Matthew Prince explains that Cloudflare’s free CDN tier is not truly unlimited and comes with important limitations. He clarifies that "unlimited bandwidth" is a marketing term meaning the limit exceeds what most users need, not an actual absence of constraints. The free service includes risks such as account suspension without notice if a user imposes excessive burden on Cloudflare’s systems, affects other users, or triggers abuse controls.
Prince notes that from a business standpoint, the free tier acts as a funnel: some free users convert to paying customers, helping offset costs. Heavy users may be encouraged to upgrade or face caching limits. The free offering remains viable because it supports growth and brand awareness while managing operational impact.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing