Other ways to get the same benefits.
OTHER CDN PROVIDERS
Several offer similar services, some with better regional coverage for particular markets.
The configuration principles are the same: DNS, caching, SSL mode, exclusions.
SERVER-SIDE CACHING ALONE
For a site with local visitors, LiteSpeed cache on our servers delivers most of the speed benefit without another system in the path.
That is frequently the right answer for a small Nigerian business serving Nigerian customers.
DNS-ONLY PROVIDERS
If you want fast DNS management without proxying, several providers offer that alone.
Cloudflare itself can be used this way: set every record to DNS only, and you get the DNS management without the proxy.
OBJECT STORAGE FOR MEDIA
For a media-heavy site, serving images from object storage with its own CDN is an alternative to proxying the whole site.
WHAT TO CONSIDER
Where your visitors are Whether you need attack protection Whether you want another system in the path Whether someone will maintain the configuration
THE PRACTICAL ADVICE
Cloudflare's free plan is hard to argue against for DNS alone. The proxy is a separate decision.
