Stress testingSee how your site bends as the load climbs, and how it comes back.
A stress test takes one verified site from a calm baseline up to a short peak and back, so you learn how much it slows, when errors begin and whether it recovers.
50 stress tests a month on Pro. 300 on Business.
48 ms
peak p95
1.17×
latency degradation
0%
error rate
From the sample report: 4,590 requests, none failed, a clean recovery.
The highlights.
Every site has a point where it stops keeping up. Response times climb, then requests start to fail. The useful questions are how the site behaves as the pressure rises, and whether it comes back on its own.
Four steps. From pressure to verdict.
Verify the asset
Every test runs against a domain you've proven you own. No testing systems you don't control.
Climb to a peak
The run starts at a calm baseline, climbs in steps to a peak of six connections, holds it, then drops back.
Watch it bend
We track how far response times degrade at the peak, when the first request fails, and whether the site settles afterwards.
Read the verdict
A risk rating set by fixed rules, and an AI summary of how it degraded, whether it recovered, and what to check first.
How it bent, and how it came back.
The report gives the degradation factor, the peak p95, when errors began if they did, and whether the site recovered. A flat result is a result too: at this load, nothing gave way.
Stress test report
Sample reportExample site
Latency degradation
1.17×
Error onset
None
Recovery
Clean (~0s)
Peak p95
48 ms
AI summary
Held its shape under sustained pressure — p95 stayed between 29 and 48 ms across every phase, a 1.17× degradation that's really just request-to-request noise, with zero errors across 4,590 requests and a clean recovery. The question a result this flat raises: a caching layer may be absorbing the load. If your site sits behind a CDN, this flat result may reflect the CDN rather than your own server.
A performance assessment, not a penetration test.
Branded, downloadable, shareable: the PDF carries the same page, ready for a review or a vendor questionnaire.
What a stress test measures.
Four figures from the sample run, and why each one matters.
1.17×
Degradation factor
How much slower latency gets from baseline to peak load. Close to 1× means the site barely flinched; a high number marks a bottleneck surfacing under pressure.
48 ms
Peak p95
95th-percentile latency at the hardest point of the test. The honest measure of what users feel when the site is under the most strain.
None
Error onset
How far into the run the first request failed. 'None' means the site answered every request, from the baseline through the peak and back.
~0s
Recovery
How soon after the peak response times are back near the baseline, read in 5-second windows. A quick recovery suggests nothing was left exhausted or queued.
What you get.
- Up to 50 stress tests every month on Pro
- A four-phase run: baseline, climb, peak and recovery
- How far response times degrade, and when errors begin
- Recovery behaviour once the pressure lifts
- An AI summary of what happened and what to check first
- See all features ›
Edge stress test vs. Cloud stress test
This edge stress test climbs to a light peak to show how a site degrades and recovers. For pressure at a peak you choose, up to 1,000 virtual users, the Business-tier Cloud Stress Test sustains heavy load on dedicated infrastructure.
| What is compared | Edge stress test (Pro) | Cloud stress test (Business) |
|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | Cloudflare's edge network | Isolated cloud infrastructure |
| Peak load | A fixed peak of 6 connections | A peak of 50 to 1,000 virtual users |
| Best for | Spotting early instability | Sustained pressure at a peak you choose |
| Method | Four phases in 30 to 90 seconds | Four phases over 1 to 60 minutes |
Is it the right tool?
A strong fit when
- You want to see how the site behaves under rising load before a busy period.
- You changed hosting or infrastructure and want to see how the site behaves under pressure.
- You want an early, low-cost sign of instability.
Not the best fit when
- You need pressure from hundreds of users. Cloud stress testing does that.
- You cannot accept a brief slowdown on the live site right now. Run it in a quieter window.
- You need a penetration test: a person trying to break in. We do not offer one.
The Pro stress test climbs to a fixed, light peak of six connections from Cloudflare's network, and you choose its length: 30, 60 or 90 seconds. A healthy site often holds every request, which is itself a useful result.
