Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) vs Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN

Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN)8.3Visit CCCisco Catalyst SD-WAN8.2Visit

Higher score Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) #5 in Network as a Service (NaaS) Platforms 8.3/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Cloudflare

vs

CC Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN #6 in Network as a Service (NaaS) Platforms 8.2/10 Pricing on request ✓ 0 of 5 features Visit Cisco

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) fits best

  Enterprises connecting sites and cloud resources globally

• Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN fits best

  Large enterprises standardizing SD-WAN

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Side by side

Feature	Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) 8.3/10 Visit ↗	CCCisco Catalyst SD-WAN 8.2/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.3	8.2
Ranking	#5 in Network as a Service (NaaS) Platforms	#6 in Network as a Service (NaaS) Platforms
Best for	Enterprises connecting sites and cloud resources globally	Large enterprises standardizing SD-WAN
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	Pricing on request	Pricing on request
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted	Cloud, Self-hosted
Platforms	Web	Web
Integrations	10 integrations	12 integrations
Features Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) 0/5 · Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN 0/5
SD-WAN included	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Secure access/SASE	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Cloud firewall	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Network monitoring	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
API access	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Connectivity type	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Managed sites	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Connects sites over IPsec and GRE, with dedicated interconnects available Supports application-aware routing and traffic prioritization Combines BGP routing with integrated firewall and Gateway controls	Centralized provisioning, monitoring, upgrades, and troubleshooting Routes applications using measured loss, latency, and jitter Connects across public clouds, SaaS, and multiple WAN transports
Cons	Enterprise-only service requires contacting Cloudflare Automatic appliance onboarding depends on Cloudflare One Appliance Requires network planning to choose tunnels, interconnects, and routing policies	Pricing requires contacting sales Its enterprise networking scope may exceed simpler WAN needs Zero-touch provisioning is limited to supported WAN edge routers
Our verdict	Branch offices, retail sites, data centers, and cloud resources can connect through Cloudflare WAN, an enterprise WAN-as-a-service product managed through Cloudflare’s network. It supports site-to-site links over IPsec and GRE, private… Read the review →	Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN connects branch offices, campuses, data centers, and cloud environments through centrally managed software-defined networking. Large enterprises standardizing SD-WAN are its clearest fit: teams can configure, monitor,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN) — where it wins

  • Connects sites over IPsec and GRE, with dedicated interconnects available
  • Supports application-aware routing and traffic prioritization
  • Combines BGP routing with integrated firewall and Gateway controls

  Where it doesn't

  • Enterprise-only service requires contacting Cloudflare
  • Automatic appliance onboarding depends on Cloudflare One Appliance
  • Requires network planning to choose tunnels, interconnects, and routing policies

• Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN — where it wins

  • Centralized provisioning, monitoring, upgrades, and troubleshooting
  • Routes applications using measured loss, latency, and jitter
  • Connects across public clouds, SaaS, and multiple WAN transports

  Where it doesn't

  • Pricing requires contacting sales
  • Its enterprise networking scope may exceed simpler WAN needs
  • Zero-touch provisioning is limited to supported WAN edge routers

• Cloudflare WAN (formerly Magic WAN)8.3/10 · Pricing on request

  A cloud-managed WAN for connecting sites and cloud resources through Cloudflare’s network.

  Visit CloudflareFull verdict →
• CCCisco Catalyst SD-WAN8.2/10 · Pricing on request

  Centralized SD-WAN with application-aware routing, cloud on-ramps, and integrated security.

  Visit CiscoFull verdict →