Cloudflare Access Alternatives: Internal Static Hosting Without Per-Seat Pricing
Cloudflare Access is free for up to 50 users. After that:
The Cloudflare Access pricing problem
Cloudflare Access is free for up to 50 users. After that:
- $7/user/month (pay-as-you-go)
- 51 users: $357/month
- 100 users: $700/month
- 200 users: $1,400/month
For sharing internal content company-wide, per-seat pricing creates the wrong incentive structure. Every new viewer is a cost increase. The 51st person who needs to see the Q1 report triggers a pricing jump. Teams end up managing a list of "approved viewers" rather than sharing freely — which defeats the purpose.
Per-seat pricing made sense when access control was a security infrastructure problem. It doesn't make sense when the job is "share content with your company."
The Cloudflare Access setup problem
Cloudflare Access is an identity-aware proxy. It adds authentication to any web application. But to host static files — HTML, Markdown, assets — you still need a hosting service behind the proxy. The usual path is Cloudflare Pages + Access together.
Setting up Cloudflare Pages + Access from scratch:
1. Create a Cloudflare Pages project Either connect a GitHub/GitLab repository via the dashboard, or use the Wrangler CLI to create a project. This requires an existing git repo with the files committed.
2. Configure an Access application In the Cloudflare Zero Trust dashboard, create an application, define the application domain, and set authentication policies.
3. Set up identity provider connections Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 require separate identity provider configurations. Each IdP requires OAuth credentials from the respective admin console. This is a meaningful setup step — not a checkbox.
4. Handle subdomain protection
Cloudflare Access protects a subdomain. If you want path-level protection (different rules for /reports vs /public), that requires additional policy configuration.
Estimated setup time: 2–4 hours for an engineer familiar with Cloudflare. More for someone setting it up for the first time.
Ongoing maintenance: Certificate renewals, IdP configuration updates when OAuth credentials rotate, Wrangler CLI updates, Cloudflare API changes. This is infrastructure you own.
And there's no publishing CLI. After all of this, you still can't run dsp publish ./report.html. You commit to git and trigger a deployment. Non-technical users have no path at all.
What Display does differently
Flat pricing. $49/month for unlimited viewers. The 51st viewer costs nothing extra. The 500th viewer costs nothing extra. Share freely.
Multi-IdP included. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 SSO on the same plan, configured by default. No separate identity provider setup. No OAuth credentials to manage.
CLI and MCP. One command (dsp publish ./file.html) from the terminal. One sentence ("publish this to my team") in Claude Desktop. Non-technical users can publish without touching a terminal.
No setup. Create an account, configure your company domain, install the CLI. First artifact published in 15 minutes. No infrastructure to maintain. Ever.
Direct comparison
| Cloudflare Pages + Access | Display | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost (100 viewers) | ~$700 | $49 |
| Monthly cost (51 viewers) | ~$357 | $49 |
| Setup time | 2–4 hours | 15 minutes |
| Publish CLI | ❌ | ✅ |
| MCP integration | ❌ | ✅ |
| Google SSO | ✅ | ✅ |
| Microsoft SSO | ✅ (separate setup) | ✅ (included) |
| Per-seat pricing | ✅ ($7/user) | ❌ (flat) |
| Maintenance required | Yes | No |
| Non-technical user publishing | ❌ | ✅ (MCP) |
| Free tier | ✅ (50 users) | ✅ (one-time password auth) |
The numbers at different company sizes
| Team size | Cloudflare Access/month | Display/month | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 viewers | $0 (free tier) | $49 | -$49 |
| 75 viewers | $525 | $49 | $476 |
| 100 viewers | $700 | $49 | $651 |
| 200 viewers | $1,400 | $49 | $1,351 |
| 500 viewers | $3,500 | $49 | $3,451 |
At 50 users, Cloudflare's free tier wins on price. The crossover happens at 57 users: $399/month for Cloudflare vs. $49/month for Display. Above that threshold — which is most companies with an actual sharing problem — Display is dramatically cheaper.
When Cloudflare Access is still the right choice
You're within the free 50-user tier and have already set up the infrastructure. At zero marginal cost, the build vs. buy calculation changes.
You need Zero Trust network access features beyond static file hosting — device posture checks, application-level policies, network-level access control, WARP client integration. These are enterprise security features that go far beyond sharing an HTML file.
You're protecting a real web application — a dynamic backend, an internal tool, a staging environment — not sharing internal documents.
You're already paying for Cloudflare Teams/Enterprise and the cost is included in an existing contract.
When Display is the right choice
You want to publish HTML or Markdown files without building infrastructure. One command. One URL.
You're sharing with more than 50 people. Per-seat pricing breaks the "share freely" model at exactly the point where broad internal sharing becomes valuable.
You want flat pricing. Know what you pay. No surprises when the team grows.
You want a publishing CLI or MCP. dsp publish ./report.html. "Publish this to my team." Neither exists in Cloudflare.
You want Google and Microsoft SSO without separate configuration. Both IdPs work out of the box.
Try Display free — $49/month flat, no per-seat pricing →
FAQ
Can I replicate Display's pricing with Cloudflare Access?
Not exactly. Cloudflare's free tier (50 users) is the closest, but it requires significant setup and ongoing maintenance. Above 50 users, Cloudflare Access is $7/user/month regardless of how many artifacts you're hosting. Display is $49/month flat regardless of how many users or artifacts.
What about Cloudflare's free tier for Access?
Free for 50 users. If your company has fewer than 50 people who need to view internal content, and you have an engineer with 2–4 hours to set it up, Cloudflare's free tier is a viable DIY option. Most teams who've tried this find the maintenance burden and lack of CLI makes Display worth $49/month even within the 50-user limit.
Does Display use Cloudflare under the hood?
Display uses infrastructure for hosting and delivery, but the details of the stack are internal. The value is that you don't need to know or manage any of it.
Is Display SOC 2 certified like Cloudflare?
Display is working toward SOC 2 Type II certification. Enterprise plan includes audit logs, SAML, and custom data residency. For current compliance status, contact the team.
Free tier. No credit card. One-time password auth for viewers on free, Google + Microsoft SSO on Teams ($49/month flat).