Cloudflare WAF Alternative — Keep Your DNS

This is an honest, side-by-side comparison — not a claim that we beat Cloudflare at everything. SucuraGuard WAF is a reverse-proxy web application firewall on our own AS398999 anycast network. If you want to keep your existing DNS, cover unlimited domains at a flat price, and get real bot and rate-limit controls without an enterprise contract, that's where SucuraGuard fits. If you want a full CDN, authoritative DNS hosting, or edge compute, Cloudflare's larger platform covers that ground and we don't pretend otherwise.

Quick Answer

This page is an honest comparison, not a takedown. SucuraGuard WAF is a reverse-proxy web application firewall on Sucura's own AS398999 anycast network: one A-record at your existing DNS provider, unlimited domains at a flat price, and bot management plus Layer-7 rate limiting starting on the $20/mo tier — controls Cloudflare largely reserves for Enterprise. Cloudflare remains the better choice if you need a full CDN, authoritative DNS, edge compute, or its much larger global network. The right answer depends on what you actually need a WAF vendor to do.

1 Record
Keep Your DNS
Unlimited
Domains, Flat Price
$20/mo
Bot & Rate Controls
4 PoPs
Toronto / Chicago / Frankfurt / Singapore

SucuraGuard WAF vs Cloudflare WAF, Side by Side

Cloudflare runs a much larger network and a much bigger product line than we do — that's stated plainly below, not hidden. This table is about fit, not a scoreboard.

Category SucuraGuard WAF Cloudflare WAF
Onboarding / DNS One A-record at your existing DNS provider. Your nameservers, registrar, and other records are untouched. Default onboarding moves your authoritative DNS to Cloudflare's nameservers. A CNAME-based partial setup exists but is gated to the Business plan.
Domains & pricing model Unlimited domains on every tier, including Free — one flat monthly fee per account. Plans are priced and largely scoped per zone/domain; covering many domains at higher tiers adds cost per site.
Bot management tier Scored bot-signal engine and credential-stuffing defence from Pro, $20/mo. Basic bot-fight mode on lower tiers; full Bot Management is effectively an Enterprise-only feature.
L7 rate limiting tier Token-bucket Layer-7 rate limiting from Pro, $20/mo. Available as an add-on or bundled higher up the plan ladder; meaningful API-security controls sit near Enterprise.
DDoS included Yes — L3/L4 DDoS scrubbing runs on the same AS398999 anycast network as the WAF, one bill. Yes — Cloudflare's network also absorbs volumetric DDoS traffic as part of its edge.
Self-serve Yes — add site/origin, get a pre-issued certificate, add the A-record, done in the Nexus panel. Yes — Cloudflare's dashboard is also fully self-serve, with a large free tier.
Network size / PoPs Four PoPs: Toronto, Chicago, Frankfurt, Singapore. Smaller footprint — said plainly. Far larger — Cloudflare operates one of the biggest anycast networks in the world, with PoPs across most regions.
Full CDN / DNS / Workers No. Anycast edge caching and Always Online only — not a CDN, no image optimization, no edge compute, no DNS hosting. Yes — full CDN with image optimization, authoritative DNS hosting, and the Workers edge-compute platform.

Where SucuraGuard WAF Fits Better

These are the specific situations where sites tell us SucuraGuard is the better call — not a claim that it's better in general.

1
Keep Your DNS
One A-record - no nameserver migration, no touching mail or other records you already have configured elsewhere
Faster to reverse - removing a WAF you added by A-record is simpler than unwinding a full DNS migration
2
Unlimited Domains, Flat Price
Every tier, including Free - covers unlimited domains on one account
Predictable billing - a portfolio of sites doesn't multiply your monthly cost per zone
3
Real Controls on the $20 Tier
Bot-signal tuning & credential-stuffing defence - on Pro, not held back for an enterprise-only plan
Layer-7 rate limiting - token-bucket rules scoped to a path or condition, also on Pro
4
WAF + DDoS, One Network, One Bill
Same AS398999 anycast network - Layer-7 filtering and Layer 3/4 scrubbing on infrastructure we operate end to end
Self-serve - configured entirely in the Nexus panel, no sales call required to start

Where Cloudflare Is the Better Choice

We'd rather tell you this upfront than have you find out after switching. If any of the following is what you actually need, Cloudflare is the right tool.

