Cloudflare vs Fortinet FortiDDoS comparison

Cloudflare and Fortinet are both solutions in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category. Cloudflare is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.8, while Fortinet is ranked #12 with an average rating of 8.0. Cloudflare holds a 16.7% mindshare in DDOS, compared to Fortinet’s 2.4% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cloudflare users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 90% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Cloudflare

Read 77 Cloudflare reviews

37,802 Views
5,670 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiDDoS

Read 15 Fortinet FortiDDoS reviews

1,366 Views
1,065 Comparison Views

90% willing to recommend

Cloudflare

Fortinet FortiDDoS

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 19, 2025

Cloudflare and Fortinet FortiDDoS compete in the DDoS protection category. Cloudflare has the upper hand in flexibility and ease of use, while Fortinet FortiDDoS shines in dedicated hardware-based security.

Features: Cloudflare offers features such as high configurability, CDN caching, and Railgun for speed improvements. Its DNS Management and web application firewall provide additional security. Fortinet FortiDDoS provides hardware-based DDoS protection with minimal false positives, offering in-depth traffic analysis and stable performance.

Room for Improvement: Cloudflare should enhance analytics, resolve 501 and 504 errors, and improve its CDN speed. Support and non-www redirection flexibility can also improve. Fortinet FortiDDoS could enhance scalability and application traffic management, and offer more flexible deployment options and cost-effective scalability.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cloudflare's cloud-oriented deployment suits public and hybrid cloud environments with scalability and flexibility. Its customer service has mixed reviews. Fortinet FortiDDoS, relying on on-premises deployment, provides stable performance with praised technical support but narrower deployment flexibility.

Pricing and ROI: Cloudflare offers a pricing range from free to enterprise levels, accessible for small and medium businesses, with good ROI even on free plans. Fortinet FortiDDoS has higher pricing but is competitive among similar hardware-based solutions, though potentially less cost-effective for smaller businesses due to licensing and scalability constraints.

To learn more, read our detailed Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS Report (Updated: December 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS

December 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 879,455 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

Cloudflare

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

1st

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

CDN (1st), WAN Optimization (4th), Managed DNS (1st), Domain Name System (DNS) Security (5th), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) (12th)

Fortinet FortiDDoS

Ranking in Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

12th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of January 2026, in the Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection category, the mindshare of Cloudflare is 16.7%, down from 18.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiDDoS is 2.4%, down from 2.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cloudflare	16.7%
Fortinet FortiDDoS	2.4%
Other	80.9%

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

Featured Reviews

Herb Angle

Owner at Hga consulting

Has helped manage client domains with streamlined access control and threat visibility

I don't know what areas could be improved with Cloudflare WAF; Cloudflare is constantly improving and adding features to their feature set. They're doing a good job, and as far as DNS and support for any domains that I create or my clients create, it's mandatory for me to make sure that they have Cloudflare as their DNS provider. The Cloudflare load balancing capability hasn't really helped in enhancing my website's uptime and resiliency because we don't really get that much traffic; it's mostly remote users, and web hosting is done by a web hosting service. It doesn't pay to try to host your own website.

Read full review

Marcos AntonioOliveira

IT Analyst at Evapco, Inc.

Reliable protection and smooth setup enhance company security

Currently, I have two firewalls, with one located in Sorocaba, model 90D, and the other in São Paulo, model 30D. They are connected by VPN. I use the firewalls for VPN and final protection for my company, and my equipment is maintained by an internet company called Multiprox The equipment works…

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"The most valuable feature is the web application firewall."

"The most valuable feature of Cloudflare DNS is security."

"The simplicity of the overall dashboard makes it a great product for a user like me who has less understanding of the internet than a developer or other more technical people. It gives me peace of mind. I also love the easy customization of the Page Rules."

"The solution offers the flexibility to control configuration rules."

"Generally, I am satisfied with this product."

"I get a lot of value from Cloudflare's API because it enables you to build a separate environment inside the solution. You can create a domain for performing test requests before you move to the production environment and connect various domains."

"It is a fast and secure DNS."

"Many websites require an SSL certificate because they sell stuff and want SSL. Cloudflare comes with an SSL certificate built in. It's automatic. You sign yourself up for Cloudflare, and an SSL certificate automatically protects your website. You don't necessarily need a certificate if you have a connection between your website and your host, the server, Cloudflare, and the host."

