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2026-07-08

Krexel vs Cloudflare Pages — which is right for your site?

Both deploy static sites to Cloudflare's edge. The difference is who's deploying: a human with git, or an AI with tools. Here's the full comparison.

Krexel vs Cloudflare Pages

Cloudflare Pages is excellent infrastructure. It deploys static sites to Cloudflare's global edge network, which is one of the fastest CDNs on the planet. If you have a complex multi-page app and want raw Cloudflare speed, Pages is a great choice.

The difference is in who's doing the deploying.

The headline difference

Cloudflare Pages is built for engineers with git. Krexel is built for AI agents with tools.

Both use Cloudflare's CDN under the hood (Krexel is built on Cloudflare Workers and Pages). The difference is the deploy flow and the integration with AI agents.

Cloudflare Pages deploy flow:

  1. Push to GitHub
  2. Cloudflare detects the push
  3. Runs your build command
  4. Deploys the output to Pages

Krexel deploy flow:

  1. Run krexel deploy (from CLI or your AI)
  2. Live in 8-60 seconds

For human developers who already have a git workflow, Pages is fine. For AI agents that don't care about git, Krexel's direct deploy is faster.

The comparison

KrexelCloudflare Pages
Deploy from Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf✅ Built-in MCP server⚖️ Git workflow works
Edit live site from the AI✅ 8-second patch deploys⚖️ Full rebuild via git push
Cost per small edit✅ 0.1 deploy⚖️ 1 build (1 free build/min on free tier)
Time from AI edit to live✅ 8 seconds⚖️ 40-120 seconds
Open source CLI✅ MIT-licensed⚖️ Wrangler is open source
AI agent tools (deploy/patch/rollback)✅ 9 MCP tools⚖️ CLI exists
Global CDN✅ Cloudflare✅ Cloudflare
Free tier✅ Unlimited free subdomain✅ Unlimited
Custom domains✅ Unlimited (paid tiers)⚖️ Per-project, unlimited on paid
Edge functions⚖️ Use Workers alongside✅ Pages Functions
Cloudflare Access integration⚖️ Use Cloudflare Access alongside✅ Native
Build minutes included✅ Unlimited on hosted plans⚖️ 500/month free, then paid
Managed dashboard for non-technical users✅⚖️ Pages dashboard exists

Why this matters

Cloudflare Pages is one of the best deals in hosting — fast, free tier is generous, global CDN. If you have an engineer who knows git and CI, it's a solid pick.

The gap is in the AI-agent workflow. An AI pushing to GitHub works but requires:

  • The AI to commit with proper messages
  • The AI to push to a branch
  • A git repo to exist
  • GitHub credentials in the AI's environment

A Krexel MCP server requires none of that. The AI gets deploy/patch/rollback as tools.

What Cloudflare Pages is better at

  • Existing Cloudflare ecosystem users. If you already use Cloudflare Workers, R2, KV, D1, etc., Pages integrates naturally.
  • Cloudflare Access. If you need to protect your site behind Cloudflare's auth layer.
  • Direct Cloudflare Workers. If you want Workers to be co-located with your Pages app.
  • Large static sites. Pages handles very large sites well.

What Krexel is better at

  • AI-agent-first design. Patches from the chat, direct deploy without git.
  • Conversational editing. Your AI reads the live site, generates a patch, ships it.
  • Per-deploy pricing that fits AI usage. Patches are 0.1 deploys. You can iterate without burning quota.
  • Open source CLI + MCP server. Auditable, forkable.
  • Managed dashboard UX. Designed for builders who don't want to read Cloudflare docs.

When to use which

If you are...Use
Shipping a static site with AI agentsKrexel
Already deep in the Cloudflare ecosystemCloudflare Pages
Want Cloudflare Workers + Pages Functions togetherCloudflare Pages
Iterating with an AI 50 times a dayKrexel
Building a complex multi-page app with custom WorkersCloudflare Pages
Want AI tools your Claude/Cursor/Windsurf can call directlyKrexel

You can also use both. Many teams use Cloudflare Pages for production and Krexel for fast iteration, then promote.

Migration

If you're on Cloudflare Pages and want to try Krexel:

npm install -g krexel
krexel login
krexel deploy ./dist  # or wherever your build output goes

That's it. Your site is live on Krexel within a minute. DNS for your existing domain stays at Cloudflare; just point the A/CNAME records at Krexel instead of Pages.

Try it

npm install -g krexel
krexel deploy

Or with AI integration:

claude mcp add --transport stdio krexel -- krexel-mcp

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