# Cloudflare One: how AI models rank it, September 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Named in 73 judge labels across 2 categories by 12 of 12 models. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/vendors/cloudflare-one/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero trust network access | 35% | 1 | 0% | 29 |
| SASE platforms | 23% | 3 | 11% | 44 |

## What the models said for it

- "The best ZTNA solution for a company with a limited budget is Cloudflare Zero Trust (free tier) + Duo Essentials (from $3/user)." (Llama 4 Maverick, ZTNA)
- "Cloudflare Zero Trust is free up to 50 users ... making it an accessible and powerful choice for businesses of all sizes." (Claude Haiku 4.5, ZTNA)
- "the best ZTNA choice is usually Cloudflare Zero Trust if you want the lowest-cost practical option for a small team" (Perplexity Sonar, ZTNA)
- "I'd suggest starting with Cloudflare One ($7/user/month) or NordLayer, as they offer the lowest entry points." (Kimi K2, SASE)

## And against it

- "Analysts rank Cloudflare's global network as top-tier but its SSE capabilities as the least mature among major contenders." (Kimi K2, SASE)
- "Recent outages (e.g., 2025 config change hit 19 countries), steep learning curve, setup complexity" (Grok 4.1 Fast, SASE)
- "usually positioned more as a platform choice than the simplest mid-market SASE rollout" (Perplexity Sonar, SASE)
- "For smaller teams or simple web‑security needs; less depth in advanced SSE features." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, SASE)

## Record

- Method: https://it-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://it-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as IT AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, it-ai-index.com.