Cybersecurity
Jul 9, 2026
Jul 17, 2026
•
13 min read
CloudConnexa and Cloudflare One both promise to replace legacy site-to-site and remote-access VPNs with a cloud-delivered, zero-trust architecture, but they start from different premises about where security controls should live and how large a deployment needs to be before the platform pays off. This breakdown covers architecture, zero-trust controls, secure internet access, and observability, so you can match the right platform to your environment.
TL;DR: CloudConnexa is a single-tier, all-in-one service — ZTNA, content filtering, IDS/IPS, and site-to-site are bundled with no feature add-ons, running the OpenVPN protocol across roughly 36 Regions. Cloudflare One (Cloudflare Zero Trust) is a broader SASE/SSE platform delivered from a 330+ city Anycast network with a wider feature set (CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation, email security) — but several of its most security-relevant capabilities are Enterprise-tier or paid add-ons rather than included in the base plan.
CloudConnexa overview
OpenVPN CloudConnexa is a cloud-delivered network security platform that unifies ZTNA (private application access), secure internet access (content filtering, IDS/IPS), SaaS protection, and site-to-site connectivity into a single service. It is built around OpenVPN's "Wide-area Private Cloud" (WPC) model: an overlay private network spanning CloudConnexa's Points of Presence, through which customers connect their networks via software Connectors that require no inbound ports and their devices via the OpenVPN Connect client, while OpenVPN operates the control and data planes. It uses OpenVPN Data Channel Offload (DCO) for high performance and offers zero-trust controls based on identity, device, and location context. Client and device connections use the OpenVPN protocol, and IPsec is supported for site-to-site (Network Connector) connections. Its built-in Cyber Shield delivers content filtering and IDS/IPS, and the service is SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO/IEC 27001 certified.
Cloudflare One overview
Cloudflare One (Cloudflare Zero Trust) is a cloud-delivered SASE/SSE platform that runs on Cloudflare's global Anycast network, spanning 330+ cities per its network page. Devices connect through the Cloudflare One client (formerly WARP); private networks and applications connect outbound through Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared), and sites connect via Magic WAN using Anycast GRE or IPsec. It bundles a broad security stack: ZTNA (Access), a Secure Web Gateway with DNS/URL/content filtering and antivirus (Gateway), CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation, and intrusion detection. It offers agentless access, including browser-rendered access to web apps, SSH, RDP, and VNC. Notably, Cloudflare has moved its device client to MASQUE (HTTP/3 over QUIC) as the default tunnel protocol, with WireGuard now treated as legacy. Several of its most advanced capabilities — advanced DLP, dedicated egress IPs, extended log retention, Browser Isolation, and Magic WAN site-to-site — are Contract/Enterprise-tier or paid add-ons rather than included in the base Pay-as-you-go plan.
When to choose CloudConnexa vs. Cloudflare One
Choose CloudConnexa if you want one service that bundles ZTNA, content filtering, and IDS/IPS without per-feature tiering or add-ons; if you want the OpenVPN protocol with client and router compatibility; or if your requirement is remote access plus IPsec-or-OpenVPN site-to-site managed as one service.
Choose Cloudflare One if you need a wide SASE/SSE feature set (SWG, CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation, and email security) delivered from a large global edge network (330+ cities), require agentless/clientless access to web, SSH, RDP, and VNC, and can administer a broader platform in which several security features are limited to higher tiers or sold as add-ons.
Note: if you're further along in a Cloudflare-vs-OpenVPN buying decision and want a side-by-side breakdown of pricing tiers, support, and SMB fit, see OpenVPN vs. Cloudflare: Which Business VPN Is Better?.
Architectural trade-offs
Both are cloud-delivered services, but they differ in scale and protocol: CloudConnexa uses the OpenVPN protocol across ~36 Regions, while Cloudflare One uses a MASQUE (HTTP/3 over QUIC) client across a global Anycast edge of 330+ cities with a broad SSE feature set. The points below weigh that difference and test where common claims hold.
Where Cloudflare's architecture can help
- A large Anycast edge places ingress and egress close to users in many regions.
- The platform spans a wide SSE feature set (SWG, CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation, email security) under one console.
