Cloudflare vs. Zorus

Cloudflare Gateway and Zorus both offer DNS filtering to help businesses protect against online threats. But they serve different types of users. 

Cloudflare is a feature-rich, enterprise-grade platform. Zorus is built for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and focuses on endpoint protection with simple DNS-based controls.

This article compares Cloudflare vs Zorus based on features, pricing, analytics, and support. We also explore a third option that may be the better choice. 

What are Cloudflare and Zorus?

Cloudflare Gateway is part of Cloudflare’s larger Zero Trust security platform. It filters DNS traffic, blocks threats, and offers a wide range of enterprise tools like Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). It's built for large businesses that want fast DNS with advanced protection.

Zorus is a lightweight DNS security product aimed at MSPs. It blocks malicious domains and harmful content with simple deployment and no hardware needed. Since April 2025, Zorus has been acquired by its then-competitor, DNSFilter.

While both services offer DNS-based protection, Cloudflare is focused on large enterprises, and Zorus is built to support small to mid-sized businesses through MSPs.

Cloudflare: Pros and Cons

Best for: Large businesses and teams that need high-speed DNS and advanced Zero Trust tools.

Key Features

• Global DNS filtering network
• Secure Web Gateway and Remote Browser Isolation
• Data Loss Prevention and Zero Trust Network Access

✅ Pros

• Extremely fast performance
• Scales well for enterprise environments
• Advanced security features

❌ Cons

• Expensive – starts at $7/user/month
• Many features are reserved for the highest-tier plan
• Weak malware filtering
• Poor support

Our Take on Cloudflare 

Cloudflare is great for big organizations, especially those that are already embedded in Cloudflare’s security ecosystem. Its security tools are powerful, but overkill if all you need is DNS filtering. Additionally, smaller businesses might struggle with the cost, and their poor post-sales support often turns businesses off. 

Zorus: Pros and Cons

Best for: MSPs supporting small to mid-sized businesses with basic security needs.

Key Features

• DNS filtering that works on and off network
• Web activity reports by user and device
• Lightweight endpoint agent

✅ Pros

• Built specifically for MSPs
• Easy deployment on endpoints
• Works well for remote/hybrid teams

❌ Cons

• No public pricing
• Fewer enterprise integrations
• Limited advanced filtering features

Our Take on Zorus

Zorus is a good choice for MSPs looking for simple DNS security. It offers solid endpoint protection and easy reporting. But it lacks customization, integrations, and transparency in pricing.

Cloudflare vs. Zorus

Plans & Pricing

Zorus doesn’t publicly list its pricing, making it difficult to get clear details without contacting their sales team. However, according to user reports on Reddit, there appears to be a minimum requirement of 100 seats, with pricing coming in just under $3/user/month.

Cloudflare, on the other hand, is a little more open about its pricing tiers. It offers two main paid options:

• Pay-as-you-go – $7/user/month
• Contract plan – Pricing not publicly listed; requires direct contact with sales

There’s also a free plan, but it comes with notable limitations: only 50 users, 24-hour DNS query log retention, and access to community support only. For teams needing longer data retention or more robust support, a paid plan is necessary.

Both platforms lack full transparency when it comes to pricing. Cloudflare is known to be expensive. Zorus could be more affordable for small clients, but without public pricing, it’s hard to compare.

Features, Clients, and Integrations

Both platforms offer the basic capabilities you’d expect from a DNS filtering service, such as:

Having said that, there are also key areas where Cloudflare sets itself apart:

As mentioned earlier, many of these features will be overkill for most businesses, but nevertheless, they’re available with Cloudflare and not Zorus. Therefore, Cloudflare wins this category.

