Cloudflare expands Startup Program with new credit tiers
Cloudflare has updated its Startup Program, which provides credits for early-stage companies to build on the Cloudflare platform. Since the program’s revamp in September 2024, Cloudflare says it has gathered feedback from participating startups about their needs—and a recurring request was for more flexibility in credit options. In response, the company has introduced additional credit tiers designed to support startups at different stages of growth.
Credit Amount | $5,000 | $25,000 | $100,000 | $250,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stage | Bootstrapped, stealth startups | Up-and-coming startups | Seed-funded startups | Tier 1 startups |
Description | For startups who are just getting started. This tier is great for building, testing, and iterating your product. | For startups with early adopters and proving product market fit. | For startups that have raised capital, and are experiencing high growth. | For scaling startups that belong to our Tier 1 VC and accelerator network, are building a mission-critical AI application, or are participating in our Workers Launchpad Program. |
Criteria | Building a software-based product or serviceFounded in the last 5 yearsValid and matching email address | $5,000 criteria plus: | $25,000 criteria plus: | $100,000 criteria plus: |
Startups accepted into the program receive credits that are valid for one year or until fully consumed, whichever comes first. The program also includes access to up to three domains with enterprise-level services, giving startups access to the same advanced tools used by large companies. The new tiers remain subject to the same Cloudflare for Startups Terms of Service.
Why new tiers?
Cloudflare recognizes that startups at different stages have different infrastructure needs. A team launching an MVP may not require the same resources as one preparing for a funding round or scaling rapidly. The added tiers aim to give startups the right level of support and resources based on where they are in their journey, without forcing them into a one-size-fits-all credit structure.
What the credits cover
The vast majority of Cloudflare products—including everything on the pay-as-you-go plans—are eligible for the Startup Program. Here are a few examples of what startups can build using their credits:
- Build AI applications: Store training data in
R2, build AI-powered agents using theAgents SDKwithDurable ObjectsandWorkers, or run inference tasks on one of over 50 models available on Cloudflare’s global network viaWorkers AI.
- Create immersive realtime experiences: Use the
Realtime Kitto deliver live audio and video, add an AI-powered chatbot onWorkers AIfor call transcription, and broadcast to large audiences withStream. - Build durable multi-step applications: Use
Workflowsto coordinate long-lived processes—such as onboarding flows, document processing, or order fulfillment—across Workers, Durable Objects,Queues, and AI tasks.Workflowshandles retries, timeouts, and state management without requiring complex orchestration infrastructure.
Startup testimonials
Webstudio: no-code platform on Cloudflare’s Developer Platform
"From a modern design tool, you'd expect real-time collaborative features and would like to have resources as close to users as possible. Since betting on the Developer Platform architecture, Cloudflare has done more for us than any other vendor out there!" — Oleg Isonen, Founder & CEO
GrackerAI: cybersecurity research engine on AI and serverless architecture
"Cloudflare’s fusion of edge computing and AI empowers developers to deploy and utilize AI models with unprecedented efficiency and scale, marking a significant leap forward in how we build and interact with intelligent systems." — Deepak Gupta, Co-founder & CEO
Render Better: ecommerce acceleration with Cloudflare Workers
"Each month Render Better optimizes billions of monthly requests for ecommerce visitors, delivering faster loading sites that make top brands millions more in revenue. We're able to scale up with Cloudflare's serverless workers, handling every request at the network edge within milliseconds, thanks to the rock solid, DX-friendly scope of the Developer Platform." — James Koshigoe, Co-founder & CEO
Eligibility criteria and applications for the Startup Program are available on Cloudflare’s forstartups page. The new credit tiers aim to provide more options for startups as they scale, from initial launch through growth stages.