Included in Pro and Business.
Pro
50 stress tests a month, 25 sites
$49 a month₹4,799 a month in India
Business
300 stress tests a month, 100 sites
$199 a month₹19,499 a month in India
In more detail.
What a stress test actually measures
Where a load test asks how your site answers under a steady load, a stress test asks how it behaves as the load climbs and how well it comes back. It runs four phases — a calm baseline, a climb, a peak and a recovery — and records four things: the degradation factor (how much slower response times get from baseline to peak — close to 1× means the site barely flinched), the peak p95, error onset (how far into the run the first request failed, if any did), and recovery (how soon after the peak response times are back near the baseline).
How the edge stress test works
The edge stress test starts at two connections, climbs in steps to a fixed peak of six, holds it, then drops back and watches how the site recovers. It runs from Cloudflare's network for 30, 60 or 90 seconds, and the peak is light, so a healthy site often absorbs the whole run without a single error, which is itself a useful result. For much heavier pressure, the Business-tier Cloud Stress Test sustains a peak you choose on cloud infrastructure over a longer run. Every run is gated behind verified domain ownership.
When to run one, and what's in the report
Run a stress test before a launch or a campaign you expect to be bigger than usual, after a change to hosting or infrastructure, or any time you want to see how the site behaves as load climbs. The report is a downloadable, branded PDF: the degradation factor, the peak p95, when errors began (if they did), whether the site recovered, and an AI summary that points to what to check first. Example result: p95 stayed between 29 and 48 ms with a 1.17× degradation and zero errors across 4,590 requests, with a clean recovery. A result that flat can also mean a CDN is absorbing the load at its edge, so keep in mind that it may reflect the CDN rather than your own server.
What a stress test is not
A stress test is a performance assessment, not a penetration test: it measures how your site holds up under heavy load; it does not probe application logic or attempt exploitation. It generates real traffic, which is why it runs only against a domain you have verified you own, and why the peak is capped and you choose how long it runs.
Questions people ask first.
Is this a penetration test?
No. Stress testing is an automated performance assessment — it applies a rising load to show how a site degrades. It does not probe application logic or attempt exploitation. A penetration test is a separate, human-led engagement. BCDRPulse does not offer one.
What if my site doesn't break?
That's a good result, and it's common at this tier — the edge stress test peaks at six connections, so a healthy site often holds every request. For far heavier pressure, run the Business-tier Cloud Stress Test, where you choose the peak.
Will it take my site down?
It applies a rising load, so you run it only against an asset you've verified you own. The edge test is capped at six connections, and you choose how long it runs: 30, 60 or 90 seconds.
How many stress tests can I run?
Up to 50 every month on the Pro plan, against any of your verified assets. The limit resets at the start of each calendar month.
What's the difference between a load test and a stress test?
A load test measures how your site performs under a steady load. A stress test takes the load from a calm baseline up to a peak and back, to show how much the site degrades, when errors begin, and whether it recovers. Many sites benefit from both.
What is the degradation factor, and what's a good number?
It is how much slower your site gets from its calm baseline to the hardest point of the test. A factor near 1× means response times barely moved under pressure — the result you want. A high factor means a bottleneck is surfacing as load climbs.
Is it safe to stress test a live site?
You choose how long it runs, the peak is capped at six connections, and every run is gated behind verified ownership of the domain. Still, run it against a site you own and during a window where a brief slowdown is acceptable.
See it under pressure, on your own terms.
Signing up is free and starts uptime monitoring for 10 sites. Running stress testing needs the Pro plan or Business.
- 1.17× degradation, a 48 ms peak p95 and 0% errors are the figures in the sample report, not a customer's site.
- Allowances are per calendar month and can be used on any of your verified sites.
- Introductory prices, before GST or VAT. Regular prices are $99 and $399 a month (₹9,699 and ₹38,999 in India).