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Akamai vs AWS CloudFront(2026)

Akamai is better for teams that need most reliable cdn for enterprise. AWS CloudFront is the stronger choice if deep aws integration. Akamai is paid (from Custom enterprise pricing) and AWS CloudFront is paid (from $0.0085/GB).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

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Akamai logo

Akamai

paid

Akamai is the world's largest and most reliable CDN and cloud security platform, serving enterprise customers globally.

Starting at Custom enterprise pricing

Visit Akamai
AWS CloudFront logo

AWS CloudFront

paid

Amazon CloudFront is a fast CDN that integrates with AWS services for delivering websites, APIs, and video with low latency.

Starting at $0.0085/GB

Visit AWS CloudFront

How Do Akamai and AWS CloudFront Compare on Features?

FeatureAkamaiAWS CloudFront
Pricing modelpaidpaid
Starting priceCustom enterprise pricing$0.0085/GB
Largest edge network (350,000+ servers)
DDoS protection
Web application firewall
Media delivery
API security
Bot mitigation
Global edge locations
Lambda@Edge
CloudFront Functions
WAF integration
S3 integration
Real-time logs

Akamai Pros and Cons vs AWS CloudFront

A

Akamai

+Most reliable CDN for enterprise
+Largest PoP network
+Best DDoS protection
+Enterprise SLA
Very expensive
Complex setup
Not for small teams
Contract-based pricing
A

AWS CloudFront

+Deep AWS integration
+Edge computing (Lambda@Edge)
+Reliable and scalable
+Good for AWS-heavy stacks
Complex pricing
AWS lock-in
Configuration is verbose

Should You Use Akamai or AWS CloudFront?

Choose Akamai if…

  • Most reliable CDN for enterprise
  • Largest PoP network
  • Best DDoS protection

Choose AWS CloudFront if…

  • Deep AWS integration
  • Edge computing (Lambda@Edge)
  • Reliable and scalable

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