Zero Trust Access Compared: Cloudflare Access vs AWS Verified Access vs Azure Entra vs Google BeyondCorp

Yes. Cloudflare Access is free for up to 50 users as part of the Cloudflare Zero Trust free plan. This includes application access policies, identity provider integration, and basic device posture checking. The free tier is one of the most significant differentiators — no other provider offers production-quality ZTNA at no cost. Pay-as-you-go starts at /user/month, and Enterprise plans offer custom pricing with advanced features.

Traditional VPNs create a tunnel to the corporate network, giving users broad access to everything on that network. ZTNA replaces this with per-application access: users authenticate, their identity and device are verified, and they receive access only to specific applications — never to the underlying network. This eliminates lateral movement (if credentials are compromised, the attacker can only reach authorized apps, not the entire network), reduces attack surface, and improves performance (no hair-pinning traffic through a VPN concentrator).

All four support SAML 2.0 and OIDC, meaning they work with Okta, Azure AD/Entra ID, Google Workspace, OneLogin, PingIdentity, and others. Azure Entra Private Access has the deepest integration with Entra ID (formerly Azure AD) — if your organization already uses Entra ID for identity, Microsoft's ZTNA provides the most seamless experience. Cloudflare Access supports the broadest range of IdPs simultaneously, including social login (GitHub, Google) for developer tools.

Device posture checking verifies the security state of the device making an access request — Is the OS updated? Is disk encryption enabled? Is an endpoint protection agent running? Is the device managed by MDM? This prevents compromised or unmanaged devices from accessing corporate resources, even if the user's credentials are valid. Cloudflare WARP client, AWS Verified Access device trust, Azure Intune, and Google's endpoint verification all provide device posture signals.

Google's original BeyondCorp (published 2014) was an internal project that eliminated Google's corporate VPN, treating every network as untrusted. BeyondCorp Enterprise is the commercial product based on those principles. The internal system is deeply customized for Google's infrastructure; the commercial product provides context-aware access through Chrome Enterprise, Identity-Aware Proxy, and endpoint verification. The philosophy is the same, but the commercial product is more constrained than Google's internal implementation.

Yes. Cloudflare Access supports SSH, RDP, and arbitrary TCP connections through the cloudflared tunnel client. For SSH, Cloudflare renders a browser-based terminal — users authenticate through the browser and get an SSH session without installing an SSH client. For non-web applications, the WARP client creates a private network tunnel. Cloudflare also supports private DNS resolution for routing to internal hostnames.

AWS Verified Access (GA since June 2023) provides ZTNA for applications hosted on AWS. It integrates with AWS IAM Identity Center (formerly SSO), third-party IdPs via OIDC, and device trust providers (CrowdStrike, Jamf, JumpCloud). Verified Access is the newest of the four solutions and has fewer features than Cloudflare Access or Azure Entra Private Access. It is best suited for organizations already on AWS that want ZTNA without a third-party vendor. It does not support non-AWS hosted applications natively.

At 500 users/month: Cloudflare Zero Trust (Teams Standard) costs approximately ,500 (/user). AWS Verified Access costs approximately ,600 (/bin/sh.27/hour per instance, varies by usage). Azure Entra Private Access is included with Microsoft Entra Suite or P2 licensing (2/user, ~,000 — but includes other identity features). Google BeyondCorp Enterprise is custom-priced, typically -10/user (,000-,000). Cloudflare is the most cost-effective standalone ZTNA; Azure is cheapest if you are already paying for Entra P2.

Yes, especially with Cloudflare's free tier (up to 50 users). A small business can set up Cloudflare Access in an afternoon, connecting it to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 for identity, and protect internal tools (admin panels, staging environments, internal dashboards) without a VPN. The free tier includes enough functionality for most small business needs. The other providers either lack free tiers or require significant infrastructure investment.