I’ve experimented with both Netlify and Cloudflare Pages while setting up my personal blog and static sites. While both platforms are excellent for deploying projects, I ended up choosing Cloudflare—not just for the performance, but because it fits seamlessly into my existing stack.
🔗 My Domains Already Live in Cloudflare
My domains are already managed through Cloudflare DNS, which means I have full control with fast propagation, CNAME flattening, and tight integration. Keeping everything under one roof reduces friction.
Netlify adds a layer of abstraction I don’t need. I want direct access to DNS records, and with Cloudflare, it’s all there, no guesswork.
⚙️ Rules & Workers Give Me More Power
Cloudflare Rules and Workers are seriously powerful. I can write a simple redirect, rewrite, or even an edge-function without deploying a backend.
Example: I use a Redirect Rule to handle legacy links from sohwatt.com and direct them to new paths on alwynsoh.com. Easy to manage, no code needed.
💡 Cloudflare Pages + Hugo = Smooth Workflow
Deploying my Hugo blog to /blog, and a second site to /gallery, is dead simple with Cloudflare’s routing support. I’m also using GitHub Actions and Codespaces, so having Pages deploy from GitHub directly with preview builds just works.
Netlify’s build settings felt more rigid, and its redirect config (_redirects or netlify.toml) started to get messy for my multi-repo layout.
🆚 Cloudflare Pages vs Netlify
| Feature | Cloudflare Pages | Netlify |
|---|---|---|
| DNS Integration | ✅ Native, fast, full control | ⚠️ Abstracted via Netlify DNS |
| Deploy Previews | ✅ Built-in with GitHub/GitLab | ✅ Also supported |
| Edge Functions | ✅ Workers (powerful and configurable) | ⚠️ Beta/limited via Edge Functions |
| Redirects/Rewrites | ✅ Rules UI + Workers + wrangler |
⚠️ _redirects file / netlify.toml |
| Multi-Repo Routing | ✅ Easy with Cloudflare routing | ❌ Harder to manage cross-repo routing |
| Build Performance | ⚡ Fast and CDN-native | ⚡ Fast, but slightly heavier abstraction |
| Pricing | 🆓 Free tier with generous limits | 🆓 Free, with quicker rate limiting |
| Lock-in Risk | 🔓 Minimal – Cloudflare just hosts | ⚠️ Higher – more proprietary workflows |
🧠 Simplicity, Speed, and Control
Cloudflare gives me:
- Built-in DNS, caching, and CDN
- Granular control over rules and headers
- Zero extra latency or vendor lock-in
It’s not just a hosting platform—it’s part of my infrastructure.
Bottom Line:
If you just want plug-and-play, Netlify might be great. But if you’re already deep into Cloudflare for DNS and edge rules like I am, Cloudflare Pages is a no-brainer.