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Cloudflare vs Fathom

Based on 2264 and 17 real audits

View Cloudflare details | View Fathom details
MetricCloudflareFathomWinner
Performance4958Fathom
Accessibility8890Fathom
Best Practices8692Fathom
SEO8997Fathom
Security6962Cloudflare
TTFB310ms317msCloudflare
Composite7576Fathom
Performance
Cloudflare
49
Fathom
58
Accessibility
Cloudflare
88
Fathom
90
Security
Cloudflare
69
Fathom
62
SEO
Cloudflare
89
Fathom
97
Composite
Cloudflare
75
Fathom
76

Fathom outperforms Cloudflare in 5 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (76 vs 75). Cloudflare leads in security, TTFB.

When to choose Cloudflare

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

When to choose Fathom

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

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 2264 audited Cloudflare sites and 17 audited Fathom 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, Cloudflare or Fathom?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, Fathom sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (58 vs 49 on average).
Which has better security, Cloudflare or Fathom?
Cloudflare sites score higher on security analysis (69 vs 62 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Cloudflare or Fathom?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor Fathom (90 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, Cloudflare or Fathom?
Fathom sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (97 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), Cloudflare or Fathom?
Cloudflare sites show lower Time to First Byte (310 ms vs 317 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 Cloudflare or Fathom for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. Fathom scores higher on overall composite score while Cloudflare 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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