More Cloudflare pros

"Packet inspection has been effective for mitigating DDoS attacks."

"The solution is very user-friendly and very easy to use."

"It is a user-friendly product in terms of monitoring and updating policies."

"It allows me to see all the traffic on my network."

"The equipment works very well, and I have not encountered any issues with it."

"This solution can protect Layer 3, Layer 4 and Layer 7 attacks of applications for us."

"The solution already has security profiles and it can protect from DDoS attacks and other kinds of attacks."

"The product's initial setup phase was really easy."

More Fortinet FortiDDoS pros

Cons

"In the last two years, there has been a certain amount of downtime when using the VDM."

"Cloudflare could offer a better view or maybe dashboards of the main resources used in the client."

"There could be more courses with engineers. I like e-learning, however, having a specialist in a classroom is more comfortable for me."

"The tool needs to improve caching of servers. The product needs to include PFX certificate as well."

"Support response time could be improved."

"One area of improvement is in the Access Rules. Hypothetically, if we wanted to block or challenge traffic outside of the United States, the only way to currently do that (as far as I know) is to enter every single country outside of the United States. That could be a labor intensive job. A solution could be to enable users to create a rule where traffic is only allowed within a certain country."

"The solution could be more user-friendly."

"It would be beneficial for us if Cloudflare could offer a scrubbing solution. This would involve taking a snapshot of my website and keeping it live during a DDoS attack, ensuring uninterrupted service for our users. DDoS attacks are typically short in duration, and having Cloudflare maintain the site's availability from its secure network would enhance the overall user experience. I would appreciate it if Cloudflare could consider implementing this feature. Many organizations already utilize similar capabilities in their CDN platforms, where a static snapshot of the web page is displayed during DDoS attacks. In terms of features, Cloudflare needs to enhance its resilience and stay more focused on adopting new technologies. For instance, solutions like F5 XC Box, Access Solution, and Distributed Cloud Solution have impressive features, and Cloudflare should strive to match and exceed those capabilities. There's a need for improvement in areas like AI-based DDoS attacks and Layer 7 WAF features. Cloudflare should prioritize enhancements in areas such as behavioral DDoS and protection against SQL injection attacks, considering the prevalent trend of public exposure to the internet for business reasons. Overall, Cloudflare needs to invest more in advancing its feature set."

More Cloudflare cons

"The challenge lies within the customer environment, particularly in Brazil, where companies have stringent security requirements for implementing solutions."

"The tool needs to focus more on the area of application traffic management, where it currently has some shortcomings."

"The primary area for improvement is the on-premises capacity limit, currently fixed at 10 GB."

"There aren't really any aspects of the solution we are unhappy with. It's been a positive experience overall."

"The product’s pricing needs improvement."

"I would like to see analytics, big data."

"The solution can be a little more user-friendly and it can be more affordable."

"All the thresholds that need to be configured should be included in the default so that user will not forget or misconfigure."

More Fortinet FortiDDoS cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe their performance has improved, but I'd like to refrain from discussing the pricing aspect related to the cloud. The pricing, in my opinion, could be simplified, and I think they should consider reevaluating the pricing for support, as it can be quite high. At times, this cost can make it challenging to choose CARFAGuard or opt for the support."

"The product's pricing is cheap."

"The price of the solution is expensive."

"It's a premium model. You can start at zero and work your way up to the enterprise model, which has a very high pricing level."

"For Cloudflare, I recommend it heavily for small businesses with revenue under a couple of million dollars. Onboarding is easy, and they even have a free plan. This makes it simple for businesses in the $100,000-$500,000 range to try it out and see its value, allowing them to scale up their infrastructure as needed."

"The solution is expensive when compared to other products but offers unlimited bandwidth."

"The solution has many features but there are ones that you need to pay for. Sometimes you have to find out which is available for free and which you have to pay for."

"The pricing depends on the usage, but the cheapest would be around 5,000 USD a month."

More Cloudflare pricing and cost advice

"The solution is reasonably priced."

"The product’s pricing needs improvement."

