Skip to content

Ahrefs vs Cloudflare

Based on 37 and 2055 real audits

View Ahrefs details | View Cloudflare details
MetricAhrefsCloudflareWinner
Performance3848Cloudflare
Accessibility8688Cloudflare
Best Practices8886Ahrefs
SEO9389Ahrefs
Security6567Cloudflare
TTFB289ms286msCloudflare
Composite7474Tie
Performance
Ahrefs
38
Cloudflare
48
Accessibility
Ahrefs
86
Cloudflare
88
Security
Ahrefs
65
Cloudflare
67
SEO
Ahrefs
93
Cloudflare
89
Composite
Ahrefs
74
Cloudflare
74

Cloudflare outperforms Ahrefs in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (74 vs 74). Ahrefs leads in best practices, SEO.

When to choose Ahrefs

Choose Ahrefs when your primary concern is SEO and best practices. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

When to choose Cloudflare

Choose Cloudflare when your primary concern is performance and server response time. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 37 audited Ahrefs sites and 2055 audited Cloudflare sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

FAQ

Which is faster, Ahrefs or Cloudflare?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Cloudflare sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (48 vs 38 on average).
Which has better security, Ahrefs or Cloudflare?
Cloudflare sites score higher on security analysis (67 vs 65 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Ahrefs or Cloudflare?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Cloudflare (88 vs 86). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, Ahrefs or Cloudflare?
Ahrefs sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (93 vs 89 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), Ahrefs or Cloudflare?
Cloudflare sites show lower Time to First Byte (286 ms vs 289 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose Ahrefs or Cloudflare for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Cloudflare scores higher on overall composite score while Ahrefs may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
Audit your own site

Send Feedback