ZTXGate vs Cloudflare Access

ZTXGate and Cloudflare Access can both provide identity-aware access to private applications, but they are built around very different operating models.

Cloudflare Access is part of a broad cloud-delivered security platform. ZTXGate is a customer- or MSP-operated ZTNA platform that can run without a mandatory CoreZT-hosted control plane, including in fully air-gapped environments.

At a Glance​

This is an architectural comparison, not a feature score. Cloudflare One has a much broader platform scope than ZTXGate, while ZTXGate emphasizes customer/MSP-operated ZTNA and disconnected deployment flexibility.

Platform Scope​

Cloudflare Access is one component of Cloudflare One, a broader cloud-delivered security platform that can include secure web gateway, network connectivity, browser isolation, data controls, and other SASE capabilities.

ZTXGate is more narrowly focused on Zero Trust access to private resources. It combines identity, device context, policy enforcement, WireGuard-based managed connectivity, licensed clientless HTTP/HTTPS access, audit visibility, and deployment models that can remain independent of a CoreZT-hosted control service.

An organization looking for a broad, vendor-operated SASE platform is evaluating a different operating model from an organization looking for customer- or MSP-operated ZTNA.

Control Plane and Private Connectivity​

Cloudflare's documented private-web-application model installs cloudflared inside the private environment. The connector establishes an outbound Tunnel to Cloudflare, and Cloudflare Access sits in front of the application to authenticate and authorize users.

ZTXGate can operate standalone inside infrastructure run by the customer or MSP. Policy and access enforcement do not require a mandatory CoreZT-hosted control plane.

Connected ZTXGate deployments can optionally use ZTXHub, which is owned and operated by CoreZT, for centralized software-update and license management. ZTXHub is not required for core ZTXGate access operation.

Explore the ZTXGate control-plane model

Managed and Clientless Access​

ZTXGate has two primary access paths:

1. Managed access using WireGuard-based connectivity for protocols that require network access.
2. Licensed clientless HTTP/HTTPS access through the ZTXGate policy-enforcing proxy for supported web applications.

Cloudflare Access has a broader documented clientless portfolio. Current first-party documentation covers:

• private HTTP/HTTPS applications from a browser
• clientless SSH
• in-browser RDP

That breadth is a Cloudflare strength. ZTXGate should not be positioned as having equivalent browser coverage for protocols it does not currently document.

The ZTXGate distinction is instead that its HTTP/HTTPS clientless capability can operate as part of a customer- or MSP-operated ZTXGate deployment rather than depending on Cloudflare's hosted Access service.

Explore Clientless ZTNA

Identity and MFA​

Cloudflare Access supports both identity-provider-based MFA and independent MFA enforced directly by Access. Current Cloudflare documentation lists methods including TOTP, WebAuthn security keys, and platform biometrics such as Touch ID, Face ID, and Windows Hello.

ZTXGate can use external identity and authentication services in connected environments. When licensed, it also includes tightly integrated ZTXBAS phishing-resistant biometric authentication without requiring a separate ZTXBAS server deployment.

The important comparison is not whether either product supports MFA. Both do. The difference appears when the access environment must remain intentionally disconnected from external cloud services.

Authentication When the Cloud Is Unreachable​

A useful comparison separates temporary outage tolerance from a deliberately air-gapped operating model.

ZTXGate​

A standalone ZTXGate deployment can remain fully air-gapped. When the integrated ZTXBAS capability is licensed, phishing-resistant biometric authentication remains available inside that isolated ZTXGate deployment.

The deployment does not need to reach CoreZT or an external cloud MFA provider for that ZTXBAS authentication path. License management and software updates can be handled manually when ZTXHub is not used.

Cloudflare Access​

Cloudflare Access independent MFA reduces dependence on the customer's external IdP for the second factor, but it is still implemented by the Cloudflare Access service. Cloudflare's documented private-application workflow connects the private application to Cloudflare using Tunnel and performs the Access authentication flow through Cloudflare.

In the current Cloudflare documentation reviewed for this comparison, we did not find a documented permanently disconnected Access deployment in which the Cloudflare service itself is absent from the authentication path.

So the distinction is not “MFA vs no MFA.” It is cloud-service MFA versus an integrated phishing-resistant biometric authentication path that can continue inside a fully air-gapped ZTXGate deployment.

Explore Air-Gapped ZTNA

Device Trust and Posture​

Both products can include device context in access policy.

ZTXGate supports posture inputs from:

• Microsoft Intune
• Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
• SentinelOne Singularity
• CrowdStrike
• Jamf

Cloudflare documents a broad device-posture ecosystem through Cloudflare One and its integrations.

For either product, posture signals from an Internet-hosted MDM or EDR service require that service to be reachable. In an air-gapped ZTXGate environment, policy should use the identity, device, posture, and security signals actually available inside the isolated boundary.

Explore Identity & Device Trust

Disconnected and Air-Gapped Operation​

ZTXGate supports a permanently disconnected operating model:

• ZTXGate remains customer- or MSP-operated
• CoreZT-hosted control infrastructure is not mandatory
• licensing can be handled manually
• software updates can be handled manually
• licensed integrated ZTXBAS remains available for phishing-resistant biometric authentication

Connected deployments can opt into CoreZT-operated ZTXHub for centralized license and update management.

Cloudflare Access is designed as part of Cloudflare's cloud service. That can significantly reduce customer control-plane operational burden, but it is a different architectural choice from a product intended to remain fully functional without a vendor-hosted control service.

Operational Responsibility​

Cloudflare Access may fit well when:

• a broad cloud-delivered security platform is desired
• operating a ZTNA control plane is something the organization wants the vendor to handle
• extensive browser/clientless access options are valuable
• the Cloudflare service is an acceptable architectural dependency
• integration with the wider Cloudflare One platform is useful

ZTXGate may fit well when:

• the access platform should be operated by the customer or an MSP
• a mandatory vendor-hosted control plane is undesirable
• permanent air-gapped operation is required
• phishing-resistant biometric authentication must remain available in the disconnected environment
• both WireGuard-based managed access and licensed clientless HTTP/HTTPS access are required
• the organization prefers a focused ZTNA platform rather than a broader SASE stack

Neither list is an overall ranking. The better fit depends on the operating model and security requirements of the deployment.

Official Sources Used​

Cloudflare facts on this page were verified against current first-party documentation:

• Enforce MFA
• Independent MFA
• Private web application
• Secure private apps
• Clientless SSH
• In-browser remote desktop

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