Easily compare CDNetworks and Cloudflare for POP locations, products, pricing, features & support. We hope this helps you better understand the similarities and differences between these content delivery networks.
Company
| Company | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Short profile | As a leading network with over 2,800 global Points of Presence and more than 20 years of technology experience, CDNetworks has made huge leaps forward in edge computing, from basic CDN services to elastic, stable, and secure content delivery services and all-in-one WAAP Protection Solution. Recognized in Gartner Competitive Landscape: CDN and Edge Services in 2022. | Cloudflare provides a global CDN with unique performance capabilities and a strong focus on security. The company has a global infrastructure built from the ground up using only next-generation, high-performance equipment—no legacy software or hardware. The result is a CDN that's easy to set up, affordable, and built to continuously adapt and integrate emerging technologies to meet future needs of everyone's Internet properties. |
Products
| Product | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic content deliveryNon-cacheable content delivery. User login, shopping cart ... | Dynamic Web Acceleration | |
| Small file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of small files (file size <1 MB) | Content Acceleration | |
| Large file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of large files (file size >1 MB) | Content Acceleration | |
| Live videoDelivery of live video. RTMP? Transcoding/transmuxing? | Media Acceleration Live Broadcast | Stream Live |
| Video on demandDelivery of on demand video | Media Acceleration VoD | Stream |
| Image OptimizationAutomatic image transformation/compression/optimization | Image Processing | Image Resizing, Mirage, Polish |
| DNSAuthoritative DNS for customer domain | Cloud DNS+ | DNS |
| WAFWeb Application Firewall | Application Firewall | Cloud Web Application Firewall |
| Anti-DDoSDDoS attack protection. Specific product(s) for this. | Flood Shield | DDoS Protection |
| Private CDNDedicated edge resources & custom configs | ||
| Edge ComputeRun your code on CDN edge servers | Edge Computing Platform | Workers |
Network
How many POP locations do CDNetworks and Cloudflare have in different parts of the world?
| Region | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 13 | 46 |
| Latin America | 6 | 44 |
| Europe | 14 | 43 |
| Russia & CIS | 28 | 11 |
| Asia excl. China | 35 | 45 |
| China | 66 | 37 |
| Oceania | 3 | 10 |
| Middle East | 10 | 15 |
| Africa | 7 | 22 |
Pricing
| Pricing & contract duration | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum contract term | 12 months | None |
| Minimum monthly costs | Unknown | $0 |
| Requests costsCustomers pay for client to CDN requests | Unknown | None |
| Ingress costsCustomers pay for origin-to-CDN bytes transferred | Unknown | None |
| NA/EU traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0 |
| APAC traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0 |
| LATAM traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0 |
Features
| Web acceleration | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Instant setupSign up, configure, start testing. | CDN Pro has self signup and getting started. For other products you must talk to sales | |
| Change propagation delayHow fast do config changes propagate to all POPs? | ~ 15 minutes | Instant |
Apex/root domain OK  No performance degradation when using http(s)://domain.com |
Global Anycast network | |
| HTTP/2 | Docs | |
| HTTP/3 | HTTP/3 Prioritization | |
| WebSockets | Docs | WebSockets docs |
| IPv6Do the edge servers have IPv6? | Docs | |
| Compression Reduce file size for faster delivery |
Resend from origin, or compress on edge | Resend from origin, or compress on edge |
| Origin pull - protocolHTTP only or HTTPS possible too? | HTTP and HTTPS | HTTP and HTTPS |
| Origin pull - Host headerUse client > edge value? Set specific value? |
Configure specific other Host header
CDN can also forward client request Host header to origin
|
Can be an IP address |
| Origin ShieldOne POP pulls from origin, other POPs pull from the shield POP | Multiple POPs can act as shield | Tiered Cache, included in all paid plans |
| Waiting RoomDuring peak traffic, route users to a virtual waiting room | Cloudflare Waiting Room | |
| Push / uploadStore your content directly on CDN, no customer origin | ||
| Cache control - CDN caching | Full and granular control | Page rules for overriding caching headers |
| Cache control - client caching | Full and granular control | |
| Serve Stale CDN serves cached but expired content in case origin is in trouble |
Only 'stale while revalidate' | |
| Purge Invalidate or delete cached objects on CDN |
Completion time is 5 - 10 minutes | ~ 5 seconds |
| Purge - capabilities | Purge all, by directory, by cache tag | Purge per file and purge all |
| Analytics | Web analytics, threats and more. Live-updating for paying customers | |
| Log files | Only for Enterprise customers, instantly available | |
| API | Purge, analytics, configuration | Purge, analytics, configuration |
| HTTPS & Content Protection | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| CDN domain HTTPSUse the CDN's domain, like cloudfront.net | SNI | |
| Customer domain HTTPSYour domain in the CDN's certificate | More info | |
| Customer cert HTTPSYour certificate on the CDN | ||
| Token authentication | More info | |
| Geo blocking | Access Rules | |
| Hotlink protectionThird parties cannot deeplink to your content | ||
| Basic authenticationUser logs in on the CDN to get content | Possible with Workers | |
| IP white/blacklisting | Access Rules |
Support
| Customer support | CDNetworks | Cloudflare |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Yes, public | Yes, public. Cloudflare Community. |
| Humans | All customers get 24/7 email and phone support | Email support for all. Phone only for Enterprise customers |