AWS is a comprehensive Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform offering 200+ services for computing, storage, and databases, while Cloudflare is a specialized content delivery and security platform focused on edge computing and DDoS protection. AWS serves as a primary cloud provider for enterprise workloads, whereas Cloudflare excels as a complementary service or lightweight alternative for web performance and security.
Cloudflare vs AWS — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose AWS if you need comprehensive cloud infrastructure, scalable compute, multiple database options, and building entire applications from scratch—it's the industry standard for enterprise workloads despite higher complexity and cost. Choose Cloudflare if you prioritize ease of deployment, edge security, global CDN performance, DDoS protection out-of-the-box, and want to complement existing infrastructure without managing servers.
Compare Cloudflare vs Amazon Web Services (AWS)
CDN and cybersecurity platform providing DDoS protection, performance optimization, and security services.
Comprehensive cloud infrastructure platform with 200+ services for compute, storage, databases, and enterprise solutions.
Structured comparison data for Cloudflare vs AWS with 182 attributes.
Supported Programming Languages (Workers/Serverless)
DNS Query Response Time (Global Average)
Serverless Function Cost (1M executions/month)
Global Website Speed Improvement (Average)
Monthly Cost (1 vCPU, 1GB RAM, Standard Instance)
Monthly Cost for 10TB Egress Data Transfer
Estimated Learning Time for New Developer
Cost for Standard Production App (2 dynos + add-ons)
Compute Instance Starting Price (hourly)
Cloudflare vs AWS — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Cloudflare vs AWS.
Yes, absolutely. Cloudflare is typically used in front of AWS as an edge layer for security and performance. You'd point your domain to Cloudflare's nameservers, and Cloudflare routes traffic to your AWS origin servers. This is a common enterprise pattern—Cloudflare handles edge caching and DDoS protection while AWS handles the backend compute.
Cloudflare is cheaper for small websites. Cloudflare Pro costs $20/month flat with included DDoS protection and CDN. AWS's free tier (first 12 months) can be free, but post-free-tier costs depend on usage and can quickly exceed $20/month. For predictable costs on small projects, Cloudflare wins.
Cloudflare D1 (their SQLite-compatible database) is available in beta but still limited. For production databases at scale, AWS offers 15+ mature options: RDS for SQL, DynamoDB for NoSQL, Redshift for data warehousing. Cloudflare is not a database platform—it's designed as a content and security layer in front of databases.
Does AWS have an edge network like Cloudflare?
AWS has CloudFront (their CDN) and Lambda@Edge, but with only 33 regions vs Cloudflare's 320 data centers, Cloudflare's edge network is 3x denser globally. For ultra-low-latency edge computing and caching, Cloudflare's architecture is superior. AWS is better for regional compute and complex backend services.
Which requires more technical expertise?
AWS requires significantly more expertise. Cloudflare is accessible to beginners (change DNS, enable features). AWS requires understanding of VPCs, IAM, EC2, RDS, security groups, and 190+ other services. AWS has a steeper learning curve but offers deeper control and customization for complex architectures.