Cloudflare for Startups gives young technology companies credits for Cloudflare’s developer platform, plus a bundle of security and networking features at no cost. Credits range from $10,000 for bootstrapped teams to $350,000 for startups that have raised $5M or more from one of Cloudflare’s affiliated partners, and they last one year. We checked Cloudflare’s official programme page on 1 November 2026.
What you get
| Tier | Credits | Funding criteria | Extra support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 3 | $10,000 | Bootstrapped or self-funded, under $1M raised | Community, events, docs and Discord |
| Tier 2 | $100,000 | Under $5M raised, funded by an affiliated partner | Account manager (case by case), technical sessions |
| Tier 1 | $350,000 | $5M+ raised, funded by an affiliated partner | Account manager, priority technical support, bi-weekly Solutions Architect office hours |
Cloudflare recently raised two of these figures: Tier 3 went from $5,000 to $10,000, and Tier 1 from $250,000 to $350,000. Members who joined at the old levels can ask for an upgrade review when they near their cap. Upgrades are decided case by case and do not reset the one-year expiry.
What the credits pay for
Credits are deducted for usage-based services:
- Compute: Workers, Workers for Platforms, Durable Objects, Workflows.
- AI: Workers AI, capped at $2,500 for Tier 3, $10,000 for Tier 2 and $50,000 for Tier 1.
- Storage and data: Workers KV, D1, Queues, Vectorize, and R2 up to a $10,000 cap.
- Delivery: Pages, Images and Stream, Cache Reserve, Argo Smart Routing.
What is included at no cost
Every tier also gets features that do not draw on the credit balance, including three enterprise domains, unlimited Business and Pro plans, DDoS and bot protection, a WAF with 1,000 custom rules, Security Analytics, SSL certificates, Page Shield, CDN and DNS, load balancing with two origins, and one rate-limiting rule.
Some features are available on request. Advanced Certificate Manager, SSL for SaaS, Advanced Rate Limiting and extra load balancing origins are requested by email to [email protected]. Bot Management, API Shield, apex proxying and extra Zero Trust seats are requested by support ticket.
What is not covered
- AI Gateway, which Cloudflare says is temporarily outside the credits.
- Domain registration and renewal fees through Cloudflare Registrar.
- Enterprise feature add-ons, which are excluded by default but can be requested.
- Magic Transit, Enterprise Spectrum, Dedicated IPs and the China Network, which need a separate contracted plan.
Who qualifies
Cloudflare lists these requirements:
- Incorporated no more than 10 years ago.
- Funded up to Series B, with funding in the last 12 months.
- Actively developing a technology product.
- A live website that Cloudflare can verify.
- A public presence on LinkedIn, X or GitHub.
- Never previously approved into the programme.
- A for-profit business applying with a business email on its own domain. Personal email addresses are not accepted.
The programme is not open to educational institutions, personal blogs, consultancies, service agencies, managed service providers or resellers. Existing Cloudflare Enterprise customers cannot use the Startup Plan. Founders running several distinct startups can apply for each one with different account IDs and email addresses.
For Tiers 1 and 2, your funding must come from one of Cloudflare’s affiliated partners. Tier 3 does not require a minimum amount raised.
How to apply
- Make sure your domain and website are live and that you have a business email on that domain.
- Open the application from the programme page and complete the form.
- Wait for review, which Cloudflare says typically takes up to 48 hours.
- Look for the confirmation email. If nothing arrives after a week, check spam and then email [email protected].
If you are turned down, the reply explains why, and you can ask for a re-evaluation with more information.
Things to check before you apply
- One shot only. The programme is a one-time opportunity per startup, so apply when you will actually use the credits within the next year.
- The clock starts at approval. Credits run for one year from acceptance, and there are no extensions. Cloudflare suggests noting the date of your confirmation email.
- Per-product caps. Even on Tier 1, R2 is capped at $10,000 and Workers AI at $50,000. Heavy AI or storage users should plan around those limits.
- Credits are not transferable. They cannot be sold, refunded or exchanged for cash, and you are responsible for any taxes on their value.
- Plan your exit. At the end of the year you can move to a self-serve plan or contact the team beforehand about staying on Enterprise. Enterprise domains you do not move to a paid plan revert to the Free plan automatically.
- Logo use. The programme terms let Cloudflare use your company name and logo in its marketing materials.
How it compares
Tier 3 is one of the few infrastructure credit offers aimed squarely at bootstrapped startups, and the free security bundle adds value beyond the $10,000. The large tiers depend on raising from an affiliated partner, so ask your investors whether they work with Cloudflare before you apply.
