Safest Hosting Platform for Web Apps
Your hosting platform is the foundation of your app's security. We compared 8 major platforms on DDoS protection, SSL/TLS, secret management, network isolation, security headers, and WAF availability.
What We Evaluated
Hosting platform security operates at the infrastructure level. It protects the environment your code runs in, but it cannot protect against vulnerabilities in your code. We evaluated six categories that determine your platform's security baseline.
DDoS Protection
Does the platform absorb volumetric attacks without taking your app offline? Is protection included or an add-on?
SSL/TLS
Is HTTPS automatic? Does the platform provision and renew certificates for you?
Secret Management
How are environment variables stored? Are they encrypted at rest? Can you control access per team member?
Network Isolation & WAF
Can services communicate privately? Is a Web Application Firewall available to filter malicious requests?
Feature Comparison
| Platform | DDoS | Auto SSL | Secrets | Network Isolation | Default Headers | WAF | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Pages | 9/10 | ||||||
| Vercel | Enterprise | 8.5/10 | |||||
| Netlify | Enterprise | 8/10 | |||||
| AWS Amplify | 7.5/10 | ||||||
| Fly.io | 7/10 | ||||||
| Render | 7/10 | ||||||
| Railway | 6.5/10 | ||||||
| Heroku | 6/10 |
Scores reflect infrastructure-level security as of February 2026. "Enterprise" means the feature requires an enterprise-tier plan. All platforms support manual security header configuration through application code or config files.
Platform Details
Cloudflare Pages9/10
Built on Cloudflare's global network, Pages inherits industry-leading DDoS protection and WAF capabilities at every pricing tier. The edge network provides network isolation by default, and Workers allow custom security header injection. The only gap: security headers are not added to your app automatically — you need to configure them.
Vercel8.5/10
Vercel provides automatic SSL, strong DDoS protection, and excellent environment variable management with team-level access controls. Security headers require manual configuration in vercel.json or middleware. WAF and advanced security features are reserved for Enterprise plans, which limits smaller teams.
Netlify8/10
Netlify offers solid infrastructure security with automatic SSL, DDoS mitigation, and a straightforward _headers file for configuring security headers. Environment variables are well-managed through the dashboard. Like Vercel, advanced WAF protection requires an Enterprise plan.
AWS Amplify7.5/10
Backed by AWS infrastructure, Amplify benefits from AWS Shield for DDoS protection and integrates with AWS WAF. Secret management via AWS Secrets Manager is robust. The tradeoff is complexity — configuring security properly requires AWS expertise that most vibe coders do not have.
Fly.io7/10
Fly.io gives you full control over your application's runtime environment, including the ability to configure any security header. Built-in private networking between services is a strong isolation feature. However, there is no built-in WAF, and security configuration is entirely manual.
Render7/10
Render provides automatic SSL, private networking between services, and a clean environment variable management system. DDoS protection is included at the infrastructure level. No built-in WAF, and security headers must be set in your application code.
Railway6.5/10
Railway has improved its security posture with private networking and solid environment variable management. Automatic SSL is standard. DDoS protection covers basic attacks. No WAF is available, and security headers require application-level configuration.
Heroku6/10
Heroku's Salesforce backing provides basic DDoS protection and automatic SSL. Config vars manage secrets effectively. However, network isolation between dynos is limited on lower tiers, there is no built-in WAF, and the platform has seen less security innovation compared to newer competitors.
The Layer Your Host Cannot Protect
Every platform on this list provides strong infrastructure security. But none of them can protect against vulnerabilities in your application code. Hosting security and application security are separate layers.
Your hosting platform cannot prevent your AI-generated code from embedding API keys in JavaScript bundles, leaving Supabase RLS disabled, or serving responses without Content-Security-Policy headers. These are application-level issues that require application-level scanning.
VAS bridges this gap. It scans your deployed application as served by your hosting platform, checking both the infrastructure layer (are security headers present?) and the application layer (are secrets exposed? are database access controls configured?). VAS automatically detects which hosting platform you use and adjusts its checks accordingly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which hosting platform is the most secure for web apps?
Cloudflare Pages leads in infrastructure security thanks to its global network, built-in DDoS protection at every tier, and WAF availability. However, infrastructure security is only one layer. Your application code can still have exposed secrets, missing access controls, and absent security headers regardless of which platform you deploy to. The safest approach is choosing a strong hosting platform and scanning your application code.
Does my hosting platform automatically set security headers?
Almost none do. This is the most consistently missing security feature across all platforms we tested. Vercel and Netlify let you configure headers via config files (vercel.json or _headers), Cloudflare allows header injection via Workers, and most other platforms require you to set headers in your application code. Headers like Content-Security-Policy, Permissions-Policy, and X-Frame-Options are critical for security but are not added automatically by any major hosting platform.
Is Vercel more secure than Netlify?
They are very close. Both offer automatic SSL, DDoS protection, and good environment variable management. Vercel has a slight edge with built-in firewall capabilities on Enterprise plans and deeper integration with Next.js security features like middleware-based header configuration. Netlify offers a simpler _headers file approach and has built-in form handling that reduces the need for custom backend code. For most applications, your code quality matters far more than the Vercel-vs-Netlify choice.
Do I need a WAF if I use a modern hosting platform?
If your app handles sensitive data, user authentication, or financial transactions, a WAF adds valuable protection against common attacks like SQL injection and cross-site scripting. Cloudflare provides WAF at every tier, Vercel offers it on Enterprise, and AWS Amplify integrates with AWS WAF. For platforms without a built-in WAF, you can add Cloudflare as a reverse proxy. Note that a WAF protects against external attacks but cannot prevent application-level vulnerabilities like exposed secrets or misconfigured database access.
How do I check if my hosting platform is configured securely?
The most reliable way is to scan your deployed application with a tool like VAS. Enter your URL and VAS will check your HTTP security headers, detect your hosting platform automatically, scan JavaScript bundles for exposed secrets, and test database access controls. A $5 Starter Scan covers the essentials, and a $10 Launch Scan adds deep JavaScript analysis and BaaS testing. This tells you what your hosting platform is actually serving to users, not just what its documentation claims to support.
Test Your Hosting Security
Your hosting platform handles infrastructure. VAS handles your application. Scan your deployed app to see what your host is actually serving — security headers, exposed secrets, and all.