Analytics

In terms of analytics, there are similarities, but also notable differences:

• Admin Action Logs: Cloudflare retains admin action logs, which can be helpful for auditing and compliance, while it’s unclear whether Zorus offers this feature
• Query Log, Reports, and Analytics Retention: Cloudflare retains these for up to 6 months (depending on your plan). On the other hand, Zorus only stores query log data for up to 90 days, and does not divulge how long they store reports and analytics data for
• Data Export: Cloudflare reserves this for the Contract plan, whereas Zorus makes this available for all users
• SIEM Log Streaming: Cloudflare gates this feature for Contract plan users, while Zorus does not yet offer this at all
• Per-user Reporting: Again, Cloudflare reserves this for those on the Contract plan, while Zorus makes this available for all users
• Scheduled Reporting: Cloudflare does not offer this feature, whereas Zorus does
• Custom Storage Regions: Neither platform allows you to customize which country your data resides in

Although Zorus is not as transparent regarding its report and analytics retention periods, it offers features that Cloudflare reserves for its highest tier. As such, Zorus wins this category.

Support

Cloudflare offers Community Support and Prioritized Case Handling, something which Zorus does not. However, Cloudflare has garnered a reputation for offering subpar post-sales support.

This comes down to how it’s set up. Organizations on the highest-tier plans with the largest spend get priority. If you're on a lower-tier plan or paying less each month, your queries are handled after higher-paying customers.

The result is a number of reports on online forums complaining about Cloudflare’s (lack of) customer support.

Cloudflare vs. Zorus vs. Control D

If Cloudflare is too expensive and Zorus feels too limited, or you’re not an MSP, Control D offers a more feature-rich, flexible, and cost-effective alternative to both.

It offers powerful DNS filtering with full customization and control, easy deployment, transparent pricing, and MSP-friendly features.

Here’s why Control D is the go-to solution for industry experts.

Easy Onboarding & Transparent Pricing

Control D makes setup and pricing as painless as possible. The entire platform runs on a flat per-endpoint pricing model, and you get the full feature set from day one – no upcharges, no gatekeeping features, and no “enterprise” unlocks.

• Enterprises – $2/Endpoint/month
• MSPs – $1/Endpoint/month
• Schools & Non-Profits – Discounted rates available

You can explore everything Control D has to offer with a 30-day free trial (no credit card required and no strings attached). 

Whether you're testing on a few devices or rolling it out across your entire network, getting started takes just minutes. Use your favorite Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software or set it up manually in a few clicks.

Best-in-Class Malware Protection

Malware threats evolve fast. Control D evolves faster. In independent testing, Control D’s malware filter achieved a 99.97% block rate, the highest amongst all competitors tested. It even beat out names such as Quad9, Google, and Cloudflare.

Control D’s threat protection is powered by constantly updated threat feeds and AI-driven models that detect suspicious domains before they reach blocklists. This means your network is secured in real time against drive-by downloads, phishing domains, command-and-control callbacks, and malicious redirects.

Ad & Tracker Blocking

Control D strips ads and trackers out of your internet traffic before they have a chance to load. It works at the DNS level, meaning it blocks stuff network-wide, not just in your browser.

Pages load faster, tracking scripts can’t trace you, and you don’t need to mess with clunky ad blocker plugins on every device. Just smooth, fast, and more private browsing.

You can also customize how much you want to block. Toggle between Relaxed, Balanced, or Strict modes. Neither Cloudflare nor Zorus offers ad and tracker blocking, let alone flexibility on how aggressively you want to block them.

Blockable Services

Control D lets you control specific Services, not just categories. With over 1,000 Services to choose from, you can toggle exactly which apps, platforms, and websites should be allowed, blocked, or redirected.

Everything from productivity tools to entertainment sites is pre-mapped and grouped. That means no domain research and no trial-and-error lists. Simply find the Service and set the rule.

For comparison, Cloudflare offers 200 Services, and Zorus offers fewer than 50.

Traffic Redirection

With Control D, you get full control over where your DNS traffic goes. The Traffic Redirection feature allows you to route traffic through any of 100+ proxy locations in more than 60 countries.

You can set one location for everything or fine-tune the routing with per-Service or per-domain rules. For instance, send corporate tools through a nearby server for speed, and direct entertainment apps through another region. It’s flexible and easy to manage.

