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CloudFlare

75.8K
21.8K
+ 1
1.8K
Fastly

1.1K
501
+ 1
153
MaxCDN

1.6K
553
+ 1
100

CloudFlare vs Fastly vs MaxCDN: What are the differences?

Introduction: In this comparison, we will explore the key differences between CloudFlare, Fastly, and MaxCDN.

  1. Edge Locations: CloudFlare has over 200 edge locations worldwide, while Fastly has around 60, and MaxCDN has 34. This means that CloudFlare has a wider coverage and can serve content faster to a larger audience.

  2. Security Features: CloudFlare offers more robust security features such as DDoS protection, Web Application Firewall (WAF), and SSL/TLS encryption compared to Fastly and MaxCDN. Fastly also provides security features but not as comprehensive as CloudFlare.

  3. Caching Strategies: Fastly is known for its efficient caching strategies, allowing users to customize caching rules based on specific criteria, while CloudFlare offers more generic caching solutions that may not be as customizable. MaxCDN also provides caching capabilities but with limited customization options.

  4. Real-Time Analytics: Fastly offers real-time analytics and performance monitoring tools, providing users with detailed insights into traffic patterns and content delivery performance. CloudFlare and MaxCDN also offer some level of analytics but may not be as advanced as Fastly's real-time monitoring capabilities.

  5. Pricing Structure: CloudFlare has a free plan available for individuals and small businesses, while Fastly and MaxCDN are more geared towards larger enterprises with subscription-based pricing models. Fastly tends to be more expensive, but offers advanced features that may justify the higher cost compared to MaxCDN.

  6. API Integration: Fastly provides robust API integration capabilities, allowing users to automate and customize various functions within the service, whereas CloudFlare and MaxCDN also offer API integration but may not be as extensive as Fastly's options.

In Summary, CloudFlare offers a wider network coverage and advanced security features, Fastly excels in caching strategies and real-time analytics, and MaxCDN is more cost-effective for larger enterprises but with fewer customization options.

Decisions about CloudFlare, Fastly, and MaxCDN
Francesco Boffa

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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Pros of CloudFlare
Pros of Fastly
Pros of MaxCDN
  • 423
    Easy setup, great cdn
  • 277
    Free ssl
  • 199
    Easy setup
  • 190
    Security
  • 180
    Ssl
  • 98
    Great cdn
  • 77
    Optimizer
  • 71
    Simple
  • 44
    Great UI
  • 28
    Great js cdn
  • 12
    Apps
  • 12
    HTTP/2 Support
  • 12
    DNS Analytics
  • 12
    AutoMinify
  • 9
    Rocket Loader
  • 9
    Ipv6
  • 9
    Easy
  • 8
    IPv6 "One Click"
  • 8
    Fantastic CDN service
  • 7
    DNSSEC
  • 7
    Nice DNS
  • 7
    SSHFP
  • 7
    Free GeoIP
  • 7
    Amazing performance
  • 7
    API
  • 7
    Cheapest SSL
  • 6
    SPDY
  • 6
    Free and reliable, Faster then anyone else
  • 5
    Ubuntu
  • 5
    Asynchronous resource loading
  • 4
    Global Load Balancing
  • 4
    Performance
  • 4
    Easy Use
  • 3
    CDN
  • 2
    Registrar
  • 2
    Support for SSHFP records
  • 1
    Web3
  • 1
    Прохси
  • 1
    HTTPS3/Quic
  • 28
    Real-time updates
  • 26
    Fastest CDN
  • 22
    Powerful API
  • 20
    Great support
  • 14
    Great customer support
  • 7
    Instant Purging
  • 7
    Custom VCL
  • 6
    Good pricing
  • 6
    Tag-based Purging
  • 5
    HTTP/2 Support
  • 4
    Speed & functionality
  • 4
    Image processing on demande (Fastly IO)
  • 4
    Best CDN
  • 47
    Easy setup
  • 33
    Speed to my clients
  • 15
    Great service & Customer Support
  • 5
    Shared and Affordable SSL

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Cons of CloudFlare
Cons of Fastly
Cons of MaxCDN
  • 2
    No support for SSHFP records
  • 2
    Expensive when you exceed their fair usage limits
  • 1
    Minimum $50/mo spend
    Be the first to leave a con

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    What is CloudFlare?

    Cloudflare speeds up and protects millions of websites, APIs, SaaS services, and other properties connected to the Internet.

    What is Fastly?

    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.

    What is 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.

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    What companies use CloudFlare?
    What companies use Fastly?
    What companies use MaxCDN?

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    What tools integrate with CloudFlare?
    What tools integrate with Fastly?
    What tools integrate with MaxCDN?

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    What are some alternatives to CloudFlare, Fastly, and MaxCDN?
    Akamai
    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.
    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.
    Netlify
    Netlify is smart enough to process your site and make sure all assets gets optimized and served with perfect caching-headers from a cookie-less domain. We make sure your HTML is served straight from our CDN edge nodes without any round-trip to our backend servers and are the only ones to give you instant cache invalidation when you push a new deploy. Netlify is also the only static hosting service with integrated continuous deployment.
    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.
    WP Rocket
    Speed up your WordPress website, more trafic, conversions and money with this caching plugin. Caching creates an ultra-fast load time, essential for improving Search Engine Optimization and increasing conversions.
    See all alternatives