Free Google Cloud CDN alternatives: 5 apps ranked by verified data

Facts checked Nov 8, 2026AppBreakup editorialHow we rank

5 of the 8 Google Cloud CDN alternatives we track can be used for free (free, open source, or with a free plan). Cloudflare CDN, Netlify and Cloudflare Workers 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	68.8
2	Netlify	Free plan + paid	$9/month (Personal, 1 member)	No	Web	5 of 5	64.0
3	Cloudflare Workers	Free plan + paid	From $5/month per account	No	Web	3 of 3	51.2
4	Vercel	Free plan + paid	$20/month (Pro)	No	Web	5 of 5	50.0
5	Amazon CloudFront	Free plan + paid	$15 a month per distribution (flat-rate plan)	No	Web	7 of 7	42.3

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
68.8
score / 100
Why switch from Google Cloud CDN
Works with any host via DNS, has a free plan, and doesn't need a load balancer setup.
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 Google Cloud CDN Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.3100
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 Cloudflare CDN a good Google Cloud CDN 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. Netlify
Best for: Teams deploying static sites and framework apps from Git with previews and forms
Free plan + paidWeb
64.0
score / 100
Why switch from Google Cloud CDN
Static sites and frontends get CDN delivery built in with git-based deploys.
Pros
Deploy previews for every branch and pull request
Built-in forms, functions and image CDN
Pro plan priced per team rather than per seat
Cons
Credit-based pricing is harder to estimate
Not designed for long-running servers or workers
Some framework features land on Vercel first
Visit Netlify Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.334
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 Netlify a good Google Cloud CDN alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Free plan
Yes, $0 forever
Checked Nov 8, 2026netlify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Personal plan
$9/month
Checked Oct 29, 2026netlify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pro plan
$20/month with unlimited members
Checked Nov 8, 2026netlify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Free credits
300 per month
Checked Nov 8, 2026netlify.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$9/month (Personal, 1 member)
Checked Nov 8, 2026netlify.com(opens source in a new tab)
3. Cloudflare Workers
Best for: Developers who want cheap, globally distributed hosting for sites, APIs and edge logic
Free plan + paidWeb
51.2
score / 100
Why switch from Google Cloud CDN
Edge compute and caching in one place, with a free tier and no cloud lock-in.
Pros
Unlimited static bandwidth and requests on all plans
Low cost for high request volumes
Integrated storage, database and queue services
Cons
Runtime is not full Node.js, so some packages fail
CPU-time limits rule out heavy long-running jobs
Spread across many products, which takes time to learn
Visit Cloudflare Workers Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.341
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 Cloudflare Workers a good Google Cloud CDN alternative?
Verified facts
3 of 3 verified
Free plan
Workers Free
Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
Paid plan
From $5/month per account
Checked Nov 8, 2026developers.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
Static hosting limits
Unlimited sites, requests and bandwidth
Checked Nov 8, 2026pages.cloudflare.com(opens source in a new tab)
4. Vercel
Best for: Frontend and Next.js teams who want Git-based deploys with preview URLs for every branch
Free plan + paidWeb
50.0
score / 100
Why switch from Google Cloud CDN
Frontend hosting that includes a global edge network, so no separate CDN is needed.
Pros
Preview deployment for every pull request
First-class support for Next.js and other modern frameworks
Global CDN and serverless functions with little setup
Cons
Hobby plan is limited to non-commercial use
Usage overages can make bills unpredictable
Long-running servers and workers fit poorly
Visit Vercel Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.338
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 Vercel a good Google Cloud CDN alternative?
Verified facts
5 of 5 verified
Free plan
Yes, Hobby at $0/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026vercel.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pro plan
$20/month
Checked Nov 8, 2026vercel.com(opens source in a new tab)
Pro usage credit
$20 of usage credit included
Checked Nov 8, 2026vercel.com(opens source in a new tab)
Hobby plan use
Personal projects
Checked Nov 8, 2026vercel.com(opens source in a new tab)
Starting price
$20/month (Pro)
Checked Nov 8, 2026vercel.com(opens source in a new tab)
5. 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
42.3
score / 100
Why switch from Google Cloud CDN
AWS's CDN with flat-rate plans, including a free one, if you'd rather avoid per-GB billing.
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 Details and reviews
How this score is calculated
Editorial fit ×0.312
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 Amazon CloudFront a good Google Cloud CDN 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)

Quick comparison

1. Cloudflare CDNTop pick

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

2. Netlify

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

3. Cloudflare Workers

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

4. Vercel

Pros

Cons

Verified facts

5. Amazon CloudFront

Pros

Cons

Verified facts