There’s no VPN involved, and no extra software to install. Just log in, toggle the redirect rule, set your location, and Control D takes care of the rest.

Cloudflare and Zorus do not offer this capability.

Geo-Custom Rules

Many DNS tools stop at simple geo-blocking. Control D goes further by letting you define source and destination logic. 

Its Geo-Custom Rules give you precise control over managing DNS traffic based on both where it comes from and where it goes, using country and ASN data. You can:

• Block queries resolving to IPs in a specific country or ASN
• Redirect queries that don't resolve to IPs in a specific country or ASN
• Bypass queries made from IPs in a specific country or ASN
• Block queries made from IPs not in a specific country or ASN
• Or any of the above

This helps protect your network from traffic linked to risky regions, maintain compliance with local regulations, and ensure sensitive queries stay within trusted zones.

Cloudflare only provides geo-IP blocking, whereas Zorus does not offer this at all.

In-Depth Analytics & Monitoring

With Control D, you get full visibility into your DNS activity with both live and historical data. Every time a device tries to resolve a domain, it’s tracked and recorded, whether the request was allowed, blocked, or redirected.

The analytics dashboard makes it easy to review trends and spot anything unusual. If a device is making tons of requests, or someone’s persistently trying to reach a blocked Service. You’ll see it.

You can go even further by integrating Control D with your SIEM tool. DNS logs stream in real time, so your security stack stays up to date without needing extra connectors or costs.

If you prefer a summary instead, you can set Control D to send you reports on a schedule. These can arrive daily, weekly, or monthly and include key metrics and insights from across your network.

Advanced Chatbot

Built directly into Control D, Barry is an advanced, AI-powered chatbot that helps you with everything from basic setup to advanced configuration within seconds.

He can answer 99% of questions instantly, thanks to a deep knowledge of the platform and continuous learning from past interactions. Barry can walk you through settings, explain features, and even help troubleshoot unusual behavior on your network.

As Control D evolves, so does Barry, and his responses improve over time. So if you ever get stuck, you don’t need to create a support ticket; just talk to Barry and get your query answered immediately.

Full Cross-Platform Support

Control D works on any platform, supporting all major operating systems, including Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. It even works with routers and browsers.   

For large deployments, it’s even easier. Control D works with Active Directory for user groups, RMM tools for fast rollout, SIEM systems for live monitoring, and SSO platforms like Okta for quick, secure logins.

Dual Stack Ready & Modern Protocol Support

With built-in dual-stack support, Control D provides you seamless compatibility with both IPv4 and IPv6, making it ideal for hybrid networks.

It also supports every modern DNS encryption protocol, including DoH, DoT, DoH3, and DoQ. These technologies boost performance while locking down your DNS queries with encryption.

Legacy systems still in the mix? Control D supports traditional DNS as well, so your setup won’t break if parts of your environment haven’t fully upgraded.

Full API Access

Control D includes full API access for every user, giving you the same power programmatically as you get from the dashboard. You can manage users, adjust filters, create new Profiles, update IPs, and automate everything in your DNS workflow.

There’s no waiting to unlock API features and no “pro” upgrade required. The API is available from the start, making DNS another part of your automation stack.

Custom Data Storage Region

Control D lets you decide exactly where your DNS logs and account data live. You can choose from three standard storage regions – North America, Europe, or Australia – to match your privacy and performance goals.

If your company requires more control due to local laws or security policies, you can go beyond the defaults. Control D offers custom data storage region setup for a small extra cost, helping you comply with your business-specific data protection rules.

Performance

📌 Zorus is not included in this list. As such, this section compares Control D against Cloudflare

Cloudflare leads in query speed with 14.52 ms, but is followed closely behind by Control D with a speed of 16.09 ms.

Control D outperforms Cloudflare in Uptime results, with a score of 99.91% compared to 99.72%.

Again, Control D has a superior Server score with 99.91% compared to Cloudflare’s 99.72%.