Cloudflare sits in the “Money and foundations” part of a list of 58 tools I keep for building software, publishing content and selling products. DNS, domains and basic protection. This page is the short, honest version: Free, the moment it earns its place, what to check before you pay, and what else on the list would do the job.
The facts
| What it does | DNS, domains and basic protection. |
|---|---|
| When you need it | As soon as you work with real domains. |
| Price | Free |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Category | Money and foundations |
| Covered in | |
| In my stack | Yes — I use this one |
Cloudflare
Free · As soon as you work with real domains.
No affiliate link here — this one pays me nothing. It is on the list anyway.
Before you buy
Who should skip it
Skip the paid tiers until you actually have traffic or an attack.
What to check before you pay
Check that moving your DNS does not break existing email records — that is the one that bites.
Alternatives to Cloudflare on this list
Other tools for putting a project on a real address.
| Tool | What it does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Vercel | Hosting. Puts a project live on a real address with one command. | Free tier |
| Replit | Building and hosting in one place, agent included. | Free tier, Core ~$20/mo |
Questions people ask
What is Cloudflare?
DNS, domains and basic protection. It sits in the “Money and foundations” part of the stack: The boring layer between a demo and a business. Everything here starts free.
What does Cloudflare cost?
Free. There is a free tier, so you can try it before paying. Prices change — this list was last checked on 11 September 2026, and the tool's own pricing page is the source of truth.
When do you need Cloudflare?
As soon as you work with real domains.
What are the alternatives to Cloudflare?
On this list: Vercel, Replit. Same job, different trade-offs — the table above says what each one costs and what it is for.
Do you use Cloudflare yourself?
Yes. It is part of the stack I build and publish with.
The Short Version
Every conclusion from all eight playbooks — how these tools turn into income. Free.