Akamai vs CloudFlare vs Fastly

Overview

Akamai

Stacks1.9K

Followers442

Votes0

CloudFlare

Stacks77.2K

Followers23.1K

Votes1.8K

Fastly

Stacks1.1K

Followers507

Votes153

Akamai vs CloudFlare vs Fastly: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between Akamai, CloudFlare, and Fastly, three leading Content Delivery Network (CDN) providers. These CDNs offer a range of services to enhance website performance and security, but they have distinct features and capabilities that set them apart from each other. Let's dive into the key differences below.

Network Size and Reach: Akamai boasts the largest and most extensive global network among the three CDNs, with servers spread across over 130 countries, delivering content to thousands of locations worldwide. CloudFlare also has an extensive network, covering more than 200 cities across the globe. Fastly, although smaller in scale compared to Akamai and CloudFlare, has strategically positioned servers in numerous major metropolitan areas, providing low latency and high-speed content delivery.
Security Capabilities: All three CDNs offer robust security features, but CloudFlare specifically stands out with its focus on cybersecurity. It provides an integrated web application firewall (WAF) to protect against common web threats and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Additionally, CloudFlare offers features like SSL encryption, bot management, and constant threat intelligence updates. Akamai and Fastly also provide security features, but CloudFlare's emphasis on security sets it apart.
Performance Optimization: When it comes to performance optimization, Fastly shines by offering real-time content delivery and the ability to programmatically manipulate and customize content on the edge servers. This allows for faster load times and personalized user experiences. Akamai and CloudFlare also offer performance optimization features like caching, edge computing, and optimized routing, but Fastly's programmability gives it an edge.
Traffic Management and Load Balancing: Akamai excels in traffic management and load balancing capabilities. With its advanced routing algorithms and global server load balancing (GSLB), Akamai can intelligently distribute traffic to ensure optimal performance and minimize downtime. While CloudFlare and Fastly also offer load balancing features, Akamai's longstanding expertise and focus on traffic management set it apart.
Pricing and Packaging: CloudFlare has gained popularity for its transparent and easy-to-understand pricing structure. It offers free plans with limited features and affordable paid plans that scale with usage. Akamai and Fastly, on the other hand, tend to cater more to enterprise-level clients, with pricing structures that may require custom quotes. They offer extensive features and support but at a higher cost compared to CloudFlare.
Ease of Use and Configuration: CloudFlare shines in terms of ease of use and user-friendly configuration. Its intuitive dashboard and straightforward setup process make it accessible for users of all skill levels. Akamai and Fastly, being more enterprise-centric, may have a steeper learning curve and more complex configurations, often requiring technical expertise or dedicated support.

In summary, Akamai stands out for its vast global network and traffic management capabilities, while CloudFlare excels in security and affordability. Fastly's programmability and performance optimization features set it apart. Organizations should consider their specific needs for networking, security, performance, pricing, and ease of use when selecting a CDN provider.

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Advice on Akamai, CloudFlare, Fastly

Francesco

CTO at ORDR.menu

Dec 1, 2021

Decided

I don't think I have registered a domain in the last 10 years that hasn't been linked to CloudFlare within the first 2 hours from registration.

The benefits you get from even the free version of CloudFlare are amazing. From day 0:

30/80% of bandwidth savings thanks to their CDN
Origin IP address protection
Managed SSL

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Detailed Comparison

Akamai	CloudFlare	Fastly
If you've ever shopped online, downloaded music, watched a web video or connected to work remotely, you've probably used Akamai's cloud platform. Akamai helps businesses connect the hyperconnected, empowering them to transform and reinvent their business online. We remove the complexities of technology, so you can focus on driving your business faster forward.	Cloudflare speeds up and protects millions of websites, APIs, SaaS services, and other properties connected to the Internet.	Fastly's real-time content delivery network gives you total control over your content, unprecedented access to performance analytics, and the ability to instantly update content in 150 milliseconds.
Protect your apps and APIs, stop credential abuse, and move to a Zero Trust security model with the world’s most powerful edge security platform; Focus on increasing revenue with powerful data and automation built to enhance customer experience on web and mobile applications; Deliver and monetize high-quality and secure online streaming experiences; Quickly integrate Akamai into existing developer workflows, streamlining cloud deployment and delivery	CDN;WAF (Web Application Firewall);DDOS Protection;	static content delivery; event-driven content delivery; Dynamic Site Acceleration (DSA); API caching; Instant Purge; Soft Purge; surrogate keys; streaming and VOD; Real-time Analytics; instant configuration; instant deploys; built on Varnish; Custom VCL upload; on-demand DDoS mitigation; Transport Layer Security; PCI compliance and compliance services; Origin Shield; real-time streaming logs; Historical Stats; Edge Dictionaries; Fastly’s Cloud Accelerator; Configuration Control Panel; stale-if-error; stale-while-revalidate; Edge Side Includes (ESI); GeoIP/geography detection; mobile device detection; edge authorization/paywalls; shopper prioritization
Statistics
Stacks 1.9K	Stacks 77.2K	Stacks 1.1K
Followers 442	Followers 23.1K	Followers 507
Votes 0	Votes 1.8K	Votes 153
Pros & Cons
No community feedback yet	Pros 426 Easy setup, great cdn 278 Free ssl 200 Easy setup 191 Security 181 Ssl Cons 2 Expensive when you exceed their fair usage limits 2 No support for SSHFP records	Pros 28 Real-time updates 26 Fastest CDN 22 Powerful API 20 Great support 14 Great customer support Cons 1 Minimum $50/mo spend
Integrations
Cloudinary Cloudability	CodeGuard Google Analytics GoSquared Clicky UserVoice SnapEngage Blitz Pingdom	Heroku WordPress Google BigQuery Magento Amazon S3 Zencoder Rackspace Cloud Files OpenStack Datadog Sumo Logic