"It's quite pricey."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Comparison Review

it_user68487

Security Expert with 51-200 employees

Nov 6, 2013

CloudFlare vs Incapsula: Web Application Firewall

CloudFlare vs Incapsula: Round 2 Web Application Firewall Comparative Penetration Testing Analysis Report v1.0 Summary This document contains the results of a second comparative penetration test conducted by a team of security specialists at Zero Science Lab against two cloud-based Web…

Read full review

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Manufacturing Company

12%

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	46
Midsize Enterprise	8
Large Enterprise	25

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	10
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

Cloudflare. We are moving from Akamai prolexic to Cloudflare. Cloudflare anycast network outperforms Akamai static GRE tunnels. We have decreased site load times on Mobile 3G from 8 to 1,6 seconds ...

See all answers

Which would you choose - Cloudflare DNS or Quad9?

Cloudflare DNS is a very fast, very reliable public DNS resolver. It is an enterprise-grade authoritative DNS service that offers great redundancy and advanced security with built-in unmetered and ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Cloudflare?

Cloudflare offers CDN and DDoS protection. We have the front end, API, and database in how you structure applications.

See all answers

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

Arbor would be the best bid, apart from Arbor, Palo Alto and Fortinet have good solutions. As this is an ISP, I would prefer Arbor.

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiDDoS?

The product's initial setup phase was really easy.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiDDoS?

Fortinet FortiDDoS offers lower costs compared to other solutions. The licensing costs are annually renewed.

See all answers

Comparisons

Quad9 vs Cloudflare

Compared 51% of the time

Akamai vs Cloudflare

Compared 4% of the time

Imperva Application Security Platform vs Cloudflare

Compared 3% of the time

Myra Security DDoS Protection vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

Azure DNS vs Cloudflare

Compared 2% of the time

More Cloudflare Competitors

Arbor DDoS vs Fortinet FortiDDoS

Compared 21% of the time

Radware DDoS vs Fortinet FortiDDoS

Compared 10% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiDDoS

Compared 7% of the time

VMware NSX vs Fortinet FortiDDoS

Compared 6% of the time

Check Point DDoS Protector vs Fortinet FortiDDoS

Compared 6% of the time

More Fortinet FortiDDoS Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare

January 2026

Download Cloudflare product report

Buyer's Guide

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection

January 2026

Download Fortinet FortiDDoS product report

Also Known As

Cloudflare DNS

Fortinet DDoS, FortiDDos

Overview

Cloudflare enhances web performance and security with features like CDN caching and DDoS mitigation while providing easy DNS management and intuitive setup through its user-friendly dashboard.

Cloudflare is recognized for its comprehensive web security and performance solutions. Speed improvements are achieved through caching mechanisms and DDoS protection, combining ease of DNS management with flexible page rules. The robust analytics and threat insight tools provide valuable data, assisted by a user-friendly dashboard allowing quick setup and configuration. An API offers dynamic DNS settings ensuring low latency and high performance across the globe.

What are Cloudflare's key features?

CDN Caching: Enhances website speed through content delivery network caching.
Web Application Firewall: Protects websites from online threats.
DDoS Mitigation: Shields against distributed denial-of-service attacks.
DNS Management: Offers easy-to-use and flexible domain management.
SSL Certificates: Ensures secure connections between users and servers.
Analytics: Provides insights with robust analytics tools.

What benefits and ROI should users evaluate?

Enhanced Security: Strengthening web security with DDoS and firewall protection.
Speed Improvement: Faster content delivery with CDN caching.
Operational Simplicity: Simplifies website optimization through a user-friendly interface.
Scalable Solutions: Scales with global reach, lowering latency for improved performance.
Cost Efficiency: Offers layers of valuable functionality with pricing options.

Cloudflare finds utility across industries for DNS management and defense mechanisms. Its content delivery network assures fast content distribution and fortified security. Businesses integrate features like web application firewalls, load balancing, end-to-end SSL, and zero trust to protect websites from cyber threats while ensuring resilience and reliable performance.

Cloudflare

Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks are ever-evolving and use a variety of technologies. To successfully combat these attacks, you need a dynamic, multi-layered security solution. FortiDDoS protects from both known and zero day attacks with very low latency. It’s easy to deploy and manage, and includes comprehensive reporting and analysis tools.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Trusted by over 9,000,000 Internet Applications and APIs, including Nasdaq, Zendesk, Crunchbase, Steve Madden, OkCupid, Cisco, Quizlet, Discord and more.

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Buyer's Guide

Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS

December 2025

Free Report: Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS

Find out what your peers are saying about Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS and other solutions. Updated: December 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

879,455 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cloudflare vs. Fortinet FortiDDoS report.

See our list of best Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection vendors.

We monitor all Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Protection reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.