Cloudflare vs Zscaler: Revenue, Profit and Business Model
Cloudflare had $2.2B of annual revenue in FY2025. Zscaler had $3.4B of annual revenue in FY2026 and a net loss of $63.2M.
Latest financial snapshot
Cloudflare
- Latest annual revenue
- $2.2B (FY2025)
- Net income
- Unavailable here
- Net margin
- —
- Revenue growth
- +41.5% a year, FY2017–FY2025
Zscaler
- Latest annual revenue
- $3.4B (FY2026)
- Net income
- -$63.2M
- Net margin
- -1.9%
- Revenue growth
- +44.0% a year, FY2017–FY2026
Financial summary
Cloudflare
Cloudflare's revenue has compounded from $431.1 million in 2020 to $2.17 billion in 2025. In 2025 it posted 29.8% growth, 75.8% non-GAAP gross margin, $303.9 million of non-GAAP operating income (14.0% of revenue), $603.1 million of operating cash flow, and $260.6 million of free cash flow, while still reporting a $102.3 million GAAP net loss driven by stock-based compensation. Growth accelerated in 2026: Q2 2026 revenue was $696.1 million (+36% year over year), with a $170.0 million GAAP net loss and $107.8 million of non-GAAP net income. Cash and securities stood at $4.16 billion on June 30, 2026. Management raised full-year 2026 revenue guidance to $2.864-$2.870 billion in August 2026. Cloudflare, Inc. is a massive global internet infrastructure and security company, maintaining a market valuation generally exceeding $25 billion.
Zscaler
Fiscal 2026 revenue grew 25% to $3.353 billion; excluding Red Canary it grew 20% to $3.209 billion. GAAP loss from operations was $133.3 million, while non-GAAP operating income rose to $767.1 million, or 23% of revenue. GAAP net loss was $63.2 million. Fourth-quarter revenue was $898.2 million and ARR ended the year at $3.771 billion. For fiscal 2027, CFO Kevin Rubin guided to revenue of $3.908 billion to $3.938 billion and ARR of $4.396 billion to $4.426 billion, growth of roughly 17%.
Revenue and profit by year
Cloudflare
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $2.2B | — | — | +29.8% | Source |
| FY2024 | $1.7B | — | — | +28.8% | Source |
| FY2023 | $1.3B | — | — | +33.0% | Source |
| FY2022 | $975.2M | — | — | +48.6% | Source |
| FY2021 | $656.4M | — | — | +52.3% | Source |
| FY2020 | $431.1M | — | — | +50.2% | Source |
| FY2019 | $287M | -$105.8M | -36.9% | +49.0% | Source |
| FY2018 | $192.7M | -$87.2M | -45.2% | +42.8% | Source |
| FY2017 | $134.9M | -$10.7M | -8.0% | — | Source |
Zscaler
| Year | Revenue | Net income | Margin | Growth | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2026 | $3.4B | -$63.2M | -1.9% | +25.4% | Source |
| FY2025 | $2.7B | -$41.5M | -1.6% | +23.3% | Source |
| FY2024 | $2.2B | -$57.7M | -2.7% | +34.1% | Source |
| FY2023 | $1.6B | -$202.3M | -12.5% | +48.2% | Source |
| FY2022 | $1.1B | -$390.3M | -35.8% | +62.1% | Source |
| FY2021 | $673.1M | -$262M | -38.9% | +56.1% | Source |
| FY2020 | $431.3M | -$115.1M | -26.7% | +42.4% | Source |
| FY2019 | $302.8M | -$28.7M | -9.5% | +59.2% | Source |
| FY2018 | $190.2M | -$33.6M | -17.7% | +51.3% | Source |
| FY2017 | $125.7M | -$35.5M | -28.2% | — | Source |
Where the revenue comes from
Cloudflare
- Enterprise and large-customer contracts
Majority of revenue (exact split not stated here)
Annual and multi-year contracts with large organizations covering application security, Cloudflare One Zero Trust, email security, and network services.
- Self-serve and developer usage
Not separately disclosed
Monthly Pro and Business subscriptions plus usage-based billing for Workers, R2, D1, and Workers AI.
