Cloudflare WAF
Cloudflare WAF: Broad edge WAF coverage with a free plan and Terraform management. Ranked #1 of 35 in Web Application Firewall Software by our editors (9.4/10); pricing: Free plan; best for teams wanting broad WAF coverage with a free plan.
At a glance
- Editor score9.4 / 10
- PricingFree plan
- Best forTeams wanting broad WAF coverage with a free plan
- Free planYes
- Paid from$20/mo
- Deployment modelEdge
- Founded2009 · San Francisco, California, United States
- Facts checked20 Sep 2026
Where it wins
- Free plan includes managed rules and one rate-limiting rule
- Edge inspection covers web applications and APIs
- Terraform management, analytics, and virtual patching support
Where it doesn't
- Bot management is a separate Cloudflare product
- Paid managed rules begin with the Pro plan
- Business pricing starts at $200 per month billed annually
Our verdict on Cloudflare WAF
Cloudflare WAF is a cloud-delivered web application firewall for websites and APIs. It inspects HTTP and HTTPS requests at Cloudflare’s edge, applying managed rulesets, custom rules, and protections for attacks such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting. Cloudflare positions it for personal projects, professional websites, small businesses, and mission-critical enterprise applications.
Pricing spans Free, Pro, Business, and Contract plans. The Free plan costs $0 per month with monthly billing and includes WAF, a Free Managed Ruleset, and one rate-limiting rule. Pro costs $20 per month with annual billing or $25 per month with monthly billing, adding WAF Managed Rules and rate-limiting rules. Business costs $200 per month with annual billing or $250 per month with monthly billing, with WAF Managed Rules and rate-limiting rules. The Contract plan includes WAF and enterprise application security features. Cloudflare notes that pricing may vary by region or contract.
The product’s feature set covers managed rulesets with regularly updated protections, custom request-property and expression rules, OWASP Top 10 protection, virtual patching for announced CVEs, API request protection, configurable rate limiting, Security Events, and Security Analytics. API and Terraform management support platform integration, while the edge deployment model suits teams that want inspection before traffic reaches applications. Teams seeking broad web and API coverage, automated rule updates, and a free starting point should consider Cloudflare WAF. Organizations that require bot management as a standard WAF capability should evaluate alternatives or Cloudflare’s separate Bot Management product.
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Cloudflare WAF pricing
All 4 Cloudflare WAF plans and prices →
Cloudflare WAF fact sheet
| Free plan | Yes |
|---|---|
| Paid from | $20/mo |
| Deployment model | Edge |
| Managed rule sets | Yes |
| API protection | Yes |
| Bot management | No |
| Rate limiting | Yes |
| Log retention | 30 days |
| Deployment | Cloud |
| Platforms | Web |
| Compliance & security | ISO 27001, SOC 2, GDPR, PCI DSS |
| Support | Community, Tickets, Live chat, Phone, Docs |
| Built for | Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise (editorial estimate) |
| Integrations | 1 integrations: Terraform |
| Pricing | Free plan (source) |
| Website | cloudflare.com |
| Facts checked | 20 Sep 2026 |
Cloudflare WAF integrations
Cloudflare WAF lists 1 integrations on its own site.
- Terraform
Alternatives to Cloudflare WAF
- AWS WAFFlexible AWS-native protection with usage-based pricing that requires careful cost planning.9.2
- Wallarm WAAPA broad WAAP platform with a useful free tier for API-focused security teams.9.1
- Akamai App & API ProtectorA broad edge security platform for large enterprises with complex environments.9.0
See all Cloudflare WAF alternatives →
Cloudflare WAF vs the competition
- Cloudflare WAF vs AWS WAF
- Cloudflare WAF vs Wallarm WAAP
- Cloudflare WAF vs Akamai App & API Protector
- Cloudflare WAF vs open-appsec
- Cloudflare WAF vs Google Cloud Armor
- Cloudflare WAF vs Azure Web Application Firewall
Compare Cloudflare WAF with any tool side by side →
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Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
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