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AWS CloudFront vs Akamai(2026)

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

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

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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
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

How Do AWS CloudFront and Akamai Compare on Features?

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

AWS CloudFront Pros and Cons vs Akamai

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
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

Should You Use AWS CloudFront or Akamai?

Choose AWS CloudFront if…

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

Choose Akamai if…

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

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