Free Akamai alternatives: 3 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

3 of the 5 Akamai alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Cloudflare CDN, Amazon CloudFront and Fastly rank highest, with facts last verified Nov 8, 2026.

Quick comparison

#	App	Pricing	Verified price	Open source	Platforms	Verified facts	Score
1	Cloudflare CDN	Free plan + paid	$20 a month, billed annually (Pro)	No	Web	5 of 5	83.8
2	Amazon CloudFront	Free plan + paid	$15 a month per distribution (flat-rate plan)	No	Web	7 of 7	79.8
3	Fastly	Free plan + paid	$0.12 per GB in North America and Europe, after 100 GB	No	Web	8 of 8	64.8

1. Cloudflare CDNTop pick
Best for: Site owners who want a free or low-cost CDN with DDoS protection and SSL in minutes
Free plan + paidWeb
83.8
score / 100
Why switch from Akamai
Self-serve with a free plan and flat-rate tiers, plus security bundled in.
Pros
Free plan includes CDN, DNS, SSL and unmetered DDoS protection
No bandwidth-based billing on standard plans
Same account unlocks Workers, R2 storage and Zero Trust tools
Cons
Requires moving DNS to Cloudflare for full-site setup on most plans
Advanced cache and WAF features are reserved for higher tiers
Support on free and Pro plans is limited
Visit Cloudflare CDN Compare with Akamai Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Cloudflare CDN a good Akamai alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Free plan
Yes, $0 a month
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$20 a month, billed annually (Pro)
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
DDoS protection
Unmetered on all plans
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
Network
335+ cities
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
Business plan
$200 a month, billed annually
Checked Nov 8, 2026cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
2. Amazon CloudFront
Best for: Teams hosting on AWS who want a CDN tightly wired into S3, load balancers and AWS security tools
Free plan + paidWeb
79.8
score / 100
Why switch from Akamai
Pay-as-you-go CDN tied into AWS, a simpler fit when your origin already runs on Amazon.
Pros
Large global network of points of presence
Close integration with S3, EC2, load balancers and AWS WAF
Edge code through CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge
Flat-rate plans, including a free one, avoid surprise overage bills
Cons
AWS console and IAM setup is complex for newcomers
Pay-as-you-go bills are hard to predict across multiple meters
Fits best inside AWS; less convenient as a standalone CDN
Visit Amazon CloudFront Compare with Akamai Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.15100
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Amazon CloudFront a good Akamai alternative?
Verified facts
7 of 7 verified
Free plan
Yes, $0 a month flat-rate plan
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Paid flat-rate plans
From $15/month per distribution
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Network size
750+ points of presence
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Edge compute
CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pricing options
Flat-rate plans or pay-as-you-go
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$15 a month per distribution (flat-rate plan)
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
Higher flat-rate plans
$200 and $1,000 a month per distribution
Checked Nov 8, 2026aws.amazon.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Fastly
Best for: Engineering teams that need fast cache purges and programmable edge logic
Free plan + paidWeb
64.8
score / 100
Why switch from Akamai
Developer-friendly edge platform with instant purge, usage pricing and a free allowance.
Pros
Instant Purge clears cached content globally in well under a second
Edge Compute with Rust, JavaScript and Go via WebAssembly
Monthly free allowance for bandwidth and requests
Cons
Per-GB prices vary by region and are higher than budget CDNs
Fewer points of presence than some rivals
More configuration work than click-to-enable CDNs
Visit Fastly Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.387
Reviews ×0.363
Clicks (90 days) ×0.150
Freshness ×0.15100
Votes ×0.150
0 counted reviews, 0 up and 0 down votes. Full formula
Is Fastly a good Akamai alternative?
Verified facts
8 of 8 verified
Free bandwidth
100 GB/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free edge compute
10 million requests/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Network capacity
622 Tbps
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Purge time
Under 150 ms regional mean
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free plan
Yes, 100 GB bandwidth a month
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$0.12 per GB in North America and Europe, after 100 GB
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Compute requests
10M free, then $0.50 per million
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)
Extra TLS domains
5 free, then $20 per domain a month
Checked Nov 8, 2026fastly.com(opens source in a new tab)

Quick comparison

1. Cloudflare CDNTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. Amazon CloudFront

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Fastly

Pros

Cons

Verified facts