- Agentless/clientless browser access supports web, SSH, RDP, and VNC without a device client.
- MASQUE (HTTP/3 over QUIC) traverses many networks that block traditional VPN ports, and provides post-quantum encryption.
- Outbound-only Tunnel connectors avoid inbound firewall exposure.
Trade-offs and claim-vs-reality
- The "all-in-one" breadth carries administrative overhead; multi-step policy configuration and a steeper learning curve are commonly reported.
- Several of the most security-relevant features (advanced DLP, dedicated egress IPs, extended log retention, Browser Isolation, Magic WAN site-to-site) are Contract/Enterprise-tier or add-ons, not part of a single base tier.
- The client protocol is MASQUE/QUIC over UDP; networks that throttle or block QUIC can affect performance, and WireGuard is now legacy.
- One Zero Trust organization covers the whole account; segmenting IT, OT, or client environments the way CloudConnexa's multiple isolated WPCs do generally means separate policy sets or separate accounts, not a built-in network-level boundary.
- The breadth and edge model are oriented to larger deployments; a remote-access-only requirement uses only a portion of the platform.
Feature comparison
Architecture & Deployment Model |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Cloud-hosted control + data plane |
Yes — WPC overlay; fully hosted |
Yes — global Anycast network; fully hosted |
|
Edge / regions |
~36 Regions worldwide; full-mesh core |
330+ cities across 120+ countries |
|
Multiple isolated overlay networks |
Yes — multiple isolated WPCs per account (segment OT, IoT, and IT networks) |
Partial — multiple virtual networks for routing isolation within one account; reachability governed centrally; full isolation via separate accounts |
|
Device connection |
OpenVPN Connect client |
Cloudflare One client (formerly WARP) [1] |
|
Network connector |
Network and Host Connectors |
Cloudflare Tunnel [2] (cloudflared, outbound-only); WARP Connector for networks |
|
Site-to-site (WAN) |
Network Connectors (IPsec or OpenVPN) |
Magic WAN [3] (Anycast GRE / IPsec / direct interconnect) (not available in all plans) |
|
Agentless / clientless options |
No. The device needs an OpenVPN-protocol-compliant client. |
Yes — clientless browser access to web, SSH, RDP, VNC |
|
Dedicated egress IP |
Via Internet Gateway / SNAT. IP provided by the customer. |
Dedicated egress IPs as a paid add-on (not available in all plans) |
Administration & Management |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Web admin console |
Yes — Administration Portal; Owner/Admin/Member roles |
Yes — unified Zero Trust / Cloudflare One dashboard |
|
Public API |
Yes — REST API with OAuth 2.0 |
Yes — full Zero Trust REST API |
|
Infrastructure-as-code |
Yes — Terraform provider |
Yes — official Terraform provider |
|
Client deployment / MDM |
MDM deployment with client and profile. URL profile import with client app. |
MDM deployment with service-token auto-enrollment |
|
Device management |
Device allowance, trusted devices, device identity enforcement |
Device enrollment permissions and custom device profiles |
|
Log retention |
Logs with CSV export; Log streaming for SIEM. Retention duration varies by plan |
Extended retention (up to ~6 months) on contract (not available in all plans) |
Zero Trust & Identity |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Access granularity |
Zero Trust Application Broker functionality in CloudConnexa continuously verifies identity, location context, and device posture, then assigns a synthetic intermediate IP scoped to a single authorized app — the device never gets a route to the private network, so lateral movement isn't limited; it's structurally impossible. |
Cloudflare One provides ZTNA by brokering identity- and device‑aware connections to specific apps or network segments, enforced by policies in Cloudflare Access (HTTP/app) and Gateway (network/HTTP). Access can be controlled at multiple granularities: per-app, per-path/hostname, per TCP/UDP route, per user/group, per device posture, and even down to specific SaaS API operations via Application Granular Controls |
|
User authentication |
Local username/password, LDAP, SAML 2.0 |
SAML, OIDC, and built-in email one-time PIN; no local password store |
|
Simultaneous IdP + local auth |
Yes — SAML and local accounts usable at the same time |
Yes — multiple IdPs plus built-in OTP concurrently (no password store) |
|
Multiple group membership per user |
Yes — one Primary plus up to 20 Secondary user groups (additive) |
Yes — effective access is the union of group memberships |
|
MFA |
