An alternative to Cloudflare CDN: Orbit Shield
Orbit Shield: an anycast edge in front of your hostname with rules, cache, automatic certificates and a hidden origin, included with DNS Hosting.
What Cloudflare CDN does well
Cloudflare's network has data centres in 348 cities and over 13,000 network interconnections, and 95% of the world's internet-connected population is within 50 ms of one. Its free plan already includes a CDN, unmetered DDoS protection, a web application firewall with a free managed ruleset and a certificate, with paid plans and contract plans above it.
At a glance
| Item | Orbit Shield | Cloudflare CDN |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An anycast edge in front of your hostname: rules, cache, automatic certificates, hidden origin | CDN, DDoS protection and a web application firewall on Cloudflare's network |
| Who runs it | Hosted on the Orbit anycast network; turned on per hostname | Hosted by Cloudflare |
| Free option | Included with DNS Hosting, free for non-commercial use | Free plan, $0 a month: CDN, unmetered DDoS protection, a WAF with a free managed ruleset, and a universal SSL certificate |
Cloudflare CDN details are from Cloudflare CDN's own page 1, Cloudflare CDN's own page 2 as of 2026-09; terms change, so check there for the current ones.
Where Orbit fits
For large sites, and for anyone who wants the widest network and the broadest set of add-ons, Cloudflare is the stronger choice. Shield is for sites that want their edge, their DNS and the rest of their Orbit services in one console, from a non-profit network; it comes with DNS Hosting.