Akamai vs Incapsula: What are the differences?

1. Network Capacity: Akamai is known for its extensive network capacity, with over 240,000 servers distributed across the globe, allowing for efficient content delivery and load balancing. On the other hand, Incapsula has a smaller network capacity, with around 30,000 servers. This difference in network capacity impacts the scale and reach of their content delivery services.

2. Security Services: Both Akamai and Incapsula offer robust security services, but their approaches differ. Akamai focuses on mitigating DDoS attacks and providing web application firewall (WAF) protection. Incapsula, in addition to DDoS mitigation and WAF, also offers bot mitigation, advanced threat protection, and content scraping prevention. This broader range of security services sets Incapsula apart from Akamai in terms of comprehensive website protection.

3. Pricing Structure: Akamai's pricing structure is generally tailored for enterprise-level customers, making it more expensive for small or mid-sized businesses. Incapsula, on the other hand, offers more flexible pricing options that cater to different business sizes and budgets. This difference in pricing structure makes Incapsula a more accessible choice for smaller organizations.

4. HTTP/2 Support: Akamai fully supports HTTP/2, the latest version of the HTTP protocol that brings significant performance improvements. Incapsula, as of now, offers partial support for HTTP/2, with some features still under development. This difference means that websites using Akamai's CDN can fully benefit from the enhanced performance of HTTP/2.

5. Analytics and Reporting: Akamai provides detailed analytics and reporting capabilities, offering real-time insights into website performance, user behavior, and network traffic. Incapsula also provides analytics and reporting features, although they may not be as extensive as Akamai's offerings. This distinction means that Akamai customers have more comprehensive visibility into their website's performance and traffic patterns.

6. Edge Platform Capabilities: Akamai's edge platform offers a wide range of additional services such as image and video optimization, dynamic site acceleration, and cloud storage. Incapsula's edge platform, while also providing essential content delivery services, does not have the same breadth of additional capabilities as Akamai. This difference highlights Akamai's ability to provide a broader set of solutions beyond basic content delivery.

In Summary, Akamai stands out with its extensive network capacity, while Incapsula differentiates itself with a more comprehensive range of security services and flexible pricing options. Both have their strengths in areas such as analytics/reporting and edge platform capabilities.