat prevention, and data loss prevention for a distributed workforce with granular access policies.
Cloudflare: Developer-focused | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare DNS primary | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: DDoS, threat intelligence, WARP, Magic | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Community & documentation | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $10.20 (at-cost) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Excellent for enterprise | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Industry standard | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Highly accessible with strong freemium | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 74% planning to expand | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Comprehensive and standardized | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Superior and broader distribution | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 31% (Q3 2025: $562M) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Growing (not disclosed) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Workers Bindings, multimodal models, AI agents | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 230+ billion threats blocked | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Free tier + affordable paid plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Not specified | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Per-domain flat-rate plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Limited; requires manual configuration | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 100+ countries | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 230 billion threats (2026) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes, included in plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers (lightweight functions) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Limited, requires manual configuration | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Simple DNS-based setup | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Predictable, no hidden charges | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Unlimited on all plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Free tier available | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 310+ globally | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Included on all plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 24/7 community + paid support | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: No (requires external provider) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Not applicable | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 30-60 minutes | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 275+ edge locations | Zscaler: 150+
Cloudflare: 3.8M requests/month | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Unlimited (included in all plans) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: No native VMs; Workers $5-200/month | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $20/month Pro plan | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 23ms (fastest DNS globally) | Zscaler: N/A
Supported Programming Languages (Workers/Serverless)
Cloudflare: JavaScript/TypeScript, Rust, C, C++ (WebAssembly) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 15 minutes (Enterprise) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 300+ across 100+ countries | Zscaler: N/A
DNS Query Response Time (Global Average)
Cloudflare: Yes - full CDN, DNS, DDoS protection | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers - included | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes - full-featured | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Advanced (free tier + enterprise) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Free Universal SSL all plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Unlimited (CDN-based) | Zscaler: 50,000+
Cloudflare: 71 Tbps | Zscaler: Not specialized
Cloudflare: Partial (requires Access addon) | Zscaler: Full native implementation
Cloudflare: 10-15 minutes | Zscaler: 2-4 hours
Cloudflare: Not optimized | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes, included | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 5-10 (DNS propagation) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers (full serverless) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 25+ core services | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $20 (Pro plan) | Zscaler: $25/user
Cloudflare: Yes, all plans | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 5 minutes (DNS change) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 1 (Cloudflare D1 beta) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: ~30ms (median global) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 150 Tbps (Pro plan) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes ($20/month plan) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Native REST + GraphQL APIs | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $20 (Pro plan) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 1 (D1 SQLite) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Workers AI (beta), limited models | Zscaler: N/A
Serverless Function Cost (1M executions/month)
Cloudflare: $1.50 (Workers) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Not offered (Kubernetes at edge via Workers) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes (with core features) | Zscaler: N/A
Global Website Speed Improvement (Average)
Cloudflare: L3/L4 included | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: N/A (not a registrar) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $0 (included) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes (Pro plan+) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 15-20 core services | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Full DDoS protection included | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Fixed plans from $20/month | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 5 minutes via DNS change | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 21% of top 10K websites (not IaaS competitor) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $20 (Pro plan) | Zscaler: $79+ per user
Cloudflare: Basic content filtering | Zscaler: 300+ policies
Cloudflare: Secondary feature | Zscaler: Core platform
Cloudflare: 56ms global average | Zscaler: Not optimized for CDN
Cloudflare: Limited support | Zscaler: Deep integration (3+ major)
Cloudflare: 300+ edge cities | Zscaler: 150+ data centers
Cloudflare: <50ms (99% of internet users) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Generous free tier ($0; includes basic CDN, DDoS, SSL/TLS) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: Limited; Workers AI in beta with emerging model support | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 5-15 minutes (DNS change + proxy setup) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: $34.2 billion (as of March 2025) | Zscaler: N/A
Cloudflare: 10+ languages via Workers (JavaScript, Rust, Python, Go, etc.) | Zscaler: N/A
How to choose between Cloudflare and Zscaler
Cloudflare vs Zscaler — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Cloudflare vs Zscaler. Contains 131 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Cloudflare vs Zscaler — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Cloudflare vs Zscaler.
Can I use Cloudflare and Zscaler together?
Yes. Cloudflare can be your CDN/DDoS layer while Zscaler acts as your Zero Trust security gateway. This is common in enterprises using Cloudflare for edge performance and Zscaler for granular user/device access control. They complement each other at different network layers.
Which is better for protecting remote workers?
Zscaler is purpose-built for remote workforce security with native Zero Trust, advanced threat prevention, and DLP—ideal for distributed teams. Cloudflare Zero Trust exists but is less mature. If your only need is remote workers, Zscaler is the better choice despite higher cost.
Does Cloudflare protect against malware and advanced threats?
Cloudflare offers basic threat protection via Gateway and malware detection, but it's not its primary strength. Zscaler's inline threat prevention stops 99.2% of zero-day malware. For advanced threat prevention, Zscaler is the specialist.
Which platform has a lower total cost of ownership?
Cloudflare has significantly lower entry costs ($20-200/month for most businesses) with no per-user pricing. Zscaler's per-user model ($79+/month) becomes expensive fast with 100+ employees. For SMBs, Cloudflare is cheaper; for enterprises, TCO depends on workload complexity.
What's the difference in implementation time?
Cloudflare CDN can be deployed in hours via DNS changes. Zscaler typically requires 2-4 weeks including integration with identity systems, MDM, and policy rollout. Cloudflare wins on speed; Zscaler's complexity reflects its advanced capabilities.
How to Choose Between Cloudflare and Zscaler
Primary Use Case: Cloudflare has CDN, DDoS protection, edge computing, web application firewall, while Zscaler has Zero Trust network security, secure internet access, data loss prevention.
Global Network Edge Locations: Cloudflare has 300+ data centers, while Zscaler has 150+ data centers.
Consider: Zero Trust Architecture Support
Zero Trust Architecture Support: Cloudflare has Cloudflare Zero Trust (limited identity integration), while Zscaler has Native Zero Trust platform with advanced identity controls.
DDoS Protection Throughput: Cloudflare has Automatic, 71 Tbps capacity, while Zscaler has Limited DDoS (cloud firewall only).
Consider: Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Capabilities
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Capabilities: Cloudflare has Basic content filtering, while Zscaler has Advanced DLP with 300+ predefined policies.
Starting Monthly Price: Cloudflare has $20 (Pro plan), while Zscaler has $79 per user/month (estimated).
Consider: Mobile Device Management Integration
Mobile Device Management Integration: Cloudflare has Limited MDM support, while Zscaler has Deep MDM integration with Intune, Jamf, MobileIron.