Cloudflare WAF vs Arcjet

Arcjet is an alternative to Cloudflare WAF for protecting web applications from bots, attack traffic, and abuse. Both provide WAF and bot detection capabilities, but they operate at different layers and suit different use cases.

Key differences: Cloudflare WAF vs Arcjet

Where security runs: Cloudflare WAF runs at the network edge — rules are evaluated by Cloudflare’s CDN infrastructure before requests reach your application. This requires routing your DNS and traffic through Cloudflare. Arcjet runs inside your application as a library, called from your request handlers and middleware. Arcjet works alongside any CDN or proxy, including Cloudflare, without replacing it.
Configuration model: Cloudflare WAF rules are configured in the Cloudflare dashboard or via the API and Terraform. Rules are infrastructure changes that deploy globally in seconds but are separate from your application codebase. Arcjet rules are written in your application code, committed to your repository, reviewed in pull requests, and deployed with your application. They can branch on any value your application knows at runtime — user identity, subscription tier, feature flags, or any other request context.
Bot detection: Cloudflare offers three tiers of bot detection: Bot Fight Mode (all plans, limited configuration), Super Bot Fight Mode (Pro/Business, limited configuration), and Bot Management for Enterprise (full customization, “Contact sales”). Basic and Super Bot Fight Mode offer “limited configuration options”. Arcjet bot detection classifies 600+ known bots across 25 categories, is configured in code, and works at any plan tier on paid plans. Arcjet advanced client signals add browser-based WebAssembly telemetry to detect headless browsers and sophisticated scrapers without CAPTCHAs.
Rate limiting: Cloudflare rate limiting is heavily tiered. On Free plans, only 1 rule keyed on IP is available with a maximum 10-second window. Per-user or per-account rate limiting (keying on headers, cookies, or body values) is locked behind Enterprise with Advanced Rate Limiting. Arcjet rate limiting is configured in code and can key on any value your application can compute — user ID, account, subscription, session — on paid self-serve plans. Token Bucket is available on all Arcjet plans; on Cloudflare it requires Enterprise with Advanced Rate Limiting.
Plan gating: Many of Cloudflare WAF’s most capable features require Business or Enterprise plans. Custom rules allow Log action only on Enterprise. Rate limiting with non-IP keys (headers, cookies, body, user identity) is Enterprise-only. Bot Management with full configuration is Enterprise-only. Sensitive Data Detection is an Enterprise paid add-on. Arcjet advanced features (bot detection with IP reputation, advanced signals, AI protection) are available on self-serve paid plans.
Cloudflare Workers: Cloudflare Workers allows running JavaScript at Cloudflare’s edge — this is in-code logic, but it is a full platform migration requiring your code to run on Cloudflare’s runtime (not Node.js, Bun, or standard Python runtimes). Arcjet is a library that runs inside your existing application framework, wherever it runs, without changing your runtime or deployment target.

Comparison

Area	Arcjet	Cloudflare WAF
Where it runs	Inside your application, as a library called from handlers and middleware.	At the Cloudflare network edge, before requests reach your application. Requires routing traffic through Cloudflare.
Configuration	Rules-as-code in your application; committed to your repo, reviewed in PRs, deployed with your app. Can branch on any runtime value.	Dashboard, API, or Terraform. Fast global propagation (~seconds). Separate from your application codebase; static rules only.
Hosting	Platform-agnostic. Works on any provider alongside any CDN, including Cloudflare.	Requires DNS routed through Cloudflare. Works with any origin behind the Cloudflare proxy.
Languages & frameworks	JavaScript, TypeScript, and Python. Native SDKs for Next.js, Node.js, Bun, Deno, Remix, SvelteKit, NestJS, React Router, Fastify, Astro, Python FastAPI, Flask, and other Python web servers.	Any language/framework behind Cloudflare’s proxy. WAF rules apply at the network layer regardless of origin stack.
Bot detection	600+ known bots across 25 categories in code. Advanced client signals (browser WebAssembly telemetry) detect headless browsers without CAPTCHAs. Available on paid self-serve plans.	Bot Fight Mode (all plans, limited config). Super Bot Fight Mode (Pro/Business, limited config). Full Bot Management: Enterprise only (“Contact sales”).
AI bot blocking	AI crawler category (`CATEGORY:AI`) available on paid plans; configured in code.	No dedicated AI bot blocking ruleset in WAF (separate from Bot Management).
AI app protection	AI Runtime Protection: prompt injection detection, per-user token budgets, PII detection in AI flows.	None. No protection for AI application logic.
WAF / attack coverage	Shield WAF detects SQLi, XSS, path traversal, and other common attacks on paid plans.	Cloudflare Managed Ruleset (Pro+), OWASP Core Ruleset (Pro+), Free Managed Ruleset (all plans). OWASP on Pro and above.
Rate limiting	Rules-as-code; key on user ID, account, session, plan, or any computed value.	Free: 1 rule, IP only, 10s max window. Pro: 2 rules, 60s max. Business: 5 rules, 10min max. Non-IP keys (header, cookie, user identity): Enterprise Advanced Rate Limiting only. Token Bucket: Enterprise only.
Custom rules	No per-project rule count limit (rules are code).	Free: 5 rules. Pro: 20 rules. Business: 100 rules. Enterprise: 1,000 rules. Log action: Enterprise only.
Filter rules	Expression-based filter rules in code; compose cookie, IP reputation, geo, VPN/proxy, header, and path conditions alongside bot and rate limiting rules.	Custom rules with similar condition types in the dashboard. Regex support on Business+.
Local development	Same behavior as production; inspect decisions directly in code.	WAF rules apply only to traffic routed through Cloudflare; local development bypasses WAF entirely.
In-code option	Arcjet is natively in-code — it is a library you import and call.	Cloudflare Workers allows in-code logic at the edge, but requires migrating your application runtime to Cloudflare’s V8 isolate environment.

