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AWS CloudFront vs Cloudflare

Based on 402 and 2148 real audits

View AWS CloudFront details | View Cloudflare details
MetricAWS CloudFrontCloudflareWinner
Performance3949Cloudflare
Accessibility8988AWS CloudFront
Best Practices8786AWS CloudFront
SEO9189AWS CloudFront
Security6668Cloudflare
TTFB261ms299msAWS CloudFront
Composite7275Cloudflare
Performance
AWS CloudFront
39
Cloudflare
49
Accessibility
AWS CloudFront
89
Cloudflare
88
Security
AWS CloudFront
66
Cloudflare
68
SEO
AWS CloudFront
91
Cloudflare
89
Composite
AWS CloudFront
72
Cloudflare
75

AWS CloudFront outperforms Cloudflare in 4 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (72 vs 75). Cloudflare leads in performance, security, composite score.

When to choose AWS CloudFront

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 402 audited AWS CloudFront sites and 2148 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, AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Cloudflare sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (49 vs 39 on average).
Which has better security, AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare?
Cloudflare sites score higher on security analysis (68 vs 66 on average).
Which has better accessibility, AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor AWS CloudFront (89 vs 88). 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, AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare?
AWS CloudFront sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (91 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), AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare?
AWS CloudFront sites show lower Time to First Byte (261 ms vs 299 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 AWS CloudFront or Cloudflare for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Cloudflare scores higher on overall composite score while AWS CloudFront 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.
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