By default, Cloudflare tries to proxy your domains and subdomains, but there is a little switch next to each record that you can turn from orange to gray which will make it "DNS Only". So then, it is only a DNS record.
It's a little annoying but you definitely ARE NOT REQUIRED to use their proxies, but you are ENCOURAGED to.
Their dns management interface is pretty solid though and their API is top notch. Plus they have good support for DNS management through tools like Terraform, Pulumi, etc which most registrars won't offer. So there is a lot to like about CloudFlare. They do support a small set of TLDs for registration however, so keep that in mind (but of course if you register elsewhere you can always point it to cloudflare for DNS management).
The best DNS Management imho is AWS Route53. It expects technical knowledge, it isn't for someone setting up a squarespace site. But if you are very technical and want all the levers and power at your fingertips with great CLI, IaC, and API support (plus powerful GUI) then it is the best. Plus they have a ton of power features like georouting and roud-robin and other routing rules. But it comes at a cost of 50ยข a month, which to me is worth it but for some people they might prefer a completely free option.
But... with that being said, i wouldn't recommend registering a domain through AWS. Its really difficult to manage and the pricing is the highest in the industry (second only to GoDaddy's criminally predatory bait-and-switch renewal prices)
It's a little annoying but you definitely ARE NOT REQUIRED to use their proxies, but you are ENCOURAGED to.
Their dns management interface is pretty solid though and their API is top notch. Plus they have good support for DNS management through tools like Terraform, Pulumi, etc which most registrars won't offer. So there is a lot to like about CloudFlare. They do support a small set of TLDs for registration however, so keep that in mind (but of course if you register elsewhere you can always point it to cloudflare for DNS management).
The best DNS Management imho is AWS Route53. It expects technical knowledge, it isn't for someone setting up a squarespace site. But if you are very technical and want all the levers and power at your fingertips with great CLI, IaC, and API support (plus powerful GUI) then it is the best. Plus they have a ton of power features like georouting and roud-robin and other routing rules. But it comes at a cost of 50ยข a month, which to me is worth it but for some people they might prefer a completely free option.
But... with that being said, i wouldn't recommend registering a domain through AWS. Its really difficult to manage and the pricing is the highest in the industry (second only to GoDaddy's criminally predatory bait-and-switch renewal prices)