Cloudflare offers up to $350,000 in credits.
No equity, no fees. No referral for the base tier; the top tier needs an investor or partner referral.
Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series B. Difficulty: easy.
Cloudflare at a glance
- Max value
- Up to $350,000
- Stage fit
- Pre-seed to Series B
- Takes equity
- No
- Who files it
- You (top tier via investor)
- Geography
- Worldwide.
- Referral needed
- Top tier only
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Review time
- Typically up to 48 hours, by email
- Credits expire
- Credits are valid for one year or until fully consumed, whichever comes first.
What Cloudflare actually gives you
- Tier 3$10,000 in credits for one year; Workers AI capped at $2,500; developer docs and Discord communityBootstrapped or self-funded startups with under $1M raised; no minimum funding required and no affiliated partner needed
- Tier 2$100,000 in credits for one year; Workers AI capped at $10,000; account manager (case-dependent) and technical sessions with Cloudflare expertsUnder $5M raised AND funded by an affiliated partner (a VC or accelerator on Cloudflare's partner list)
- Tier 1$350,000 in credits for one year; Workers AI capped at $50,000; account manager, priority technical support, bi-weekly Solutions Architect office hours$5M+ raised AND funded by an affiliated partner (a VC or accelerator on Cloudflare's partner list)
Who qualifies
You likely qualify if
- Company was incorporated no more than 10 years ago
- Funded up to Series B and funded within the last 12 months, as worded on the official page (the $10k tier states no minimum funding is required, so bootstrapped companies are the intended fit for it)
- You are actively developing a technology product (software)
- You have a live, publicly accessible website Cloudflare can verify
- Your startup has a public presence on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) or GitHub
- You are a for-profit business
- You apply with a business email on your company's own domain (personal Gmail or Outlook addresses are not accepted)
- Your startup has never been approved into the program before (one-time per startup)
- For the $100k and $350k tiers only: you must be funded by an affiliated partner of Cloudflare (a VC or accelerator on Cloudflare's partner list; the page does not define or publish the list)
- You create a Cloudflare account and add a valid payment method (overages beyond credits are billed to it)
You won't qualify if
- Educational institutions
- Personal blogs
- Consultancies and service-based agencies
- Managed service providers (MSPs) and resellers
- Existing Cloudflare Enterprise customers (the Startup Plan may not be used by them)
- Startups already approved once (credits are one-time and cannot be transferred between accounts)
- Non-profits through the current page, which requires a for-profit business (Cloudflare's Sept 2025 post opened a first non-profit cohort with up to $250,000 in credits, but applications closed Dec 1, 2025)
- Government entities and civic projects (Cloudflare points them to the Athenian Project and Project Galileo instead)
- Companies past Series B, or whose funding is not within the last 12 months, for the funded tiers
Geography. Worldwide. No geographic restriction is published; country is an optional field on the application form. Cloudflare's general terms of service (including sanctions compliance) apply. (The separate Cold Start pitch competition is US/Canada only.)
How to apply to Cloudflare for Startups
- 01Check the 'Do I qualify?' list on cloudflare.com/startups: incorporated within 10 years, funded up to Series B and within the last 12 months, live website, public LinkedIn/X/GitHub presence, business-domain email, first-time applicant.
- 02If you want the $100k or $350k tier, confirm your lead VC or accelerator is a Cloudflare affiliated partner before applying. The page does not publish a partner list or define the term, so ask your investor or email startups@cloudflare.com.
- 03Create a free Cloudflare account and add a valid payment method; both are required by the program terms.
- 04On cloudflare.com/startups click 'Apply now!' (or 'Apply here' at the bottom of the page). Both open the same multi-step in-page application form. The first step asks for company name, website (must be a live site with your software product), founded year (within the last 10 years) and optional country, city and address. Do not open cloudflare.com/lp/startups directly, because that URL returns a 'Page not found' page.
- 05Wait for a decision by email, typically within 48 hours. If nothing arrives within a week, check spam, then email startups@cloudflare.com. Cloudflare says rejections come with a reason, and if you believe you qualify you can supply supporting information and ask for re-evaluation.
