zoom_in Click to enlarge

Cloudflare Access

▲ ▼

language

description Cloudflare Access Overview

While not a DNS record manager itself, Cloudflare Access is a critical security layer that works *with* DNS to control who can reach your services. It acts as an identity-aware proxy, ensuring that even if the DNS points correctly, only authenticated users can access the application. This shifts security from the perimeter (firewalls) to the identity layer, which is a modern necessity for secure web apps.

help Cloudflare Access FAQ

Why is Cloudflare Access listed with DNS if it is not a DNS manager?

Cloudflare Access protects applications that are reached through hostnames, so DNS and proxying are part of the deployment path. The product itself is an identity-aware access layer inside Cloudflare Zero Trust, not a place to edit A or CNAME records.

What login providers can Cloudflare Access sit in front of?

Cloudflare Access can work with identity providers such as Google Workspace, GitHub, Okta, Azure AD, and one-time PIN email flows. That lets a team protect an internal admin panel without building login code into the app.

Can Cloudflare Access protect a self-hosted app without opening it to the public internet?

Yes, teams often pair Access with Cloudflare Tunnel so the origin service does not need a public inbound port. The public hostname still exists, but users must pass Access policy before reaching the app.

How is Cloudflare Access different from a traditional VPN?

A VPN usually puts the user onto a network, while Cloudflare Access grants identity-based access to specific applications. That makes it closer to Google's BeyondCorp zero-trust model than to a broad site-to-site VPN.

swap_horiz

Looking for Cloudflare Access alternatives? Compare top competitors ranked & scored

arrow_forward