Google Cloud Load Balancing vs Cloudflare Load Balancing
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Google Cloud Load Balancing and Cloudflare Load Balancing built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Google Cloud Load Balancing if…
More than five forwarding rules. The price curve inverts at that point: the first five cost $0.025 an hour each and every rule after is $0.01, so the sixth is 60% cheaper than the fifth and the marginal cost keeps falling.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Cloudflare Load Balancing if…
Balancing across clouds you do not own. It is the only member here that markets balancing between AWS, GCP, Azure and on-premise servers, and at $5 a month it is also the cheapest entry.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Google Cloud Load Balancing: You have one or two rules and want a floor. Five rules cost $0.125 an hour before any traffic is processed, and regional data processing is charged on top by whichever region handles the request.
- Cloudflare Load Balancing: You need to know what it costs at your volume. The price is quoted only as a starting figure on a plans page, and it is an add-on to a Cloudflare plan rather than a service you can buy on its own.
2 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Google Cloud Load Balancing 0
Cloudflare Load Balancing 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Google Cloud Load Balancing | Cloudflare Load Balancing |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Entry paid plan | $0.025 per hour for each of the first five forwarding rules, then $0.01 an hour for every rule after that — so the sixth rule costs 60% less than the fifth. Regional data processing is charged on top. | From $5 a month, sold as an add-on activated on an existing Cloudflare plan rather than as a standalone service. The cheapest entry in this category. |
| Pricing model | Per forwarding rule per hour, with an inverted volume curve: the first five rules are the expensive ones at $0.025 an hour and everything beyond is $0.01. Data processing is charged by the region that handles the traffic, and there are no global data processing charges. | A monthly add-on price on top of a Cloudflare plan, not a meter. Nothing here is billed per hour, per rule or per node — the distinction from the three cloud-native balancers, all of which charge for the resource existing. |
Where they differ.
Entry paid plan
- Google Cloud Load Balancing
- $0.025 per hour for each of the first five forwarding rules, then $0.01 an hour for every rule after that — so the sixth rule costs 60% less than the fifth. Regional data processing is charged on top.
- Cloudflare Load Balancing
- From $5 a month, sold as an add-on activated on an existing Cloudflare plan rather than as a standalone service. The cheapest entry in this category.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Cloud Load Balancing pricing ↗
“First 5 forwarding rules $0.025 / 1 hour Per additional forwarding rule $0.01 / 1 hour”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Cloudflare Plans ↗
“Local and global traffic load balancing, geographic routing, health checks, and failover for continuous availability. Starting at $5/mo”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
Pricing model
- Google Cloud Load Balancing
- Per forwarding rule per hour, with an inverted volume curve: the first five rules are the expensive ones at $0.025 an hour and everything beyond is $0.01. Data processing is charged by the region that handles the traffic, and there are no global data processing charges.
- Cloudflare Load Balancing
- A monthly add-on price on top of a Cloudflare plan, not a meter. Nothing here is billed per hour, per rule or per node — the distinction from the three cloud-native balancers, all of which charge for the resource existing.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Cloud Load Balancing pricing ↗
“There are no global data processing charges. Data processing is charged by the region”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
- Cloudflare Plans ↗
“Starting at $5/mo Activate Load Balancing”
Read 2026-09-15 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Entry paid plan: Google Cloud Load Balancing or Cloudflare Load Balancing?
Google Cloud Load Balancing: $0.025 per hour for each of the first five forwarding rules, then $0.01 an hour for every rule after that — so the sixth rule costs 60% less than the fifth. Regional data processing is charged on top.
Cloudflare Load Balancing: From $5 a month, sold as an add-on activated on an existing Cloudflare plan rather than as a standalone service. The cheapest entry in this category.
Should I choose Google Cloud Load Balancing or Cloudflare Load Balancing?
Pick Google Cloud Load Balancing if More than five forwarding rules. The price curve inverts at that point: the first five cost $0.025 an hour each and every rule after is $0.01, so the sixth is 60% cheaper than the fifth and the marginal cost keeps falling.
Pick Cloudflare Load Balancing if Balancing across clouds you do not own. It is the only member here that markets balancing between AWS, GCP, Azure and on-premise servers, and at $5 a month it is also the cheapest entry.