Built-in 2FA; passkey / passwordless; Delegated to IdP when SAML is used. |
Via IdP or built-in OTP; enforced in Access policies |
|
Device posture / compliance |
Yes — OS, antivirus, disk encryption, certificate |
Yes — native checks + CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Intune, Tanium, more |
|
Location / geo context |
Yes — allow/block by IP range or country |
Yes — country/geolocation and source IP/CIDR selectors |
|
SCIM provisioning |
Yes — SCIM 2.0 (not available in all plans) |
Yes — group/user sync usable in policies |
|
Service / non-human identity |
Host Connectors; REST API (OAuth client credentials) |
Yes — service tokens and mTLS |
|
Device / supply-chain trust |
Device Identity Verification & Enforcement (locks profile to device) |
Yes — WARP device client certificate; mTLS at enrollment |
Access Use Cases |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Remote access |
Yes — core use case |
Yes — positioned as VPN replacement |
|
Site-to-site |
Yes — via Network Connectors (IPsec or OpenVPN) |
Via Magic WAN [3] (not available in all plans) |
|
Internet gateway / SWG egress |
Yes — any Network as Internet Gateway; smart geo routing |
Yes — Cloudflare Gateway (DNS/network/HTTP/egress policies) |
|
Selective SaaS routing by domain (split tunnel on) |
Yes — route specific SaaS domains through a chosen Internet Gateway with split tunnel on (no full tunnel required) |
Yes — Gateway egress policies route selected domains via a chosen egress |
|
Vendor-provided static egress IP |
No — the customer runs the Internet Gateway and supplies the public IP |
Yes — vendor-provided dedicated egress IPs (add-on) (not available in all plans) |
|
Cloud / SaaS connectivity |
AWS, Azure, GCP Connectors; plus VPS and routers |
Tunnel to any cloud; CASB for SaaS visibility |
|
Clientless SSH / RDP / VNC |
Not offered |
Yes — browser-rendered (RDP added 2025) |
|
Split tunneling |
Yes — Split Tunnel On/Off and Restricted Internet |
Yes — include/exclude in device profiles |
Networking |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Client/device protocol |
OpenVPN only; OpenVPN Data Channel Offload (DCO) for throughput |
MASQUE [4] (HTTP/3 over QUIC) by default; WireGuard now legacy |
|
WireGuard |
No — not supported for any connection type |
Legacy support only; superseded by MASQUE [4] |
|
Tunnel / site protocols |
OpenVPN (clients & networks); IPsec (site-to-site networks only) |
cloudflared [2] QUIC; Magic WAN [3] Anycast GRE / IPsec |
|
Post-quantum encryption |
Capability depends on the supported version of OpenSSL |
Yes — MASQUE [4] tunnels provide PQC |
|
DNS |
Yes — DNS Proxy, custom records/zones |
Yes — Cloudflare resolver; Gateway DNS policies; DoH |
Secure Internet Access |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Secure web gateway (SWG) |
DNS Proxy + Cyber Shield Traffic Filtering (built in) |
Yes — Cloudflare Gateway (DNS/network/HTTP/egress) |
|
Content / DNS / URL filtering |
Yes — Domain Filtering, 43 categories; included |
Yes — DNS, category, and custom URL filtering |
|
Malware / antivirus inspection |
No inspection of files |
Yes — edge AV file inspection (not available in all plans) |
|
IDS / IPS |
Yes — Cyber Shield Traffic Filtering (monitor/block) |
Yes — intrusion detection (requires Logpush [6]) (not available in all plans) |
|
CASB / SaaS security |
Not offered (SaaS access can be restricted to an Internet Gateway egress IP) |
Yes — CASB / SaaS posture (not available in all plans) |
|
DLP |
Not offered |
Yes — DLP; advanced DLP (not available in all plans) |
|
Browser isolation (RBI) |
Not offered |
Yes — remote browser isolation [5] (not available in all plans) |
Observability & Operations |
||
|
Capability |
CloudConnexa |
Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
|
Audit / config logging |
Yes — Audit Log of config changes; SEIM export |
Yes — account/admin audit logs |
|
Access / traffic visibility |
Yes — Access Visibility and DNS Log |
Per-request DNS/HTTP/network/access event logs |
|
SIEM / log export |
Yes — JSON streaming to AWS S3; Splunk, Datadog |
Logpush [6] to Splunk, Sumo Logic, Datadog, S3 (not available in all plans) |
|
Analytics dashboards |
Yes — Cyber Shield dashboards, CSV reports |
Yes — Gateway/Access analytics; DEX monitoring |
|
Alerts / notifications |
Yes — email alerts for usage, connector status |
Configurable alerts and notifications |
Reference: Cloudflare named feature
Cloudflare markets several capabilities under proprietary names. The numbers below are referenced in the comparison tables above (e.g. "Magic WAN [3]"). Each entry summarizes the function and the closest equivalent in CloudConnexa.
