Cloudflare Zero Trust Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Cloudflare Zero Trust costs Free to $7 per user/month as of April 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Cloudflare Zero Trust offers a forever free plan as of April 2026. The free tier includes 10 features with limits on usage. Paid plans start at $7/user/month (Pay-as-you-go). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.
Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Up to 50 users
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
- Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
- DNS filtering
- Basic device posture checks
- 24-hour activity log retention
- Up to 3 physical locations
- Community support only
- No SLA guarantees
- Predefined DLP policies only
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Unlimited users
- All Free tier features
- 100% uptime SLA
- 30-day activity log retention
- Up to 20 physical locations
- Email and chat support
- ZTNA with private network routing
- Secure Web Gateway with full SSL inspection
- Limited DLP — predefined profiles
- 2 read-only IP list integrations
- DNS queries up to ~150,000/user/month included
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Unlimited users or All Free tier features
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- 50-user maximum
- 24-hour activity log retention only
- 3 physical location limit
- Community support only — no SLA
- No custom DLP policies
- No SIEM export
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Pay-as-you-go Plan Comparison
| Free $0 | Pay-as-you-go $7/user/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 10 included | 11+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Cloudflare Zero Trust branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Individuals | Growing teams |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Cloudflare Zero Trust free?
Yes, Cloudflare Zero Trust offers a forever free plan with 10 core features included. However, there are limits on users and features that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan?
Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan includes: Up to 50 users, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), DNS filtering, Basic device posture checks, and 5 more features. Key limits include basic usage caps.
03 What's NOT included in Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Unlimited users, All Free tier features, 100% uptime SLA, 30-day activity log retention, Up to 20 physical locations. You'll also have Cloudflare Zero Trust branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Unlimited users or All Free tier features, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $7/user/month.
05 Is Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan really free forever?
Yes, Cloudflare Zero Trust's free plan is available indefinitely with no time limit. However, feature and usage limits may restrict what you can do without upgrading to a paid plan.