Zscaler
- Subscription services
Nearly all revenue
Recurring fees for the Zero Trust Exchange modules, typically on annual or multi-year contracts priced by users, workloads, or modules.
- Managed detection and response
$141M ARR (FY2026)
Red Canary's managed detection and response services, acquired in 2025.
Business model and strategy
Cloudflare
How it makes money
Cloudflare makes money by selling subscriptions and usage-based services that run on a single global network. Millions of websites use a free plan; paying customers move up to Pro, Business, and Enterprise plans for advanced DDoS mitigation, web application firewall, bot management, and support.
Growth strategy
Cloudflare grows by landing customers with free or low-cost plans and expanding into more products per account. Its main growth vectors are larger enterprise contracts (it signed its largest-ever deal in Q4 2025, averaging $42.5 million per year in annual contract value), Cloudflare One Zero Trust, and the developer platform.
Competitive advantage
Cloudflare's advantage is its network: data centers in more than 330 cities that run every product on every server, combined with a free tier that brings an enormous volume of diverse traffic onto the platform. That traffic gives Cloudflare broad visibility into attacks, and the shared architecture lets it launch new security, AI, and developer products to its whole customer base at low marginal cost.
Zscaler
How it makes money
Zscaler earns almost all of its revenue from subscriptions to cloud security services, usually sold on annual or multi-year contracts and priced by users, workloads, or modules.
Growth strategy
Zscaler is trying to grow beyond seat-based internet and private access by selling data security, workload and branch connectivity, security operations through Red Canary, and security for AI applications and agents. It also uses Z-Flex, a flexible purchasing program, to move customers onto more modules.
Competitive advantage
Zscaler built its proxy architecture for the cloud from the start rather than adapting hardware firewalls. Customers route traffic through its service, which gives it a large installed base for cross-selling private access, data protection, and newer security-operations and AI-security products.
Questions about Cloudflare vs Zscaler
Which company has higher revenue — Cloudflare, Inc. or Zscaler, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc. had $2.2B (FY2025), while Zscaler, Inc. had $3.4B (FY2026). By latest annual revenue, Zscaler, Inc. is the larger business, with Cloudflare, Inc. showing a smaller revenue base. Note: these are from different fiscal years and are not a direct like-for-like comparison.
What is the market cap of Cloudflare, Inc. vs Zscaler, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc.'s market capitalisation stands at $122.5B, while Zscaler, Inc.'s is $32.6B. Cloudflare, Inc. carries the higher market valuation, reflecting investors' expectations of its future earnings power relative to Zscaler, Inc..
How does revenue per employee compare for Cloudflare, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc.?
Cloudflare, Inc. has $420k / employee in revenue per employee, while Zscaler, Inc. has $424k / employee. Headcounts may use different dates, so the ratio alone does not establish which business operates more efficiently.
How do Cloudflare, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc. make money?
Cloudflare, Inc. and Zscaler, Inc. generate revenue in fundamentally different ways. Cloudflare, Inc.: Cloudflare makes money by selling subscriptions and usage-based services that run on a single global network. Zscaler, Inc.: Zscaler earns almost all of its revenue from subscriptions to cloud security services, usually sold on annual or multi-year contracts and priced by users, workloads, or modules.
Which company is valued higher relative to revenue — Cloudflare, Inc. or Zscaler, Inc.?
On a price-to-sales (P/S) basis, Cloudflare, Inc. trades at 56.5x P/S and Zscaler, Inc. at 9.7x P/S. Cloudflare, Inc. commands a higher revenue multiple, typically indicating that investors expect faster growth or higher future margins compared to Zscaler, Inc.. A higher multiple is not inherently better — it may also signal that the stock is priced for perfection.
Is Cloudflare, Inc. bigger than Zscaler, Inc.?
By last reported revenue, Zscaler, Inc. ($3.4B (FY2026)) is the larger company compared to Cloudflare, Inc. ($2.2B (FY2025)). Revenue scale is one dimension of size — market capitalisation, employee count, and geographic reach are also relevant depending on the context.
Figures come from each company's filings and the sources linked beside them. Amounts reported in another currency are shown in US dollars at an approximate rate and marked with ~. Back to the Cloudflare vs Zscaler overview