|
Feature |
What it does |
CloudConnexa equivalent |
|---|---|---|
|
The device agent that tunnels endpoint traffic to Cloudflare's edge. |
The OpenVPN Connect client. |
| 2. Cloudflare Tunnel (cloudflared) |
An outbound-only daemon that connects private apps and networks to the edge without inbound ports. |
Network and Host Connectors. |
| 3. Magic WAN |
Cloudflare's network-as-a-service for site-to-site connectivity via Anycast GRE / IPsec. |
Site-to-site via Network Connectors (IPsec or OpenVPN). |
| 4. MASQUE |
An HTTP/3-over-QUIC tunnelling method, now the default for the WARP client. |
Client connections use the OpenVPN protocol. |
| 5. Browser Isolation (RBI) |
Remote browser isolation that executes web code away from the endpoint. |
Not offered. |
| 6. Logpush |
Automated export of logs to storage / SIEM destinations. |
Built-in SIEM log streaming (AWS S3, Splunk, Datadog). |
Frequently asked questions
What is the main difference between CloudConnexa and Cloudflare One?
CloudConnexa bundles ZTNA, secure internet access (content filtering and IDS/IPS), and site-to-site connectivity into one service with no per-feature tiering, using the OpenVPN protocol across roughly 36 Regions. Cloudflare One (Cloudflare Zero Trust) is a broader SASE/SSE platform delivered from a 330+ city Anycast network with a wider security stack (CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation) — but several of its most advanced features are Enterprise-tier or paid add-ons rather than included in the base plan.
Is Cloudflare Zero Trust free?
Cloudflare offers a free plan for smaller teams with core ZTNA and Secure Web Gateway capabilities, but log retention is limited to about 24 hours and DLP is restricted to predefined profiles. Advanced features such as full Browser Isolation, complete CASB, custom DLP, dedicated egress IPs, and Magic WAN site-to-site require a paid or Enterprise/Contract tier.
Does CloudConnexa support WireGuard?
No. CloudConnexa uses the OpenVPN protocol for client and device connections, with OpenVPN Data Channel Offload (DCO) for performance, and supports IPsec for site-to-site Network Connector connections. WireGuard is not supported for any connection type.
Can CloudConnexa segment multiple networks the way a Cloudflare organization does?
Yes — CloudConnexa supports multiple isolated Wide-area Private Cloud (WPC) networks per account, which can segment IT, OT, and IoT traffic. Cloudflare Zero Trust runs one organization per account, so equivalent segmentation is generally achieved through policy rules or separate accounts rather than separate overlay networks.
Which platform fits a remote-access-only requirement better?
CloudConnexa's single-service model — ZTNA, content filtering, IDS/IPS, and site-to-site in one subscription — is generally the simpler fit when the requirement centers on remote access and site-to-site connectivity. Cloudflare One's breadth is built for organizations that also need SWG, CASB, DLP, Browser Isolation, and email security under one console and can manage the added configuration and tiering that come with it.
Secure your network now
Ready to see how CloudConnexa's all-in-one model compares in your own environment? Get started for free or book a demo.
Facts reflect vendor documentation accessed June–July 2026.
