FSLY vs NET: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?

Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.

Reading it: FSLY is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.

The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. FSLY and NET share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.

This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined FSLY and NET exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

Fastly operates an edge cloud platform, a global network of high-throughput points of presence that sit between end users and its customers' origin servers. Its core business is a content delivery network (CDN) that caches and accelerates websites, apps, streaming, and APIs, prized by performance-driven customers for low latency and developer flexibility. On top of delivery, Fastly has built two faster-growing legs: a security suite (DDoS protection, bot management, and web-application firewall) and Compute, a developer-centric edge-compute product built on WebAssembly (Wasm) that runs code close to users, now supporting persistent key-value storage at the edge. Fastly typically wins on raw performance benchmarks and programmability rather than on price or breadth.

Full FSLY guide

Cloudflare operates a global cloud network that sits between internet users and the websites and applications they access, providing performance, security, and reliability services. Its core offering started as a content delivery network and DDoS protection: Cloudflare caches content close to users and absorbs malicious traffic before it reaches customer servers. Over time it has expanded into a broad platform spanning web application firewalls, zero-trust security (replacing traditional VPNs and securing employee access), DNS, bot management, and a developer platform for running code and storing data at the network edge (Workers, R2 object storage, and related serverless products). Cloudflare's network spans hundreds of cities worldwide, giving it scale advantages in latency and security intelligence. It serves millions of customers from free-tier websites to large enterprises, monetizing through subscriptions and usage-based pricing as customers adopt more products. The company is positioning its edge network and Workers AI platform to run AI inference close to users. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in San Francisco, Cloudflare is a high-growth infrastructure-software company expanding from security and performance into edge computing and AI.

Full NET guide

Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.

• FSLY drivers: Revenue reacceleration and turnaround; Security as a growth engine.
• NET drivers: Expanding platform and land-and-expand; Global edge network as a moat.

A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: Fastly is a small player competing against far larger, better-capitalized rivals: Cloudflare, which has a much broader platform and far larger revenue, and Akamai, the long-standing CDN incumbent, plus the hyperscalers (AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure) that bundle CDN and edge services. For NET, cloudflare trades at a high revenue multiple that embeds years of strong growth, leaving the stock vulnerable to multiple compression if growth decelerates or software valuations reset.

Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick FSLY if you believe its drivers more; NET if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the FSLY and NET guides.

FSLY. These figures are approximate and tied to the asOf date; verify live numbers before acting. Fastly's profitability is recent and relatively thin, so its valuation leans heavily on continued revenue reacceleration and margin expansion rather than on established earnings. Always check the latest reported results, guidance, and any updates on customer concentration before making any decision.

NET. Cloudflare trades at one of the higher revenue multiples in infrastructure software, reflecting durable growth, a global-network moat, and optionality in edge compute and AI rather than near-term GAAP earnings. The valuation is sensitive to growth deceleration and broad software-multiple swings. The premium has compressed sharply during software-sector resets and re-rated when growth and free cash flow surprised positively.

Headline figures (approximate, Jul 2026): FSLY shows revenue (annual) Full-year 2026 revenue guided to roughly $710 million to $725 million, with recent quarterly growth around 20% year over year, profitability Recently inflected to profit: non-GAAP gross margin expanded materially and the company reported a GAAP net profit versus a prior-year loss; profitability is still relatively new and thin, growth mix Security and Compute growing much faster than legacy delivery; remaining performance obligations up sharply, pointing to future demand, customer base Hundreds of customers spending over $100,000 a year; single-customer concentration reportedly reduced below 10% of revenue; NET shows revenue (ttm) ~$1.8 billion, revenue growth ~25-30% year over year, gross margin ~75-78%, gaap profitability Around breakeven to modest losses; non-GAAP profitable.

FSLY and NET are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined FSLY and NET exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.