Cloudflare Application Security and Performance Reviews & Product Details

Hey Hey I like best about Cloudflare Application Security and Performance is how integrated and frictionless it is—security, reliability, and speed all work together without adding operational complexity.

A few highlights:

Security baked in by default: WAF, DDoS protection, bot management, and rate limiting are tightly integrated, so protecting apps doesn’t feel like bolting on extra tools.

Performance at global scale: The global Anycast network, smart caching, and Argo routing noticeably reduce latency and improve availability for users everywhere.

Ease of use: The dashboard, rules engine, and APIs make it easy to deploy changes quickly, iterate on policies, and troubleshoot issues without slowing teams down.

Strong visibility and control: Detailed analytics and logs help teams understand traffic patterns, attacks, and performance bottlenecks in real time.

Developer-friendly: Features like Workers and flexible rule customization let teams tailor behavior without sacrificing security or speed.

Overall, Cloudflare does a great job of simplifying app security while actively improving performance, which is a rare and valuable combination. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

A few things I dislike about Cloudflare Application Security and Performance—while still recognizing it’s a strong platform overall—are:

Learning curve for advanced features: The basics are easy to get started with, but configuring more advanced WAF rules, bot management, and rate limiting can become complex and sometimes feels unintuitive.

Limited transparency in some detections: It isn’t always clear why certain requests are blocked or challenged, which can slow down troubleshooting and make tuning harder.

Pricing complexity: Some of the more powerful security and performance features are locked behind higher tiers, and it’s not always obvious what’s included without digging through the documentation.

Rule debugging can be tedious: Testing and validating rules in production-like scenarios takes time, especially when changes have unintended side effects.

UI inconsistencies: Some settings are spread across different areas of the dashboard, so navigation can feel fragmented at times.

Overall, the biggest downside is that the platform’s power and flexibility come with added complexity—especially for teams that want fine-grained control without deep Cloudflare expertise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cloudflare makes it easy to create and manage security rules with a lot of flexibility. The firewall rule setup is powerful but still intuitive, and the DNS firewall is fast, reliable, and gives great visibility into traffic. It’s a solid balance of performance and security, and once configured, it runs quietly in the background doing exactly what it’s supposed to do. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Overall, the platform is excellent, but some advanced features require an Enterprise plan, which can be a higher cost barrier for smaller teams or growing businesses. While the value is there, the pricing jump to access certain capabilities (around $2,400 per year) may feel steep if you don’t need everything at that tier. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cloudflare stands out for its user-friendly interface, featuring an intuitive dashboard that simplifies the management of security and performance settings. One of its key strengths is the ease of implementation, allowing users to enable protection rapidly with minimal setup required. The platform offers a comprehensive set of features, such as DDoS protection, WAF, CDN, and performance optimization tools, which encourages frequent use for daily monitoring and traffic management. Additionally, Cloudflare integrates smoothly with existing infrastructure and cloud services, making adoption straightforward. The combination of responsive customer support and thorough documentation further assists in resolving any issues efficiently. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Although the platform offers a broad range of features, some of the more advanced configuration options can make it less user-friendly, particularly for those who are new to security platforms. While setting up the system is usually straightforward, adjusting and fine-tuning security rules may involve a learning curve. Frequent use of the platform can reveal some shortcomings in its reporting and analytics capabilities, especially when seeking more detailed insights. Additionally, certain integrations and features are only available in higher-priced plans, which can affect how easily the platform integrates with other tools. Customer support response times also tend to vary depending on the level of service plan chosen. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

From an infrastructure management perspective, Cloudflare is relatively easy to deploy and manage. DNS management, traffic routing, and security rules are centralized in a single dashboard, making changes quick and auditable. The visibility provided through logs, analytics, and security insights helps the IT team monitor traffic patterns, identify threats, and make informed decisions without deep manual investigation. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There are areas where Cloudflare could be improved from an admin perspective. Some advanced security and performance features require careful configuration to avoid false positives or unintended blocking. Additionally, deeper analytics and log retention options are often tied to higher-tier plans, which can be a consideration for budgeting and long-term monitoring needs. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like how Cloudflare makes it simple to turn on strong security and performance improvements in one place, with quick setup and clear controls. I’ve used Cloudflare for a few years, and it has become noticeably easier to use over time (and understand what toggle does what, etc.). Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

What I dislike is the lack of direct customer support on the Pro plan. When you need timely help for more advanced or urgent issues, it can be limiting, and features like live chat require upgrading to a more expensive plan. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find Cloudflare Application Security and Performance to provide a very positive experience with a strong combination of security, performance, and optimization. It's easy to use, suitable for both small applications and large enterprise workloads. The platform helps protect applications from common web threats and improves speed and response time. I like the strong security features like the web application firewall with managed and custom rules and effective protection against bot attacks. Its easy integration with SSL and TLS, zero trust, and limiting options is great. The global CDN and smart caching significantly improve load times, and the ability to block malicious IPs and URLs helps secure our business. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I think there could be improvements in securing our web server's performance to keep clients happy. I mentioned issues with sudden attacks impacting performance and the need for a utilization indicator to manage that. Scanning and blocking malicious traffic based on IPs should be more efficient. Protecting against Trojans and malicious signatures can be daunting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love using Cloudflare Application Security and Performance because it makes setting things up so easy. It works reliably, and I've noticed an instant improvement in both protection and page speed for our web apps. I find it valuable that we can deploy it quickly without heavy engineering efforts, and it runs with minimal maintenance. Also, it is effective at stopping malicious traffic, like bots and DDoS attacks, before they even reach our servers, and it speeds up our application globally using CDN caching and smart routing. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some WAF rules and bot management settings are hard to set up and have a steep learning curve. The pricing versus feature section is also confusing. Pricing should have a clear picture of what tier solves what problems, like a map that says 'if you have this problem, refer to this.' Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cloudflare provides an immediate improvement in both speed and security. The CDN and caching features noticeably accelerate my WordPress website, which is particularly beneficial for mobile visitors. I also appreciate how effortlessly it manages SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and the Web Application Firewall (WAF), all accessible through a single, intuitive dashboard. It does a great job controlling bot traffic and LLM scraping, and the analytics panel offers comprehensive insights that help me monitor performance enhancements as they happen. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The learning curve is steep for beginners, and bot protection can trigger CAPTCHA for legitimate users. Support on lower tiers is limited with slow response times. Configuring advanced firewall rules and page rules can be overwhelming without proper documentation or guidance. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Cloudflare makes it incredibly easy to improve both performance and security with minimal setup effort. The WAF rules, bot protection, and DDoS mitigation are reliable and rarely need manual tuning. I also appreciate the built-in CDN and caching features — they noticeably reduce latency and make site delivery smoother. The analytics dashboard is clear and real-time visibility is great for troubleshooting. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some advanced configuration options (especially for workers and edge rules) can be confusing at first, and documentation sometimes assumes you’re already technical. Pricing for higher-tier security and traffic limits can escalate quickly if your usage grows suddenly. Apart from that, the platform has been stable overall. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like how Cloudflare Application Security and Performance keeps our websites secure and fast, protecting against DDOS attacks and bots. It improves load times and reliability globally, which is great for our users. I appreciate how easy it is to use while still providing strong security and performance. I also really like the analytics and insights, and the interface makes it easy to set up security rules, manage caching, and monitor traffic without needing deep technical expertise. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some advanced features will be tricky to set up without experience, and pricing for higher-tier plans or add-ons is not always clear. I would rate 8 out of 10 because some outage causes real-time impact on our application availability. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.