What are some alternatives to Akamai, CloudFlare, Fastly?

Amazon CloudFront

Amazon CloudFront can be used to deliver your entire website, including dynamic, static, streaming, and interactive content using a global network of edge locations. Requests for your content are automatically routed to the nearest edge location, so content is delivered with the best possible performance.

KeyCDN

KeyCDN offers super fast and secure content delivery for minimal loading time. In addition to the CDN, it also offers advanced image processing and many other features such as live logs and Let's Encrypt SSL.

MaxCDN

The MaxCDN Content Delivery Network efficiently delivers your site’s static file through hundreds of servers instead of slogging through a single host. This "smart route" technology distributes your content to your visitors via the city closest to them.

jsDelivr

jsDelivr is a free CDN for open source developers, with advanced features for javascript projects with access to NPM and Github It uses multiple CDN providers, resulting in the best possible uptime and performance.

Moovweb XDN

All-in-one platform to develop, deploy, preview, experiment on, monitor, and run your frontend.

Limelight CDN

Whether it’s your website, mobile applications, videos, music, software, games, or APIs, your content needs to reach customers quickly, reliably, and securely. It provides the capacity, coverage, and performance to cost-effectively deliver a better experience for you and your customers.

cdnjs

Everyone loves the Google CDN? Even Microsoft runs their own CDN. The problem is, they only host the most popular libraries. We host it all - JavaScript, CSS, SWF, images, etc! Powered by CloudFlare.

Statically

A free, fast, & modern CDN for open source projects, WordPress, images, and any static assets.

Incapsula

Through an application-aware, global content delivery network (CDN), Incapsula provides any website and web application with best-of-breed security, DDoS protection, load balancing and failover solutions.

Cloudflare CDN

A CDN is a distributed network of servers that provides several advantages for a web site: Cached content: By caching web site content, It helps improve page load speeds, reduce bandwidth usage, and reduce CPU usage on the server.

Related Comparisons

Akamai vs CloudFlare vs Fastly: What are the differences?

Introduction

Network Size and Reach: Akamai boasts the largest and most extensive global network among the three CDNs, with servers spread across over 130 countries, delivering content to thousands of locations worldwide. CloudFlare also has an extensive network, covering more than 200 cities across the globe. Fastly, although smaller in scale compared to Akamai and CloudFlare, has strategically positioned servers in numerous major metropolitan areas, providing low latency and high-speed content delivery.
Security Capabilities: All three CDNs offer robust security features, but CloudFlare specifically stands out with its focus on cybersecurity. It provides an integrated web application firewall (WAF) to protect against common web threats and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Additionally, CloudFlare offers features like SSL encryption, bot management, and constant threat intelligence updates. Akamai and Fastly also provide security features, but CloudFlare's emphasis on security sets it apart.
Performance Optimization: When it comes to performance optimization, Fastly shines by offering real-time content delivery and the ability to programmatically manipulate and customize content on the edge servers. This allows for faster load times and personalized user experiences. Akamai and CloudFlare also offer performance optimization features like caching, edge computing, and optimized routing, but Fastly's programmability gives it an edge.
Traffic Management and Load Balancing: Akamai excels in traffic management and load balancing capabilities. With its advanced routing algorithms and global server load balancing (GSLB), Akamai can intelligently distribute traffic to ensure optimal performance and minimize downtime. While CloudFlare and Fastly also offer load balancing features, Akamai's longstanding expertise and focus on traffic management set it apart.
Pricing and Packaging: CloudFlare has gained popularity for its transparent and easy-to-understand pricing structure. It offers free plans with limited features and affordable paid plans that scale with usage. Akamai and Fastly, on the other hand, tend to cater more to enterprise-level clients, with pricing structures that may require custom quotes. They offer extensive features and support but at a higher cost compared to CloudFlare.
Ease of Use and Configuration: CloudFlare shines in terms of ease of use and user-friendly configuration. Its intuitive dashboard and straightforward setup process make it accessible for users of all skill levels. Akamai and Fastly, being more enterprise-centric, may have a steeper learning curve and more complex configurations, often requiring technical expertise or dedicated support.

Akamai vs CloudFlare vs Fastly

Overview