DNS / Security review
Cloudflare
DNS, CDN, security, and increasingly a full developer platform. The free tier alone is more than most one-person businesses ever need.
At a glance
- Pricing
- Free tier is genuinely generous; Pro $25/mo; Workers free up to 100k req/day
- Category
- DNS / Security
- Last reviewed
- Best for
- Anyone running a website who wants free CDN, DNS, and SSL, plus optional access to edge compute and cheap storage.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Benchmarks
How Cloudflare actually scores.
Five axes that matter for a one-person business. Each score is editorial, 1–10, higher is better. A tool that maxes every axis doesn't exist; the shape of the chart is the signal.
- Price
- Value for a one-person budget
- Solo fit
- Built with solo operators in mind
- Learning curve
- How fast a beginner gets useful work done
- Lock-in
- How easy it is to leave (high = easy)
- Support
- Quality and responsiveness of help
Scores are set by the editor after hands-on use and revised as the tool evolves. They're not paid for and don't change based on affiliate partnerships.
The case for
- Free tier covers DNS, CDN, basic DDoS protection, free SSL, and unlimited bandwidth
- Workers (edge functions) free up to 100k requests/day, more than most solo sites need
- R2 storage with no egress fees: meaningful savings vs S3 for media-heavy sites
- Email routing forwards [you@your-domain.com] to your real inbox for free
The case against
- Dashboard is dense: real learning curve to navigate confidently
- Some features overlap (Workers, Pages, Functions) in ways that confuse newcomers
- Pro at $25/mo is the upgrade path that most solos do not actually need
- Support quality on free tier is community forums only
What "Cloudflare for solos" actually means
Most one-person businesses interact with Cloudflare for one reason: they bought a domain on Namecheap or Google Domains, wanted a CDN and SSL in front of their site, and read that Cloudflare's free tier covers it. That is genuinely how most solos start. The free tier is not a teaser, it is the product.
What the free tier actually gives you:
- DNS hosting for unlimited domains
- Global CDN with unlimited bandwidth
- Free SSL certificates for any domain you point at it
- Basic DDoS protection
- Page Rules for redirects and caching
- 100,000 Workers requests/day (edge compute)
- 10GB free R2 object storage
For a content site, marketing site, or even a small SaaS, this stack costs zero and outperforms most paid alternatives.
What you actually use
- DNS + Proxy. Point your domain at Cloudflare nameservers, enable the orange cloud icon, and your traffic flows through their CDN with HTTPS. Five-minute setup.
- Page Rules. Free tier gives 3 rules, enough for "redirect www to apex" and "force HTTPS".
- Email Routing. Use a custom email address ([hello@yourbusiness.com]) that forwards to your existing Gmail/Fastmail/whatever. Avoid paying for a dedicated email box for the address.
- Analytics. Server-side analytics that does not require a script tag and does not get blocked by ad blockers. Less detailed than GA but cookie-free.
- R2 Storage. S3-compatible object storage with no egress fees. Useful for media (images, videos, downloads) on a content site.
Where the dashboard is daunting
The product surface is huge: DNS, Workers, Pages, R2, D1, Stream, Images, Tunnel, Access, Spectrum. Most solos use 10% of it and never touch the rest. Knowing that helps: do not feel obligated to learn everything.
The pricing page is also confusing because each product has its own free tier and pricing model. The summary: most solo use cases stay free.
When Pro ($25/mo) makes sense
Almost never for a true solo. Pro adds image optimisation (which Vercel/Next.js already does), advanced DDoS rules (which most solo sites do not need), and slightly better support. Skip it unless you have a specific feature you need.
Verdict
The free tier is one of the best value propositions on the internet. If your domain is not behind Cloudflare in 2026, you are likely paying for SSL, CDN, or DNS that you could have for free. Set it up once, never think about it again.
Related reading: the minimum viable software stack for your first year.
Bottom line
Ready to try Cloudflare?
Anyone running a website who wants free CDN, DNS, and SSL, plus optional access to edge compute and cheap storage.
Disclosure: Some links on this page are affiliate links. I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend tools I've used and would happily suggest to a friend.
Living document
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