When to choose which

Choose Arcjet if…

You want security as code Your security rules live in your repo, pass code review, and deploy with your application. You want per-route, per-user, or per-plan logic that branches on what your application knows at runtime.
You’re not routing DNS through Cloudflare Arcjet works on any hosting provider without requiring a CDN proxy in front of your application.
You need per-user rate limiting without Enterprise Keying rate limits on user identity, account, or subscription tier is a paid-plan feature in Arcjet. On Cloudflare, it requires Enterprise with Advanced Rate Limiting.
You want advanced bot signals on a self-serve plan Arcjet’s browser WebAssembly signal collection for headless browser detection is available on paid self-serve plans. Cloudflare’s equivalent Bot Management requires Enterprise.
You want OWASP-level WAF protection without a Pro plan Arcjet Shield WAF is available on self-serve paid plans. Cloudflare’s OWASP Core Ruleset requires Pro or above.

Choose Cloudflare WAF if…

You’re already on Cloudflare and need zero-code network protection If your DNS is already through Cloudflare, the WAF is a natural addition. Dashboard rules propagate in seconds without touching application code.
You need L3/L4/L7 DDoS mitigation Cloudflare’s network-layer DDoS protection is one of the strongest in the industry and is available on all plans including Free.
You want TLS fingerprinting (JA3/JA4) Cloudflare WAF supports JA4 on Business+ and JA3 on Enterprise as rule conditions, useful for blocking distributed attacks sharing a TLS fingerprint.
You need instant rollback without redeployment WAF rule changes propagate globally in seconds and can be reverted instantly from the dashboard.

In short: Cloudflare WAF and Arcjet are complementary. Cloudflare provides excellent network-layer DDoS protection and OWASP coverage that is independent of your application code. Arcjet provides application-aware security — per-user rules, AI protection, advanced signals, and the full suite — that operates inside your code. Many teams use both.

FAQs

Can I use Arcjet and Cloudflare WAF together?

Yes, and this is a common setup. Cloudflare WAF operates at the network layer and Arcjet operates inside your application — they are independent layers. Cloudflare handles DDoS mitigation and broad network-layer rules; Arcjet handles application-aware rules that depend on user identity, route context, and business logic. Arcjet works correctly behind Cloudflare’s proxy.

How does Cloudflare Workers compare to Arcjet?

Cloudflare Workers runs JavaScript at Cloudflare’s edge and supports custom security logic in code. However, Workers is a full application runtime — your code runs in a V8 isolate environment on Cloudflare’s infrastructure, not in Node.js, Bun, Deno, or standard Python runtimes. Arcjet is a library that integrates into your existing application framework wherever it runs. If you’re already building on Workers, you can use Arcjet there too. If you’re building on standard server or serverless runtimes, Arcjet requires no infrastructure change.

Does Cloudflare WAF support per-user rate limiting?

Only on Enterprise with Advanced Rate Limiting. Cloudflare WAF can key rate limits on headers, cookies, and body values — but mapping those to application users requires your application to emit an identifying header or cookie for the WAF to key on. There is no concept of authenticated users or subscription tiers in WAF rules. Arcjet rate limiting is configured in code and can key on any value your application can compute directly.

Does the Cloudflare WAF work in local development?

No. Cloudflare WAF rules only apply to traffic routed through Cloudflare’s network. Local development bypasses the WAF entirely. Arcjet behaves the same in local development as in production.