You want a full CDN

Cloudflare's CDN includes image optimization and broad asset acceleration beyond caching. SucuraGuard offers anycast edge caching and Always Online, but it isn't a CDN and we don't pretend it is.

You want authoritative DNS hosting

If you'd rather have one vendor host your DNS zone and manage every record, Cloudflare's nameservers do that. SucuraGuard is intentionally an A-record-only reverse proxy, not a DNS host.

You need edge compute or Zero Trust

Workers, Zero Trust access, and Cloudflare's wider platform are real products we don't build. If your roadmap includes edge functions or access control beyond a WAF, Cloudflare covers it natively.

You need the largest possible network

Cloudflare's anycast footprint is far larger than our four PoPs. If raw global presence and edge density matter most for your traffic pattern, that scale is a genuine Cloudflare strength.

SucuraGuard WAF Pricing

Per account, unlimited domains on every tier. Prices below are draft and subject to change; Cloudflare's public pricing (cited for comparison) is Free $0, Pro roughly $20/mo annual (~$25/mo month-to-month after their May 2026 increase), Business roughly $200/mo annual (~$250/mo month-to-month), and Enterprise custom — with meaningful bot management and API security effectively gated to Enterprise.

Free
$0
Unlimited domains
5 custom rules
Managed WAF ruleset
Basic challenge
Basic edge caching
1-day analytics
Pro
$20/mo
Unlimited domains
25 custom rules
Bot per-signal tuning
Credential-stuffing defence
Adaptive baseline
L7 rate limiting
Advanced caching
CAPTCHA challenge
API access
7-day analytics
Business
$200/mo
Unlimited domains
250 custom rules
Mutual-TLS origin pull
Custom certificate upload
Username-level credential-stuffing tracking
30-day analytics
Enterprise
Custom
Unlimited domains
Unlimited custom rules
Extended (~13-month) analytics retention
Prices are in USD; CAD billing is available. No per-request or metered charges — pricing is a flat monthly fee per tier.
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Frequently Asked Questions

Is SucuraGuard a full Cloudflare replacement?
No, and we want to be upfront about that. SucuraGuard is a reverse-proxy WAF plus L3/L4 DDoS scrubbing on our own anycast network. It is not a full DNS host, not a full CDN, and not an edge-compute platform like Cloudflare Workers. If you need those, Cloudflare's broader platform covers ground we don't.
Do I have to change nameservers like with Cloudflare?
No. Cloudflare's default onboarding takes over your authoritative DNS with its own nameservers (a CNAME-based partial setup exists but is gated to Cloudflare's Business plan and adds its own friction). SucuraGuard asks for one A-record at whatever DNS provider you already use — your nameservers, registrar, and other records never move.
Is it cheaper than Cloudflare?
The headline tiers are similar: Free at $0, then roughly $20/mo and $200/mo on both sides. The practical difference is what each tier includes. Cloudflare gates meaningful bot management and API security to its Enterprise plan; SucuraGuard includes bot-signal tuning and Layer-7 rate limiting on the $20/mo Pro tier. Whether that makes us cheaper depends entirely on what you need to turn on.
What does Cloudflare do that you don't?
Honestly, quite a lot. Cloudflare operates a much larger global network, offers full authoritative DNS hosting, a genuine CDN with image optimization, edge compute through Workers, Zero Trust access products, and a large free tier across all of it. SucuraGuard is a focused WAF and DDoS product on four PoPs — Toronto, Chicago, Frankfurt, and Singapore — not a mega-platform.
Can I run both?
Yes. Some customers keep Cloudflare for DNS, CDN, or Workers and point their origin's WAF layer at SucuraGuard, or run SucuraGuard in front of an origin that isn't behind Cloudflare at all. You can also migrate just the WAF piece to SucuraGuard while leaving everything else where it is.
Is Sucura the same as Sucuri?
No. Sucura Networks is an independent Canadian network operator running our own autonomous system, AS398999. We are not affiliated with Sucuri (the website security company owned by GoDaddy) or with GoDaddy — the similar name is a coincidence.
How do I switch?
Add your hostname and origin server in the Nexus panel, let the certificate pre-issue, then add one A-record at your existing DNS provider pointing that hostname at our anycast VIP. If you're moving off Cloudflare's WAF, you can leave your Cloudflare DNS in place if it points elsewhere, or simply repoint the record you're using today. Most sites are live within minutes of the record propagating.
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