- 06After approval, upgrade up to three domains to Enterprise in the Cloudflare dashboard and watch credit usage there. Note the date of your confirmation email: credits are valid for one year or until used, and Cloudflare says it cannot approve extensions at this time.
Review time: Typically up to 48 hours, by email; follow up with startups@cloudflare.com if no reply after one week. Apply at www.cloudflare.com/startups.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Tiers were restructured from four ($5k / $25k / $100k / $250k, per the Cloudflare blog post of Apr 11, 2025) to three ($10k / $100k / $350k). Cloudflare's FAQ states Tier 3 rose from $5,000 to $10,000 and Tier 1 rose from $250,000 to $350,000; the $25k tier no longer appears. The page calls the change 'recent' but publishes no date, so the exact timing is unknown. Existing members on the old $5k or $250k limits can email startups@cloudflare.com with their account ID to request a case-by-case evaluation; an approved upgrade does not extend the 12-month expiry. Compared with the April 2025 blog, eligibility now shows a 10-year company-age limit (older posts said 5 years) and a 'funded within the last 12 months' rule. Sept 22, 2025: Cloudflare opened a first non-profit cohort within the program (up to $250,000 in credits; applications closed Dec 1, 2025) and, in a separate post, announced plans to open its San Francisco, Austin, London and Lisbon offices to startups as coworking hubs from January 2026. Sept 28, 2026: 'The Cold Start' pitch competition at Cloudflare Connect (Oct 19, 2026, San Francisco) offers $500,000 in credits to one winner (US/Canada, under $10M raised; applications closed Oct 2, 2026).
Hold these alongside Cloudflare
Cloudflare credits and your AWS bill
Cloudflare is a separate vendor, so these credits cannot be applied to an AWS bill, but the program stacks with AWS Activate: neither program's published terms prohibit holding both. The usual pattern is Cloudflare in front of AWS origins (CDN, DNS, WAF and DDoS are free at every tier) and R2 object storage with zero egress fees to cut S3 data-transfer costs; Workers AI competes directly with Amazon Bedrock, and AI Gateway (which can proxy Bedrock calls) is currently excluded from credit coverage.
Cloudflare startup credits, answered
How much does Cloudflare give startups?
Cloudflare offers up to $350,000 in credits. There are 3 tiers: Tier 3: $10,000 in credits for one year; Tier 2: $100,000 in credits for one year; Tier 1: $350,000 in credits for one year.
Does Cloudflare take equity?
No. Cloudflare for Startups is a credits program, not an investment; you keep 100% of your company. No referral for the base tier; the top tier needs an investor or partner referral.
Who qualifies for Cloudflare for Startups?
Stage fit: Pre-seed to Series B. You usually qualify if: company was incorporated no more than 10 years ago; funded up to Series B and funded within the last 12 months, as worded on the official page (the $10k tier states no minimum funding is required, so bootstrapped companies are the intended fit for it); you are actively developing a technology product (software). You will not qualify if: educational institutions; personal blogs.
How long does Cloudflare take to approve credits?
Typically up to 48 hours, by email; follow up with startups@cloudflare.com if no reply after one week. Difficulty: easy, a short form, no referral for the base tier.
When do Cloudflare credits expire?
Credits are valid for one year or until fully consumed, whichever comes first. Cloudflare tells you to note the date of your confirmation email and says it is not able to approve extensions at this time.
Can I combine Cloudflare credits with AWS credits?
Cloudflare is a separate vendor, so these credits cannot be applied to an AWS bill, but the program stacks with AWS Activate: neither program's published terms prohibit holding both. The usual pattern is Cloudflare in front of AWS origins (CDN, DNS, WAF and DDoS are free at every tier) and R2 object storage with zero egress fees to cut S3 data-transfer costs; Workers AI competes directly with Amazon Bedrock, and AI Gateway (which can proxy Bedrock calls) is currently excluded from credit coverage. On AWS, CloudRoute matches you for free with a vetted partner who can file MAP, POC or IW funding when the workload qualifies and AWS approves it. The Cloudflare application you submit yourself.
