Datadog vs Cloudflare
Thirteen straight quarters of 24%+ — one point above the success line. 22 straight quarters of growth — the reason it is 3 points short is all in the demerits.
Datadog by 1
| Item | Max | Datadog | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blitz Index total | / 100 | 66 | 65 |
| Grade | — | B | B |
| A · Speed | / 25 | 19 | 19 |
| B · Moat | / 60 | 40 | 39 |
| C · Creative destruction | / 15 | 9 | 11 |
| D · Demerits | / 30 | -2 | -4 |
The success line is 65. Demerits (section D) are subtracted; a demerit total of 15 or more flags a company for BlitzFailing watch. Scores as of the 2026 Q4 review.
Verdict — business structure only
Tied at 65 with near-mirror shapes. Cloudflare is slightly faster (19 vs 18): +35.9% in Q2 with 22 straight quarters of growth, against Datadog's 12 straight quarters at 24%+ and an H1 2026 re-acceleration (+32% to +36%). The moats are close (40 vs 39) but different: Datadog's is multi-product lock-in (85% multi-product, NRR in the low-120s%) while Cloudflare's is network retention (DBNRR 120%, RPO $2.73B, 4,698 $100k+ customers). Cloudflare leads on creative destruction (11 vs 9) — Workers + Workers AI as the Agentic Internet second curve — while Datadog's AI observability suite is a second-curve candidate still proving itself. Both carry governance demerits (Datadog −2, Cloudflare −4) from founder voting control — the structural difference is an observability platform deepening inside its customers against a network platform widening across the internet.
Key figures
| Datadog | Figure |
|---|---|
| Growth | 12 straight quarters ≥ +24% |
| Multi-product | 85% |
| NRR | low-120s% |
| Cloudflare | Figure |
|---|---|
| Growth | Q2 +35.9% YoY; 22 straight quarters |
| RPO | $2.73B (+35%) |
| $100k+ customers | 4,698 (+26.5%) |
Key figures are from the companies' published score files (the scorecard's English summary). A figure is shown only where the score file states it.
Full scorecards: Datadog — Blitz Index 66 · Cloudflare — Blitz Index 65
Run your own pairing: open this pair in the interactive compare tool, or pick any two of the 157 scored companies.
How to read this
Both companies passed the same two gates before scoring: real product-market traction (G1), and a ten-year market ceiling of at least ten times current revenue (G2). The Blitz Index then grades speed (25), moat (60) and creative destruction (15), and subtracts BlitzFailing demerits (up to −30) for debt, revenue quality, governance and regulatory cost. The model is frozen at v1.0; past scores are never silently rewritten. Our own pre-registered tests found the score measures business quality — it does not predict stock returns.
Research only — not investment advice. Scores measure blitzscaling strategy from public data. Not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security.