How Cloudflare Makes $2.8 Billion Running 20% of the Internet
Key Takeaway
Large enterprise customers generating over $100,000 annually drive 70% of Cloudflare's revenue while millions of free websites serve as marketing infrastructure.
Highlights
Cloudflare processes roughly 20% of all internet traffic globally.
A major share of websites and services utilize Cloudflare completely free of charge.
Cloudflare Workers bills developers based on request volume and compute time rather than idle server rental.
Cloudflare Zero Trust employs a seat-based pricing model charging companies per employee monthly.
Large enterprise customers generating over $100,000 annually account for approximately 70% of total revenue.
Timeline
Cloudflare Scale and Network Position
The network acts as a crucial intermediary for web traffic, security, and content delivery. Global content delivery network servers reduce loading times, while cloud workers let developers execute code across a worldwide network instead of a single region.
- Cloudflare handles approximately 20% of total internet traffic.
- Major platforms such as Uber, Canva, and Shopify rely on its network.
- An invisible layer sits between user requests and website servers.
Cloudflare Workers and Zero Trust Pricing
Serverless execution on Cloudflare Workers eliminates idle server costs by charging strictly for request volume and compute time. Meanwhile, Zero Trust security models require continuous authentication per user, scaling subscription fees with company headcount.
- Cloudflare Workers bills developers according to code execution metrics.
- Zero Trust replaces traditional company VPNs with continuous identity verification.
- Zero Trust utilizes a seat-based subscription model per employee monthly.
Enterprise Contracts and Subscription Tiers
Multi-year enterprise contracts consolidate complex networking and security suites into single high-value deals. Millions of free websites function essentially as marketing and trust-building tools to convert users into high-paying enterprise clients.
- Enterprise contracts bundle networking, security, and workers into multi-year custom deals.
- Subscription tiers charge monthly fees as sites upgrade from free plans to advanced security.
- Large enterprise customers paying over $100,000 yearly generate 70% of total revenue.
Description
Learn to Code (Free Courses Available + 20% Discount on Paid Ones): 👉 https://scrimba.com?via=codingkoala Upskill yourself as a Dev: 👉 https://app.codecrafters.io/join?via=nishant-pradhan-8 💬 I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. ----- 📩 Join My Newsletter: thecodingkoala.beehiiv.com Cloudflare protects around 20% of the entire internet, and gives most of it away for free. So how is it worth tens of billions of dollars? In this video, we break down exactly how Cloudflare actually makes its money. We cover the four real revenue streams behind Cloudflare's business model: Cloudflare Workers (their serverless edge computing platform going head-to-head with AWS), Cloudflare Zero Trust (corporate security replacing traditional VPNs), massive custom enterprise contracts, and standard subscription plans. Then we reveal the one stat that explains everything — where roughly 70% of Cloudflare's revenue actually comes from, and why their free plan isn't charity; it's a funnel. If you're into how tech companies actually make money behind the scenes, this one's for you. Timestamps 0:00 – Cloudflare: Backbone 0:33 – What Cloudflare Does 1:35 – Cloudflare Workers 2:25 – Cloudflare Zero Trust 3:09 – Enterprise contracts: the big money 3:38 – Subscriptions 4:07 – The Secret Strategy of Cloudflare 5:24 – Bye Bye 🔔 Subscribe for more breakdowns of how tech companies actually make their money. #Cloudflare #TechBusiness #HowCompaniesMakeMoney #AIEconomy