Easily compare Cloudflare and Tata Communications 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 | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Short profile | 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. | Tata Communications is a full service, carrier grade, global CDN that has been in operation since their acquisition of BitGravity in 2012. The CDN rides on Tata’s global infrastructure which is the largest Tier 1 network in the world. Tata’s ownership of the network and peering relationships enable it to be very competitive when it comes to price. |
Products
| Product | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic content deliveryNon-cacheable content delivery. User login, shopping cart ... | Dynamic Site Acceleration | |
| Small file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of small files (file size <1 MB) | Whole Site Acceleration | |
| Large file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of large files (file size >1 MB) | Large Object Rapid Delivery | |
| Live videoDelivery of live video. RTMP? Transcoding/transmuxing? | Stream Live | Live Streaming |
| Video on demandDelivery of on demand video | Stream | Video On Demand |
| Image OptimizationAutomatic image transformation/compression/optimization | Image Resizing, Mirage, Polish | |
| DNSAuthoritative DNS for customer domain | DNS | |
| WAFWeb Application Firewall | Cloud Web Application Firewall | CDN Security |
| Anti-DDoSDDoS attack protection. Specific product(s) for this. | DDoS Protection | CDN Security |
| Private CDNDedicated edge resources & custom configs | ||
| Edge ComputeRun your code on CDN edge servers | Workers |
Network
How many POP locations do Cloudflare and Tata Communications have in different parts of the world?
| Region | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 54 | 8 |
| Latin America | 55 | 0 |
| Europe | 47 | 4 |
| Russia & CIS | 12 | 0 |
| Asia excl. China | 45 | 10 |
| China | 37 | 0 |
| Oceania | 14 | 1 |
| Middle East | 21 | 1 |
| Africa | 24 | 0 |
Pricing
| Pricing & contract duration | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum contract term | None | Unknown |
| Minimum monthly costs | $0 | Unknown |
| Requests costsCustomers pay for client to CDN requests | None | Unknown |
| Ingress costsCustomers pay for origin-to-CDN bytes transferred | None | Unknown |
| NA/EU traffic (low volume) | $0 | Unknown |
| APAC traffic (low volume) | $0 | Unknown |
| LATAM traffic (low volume) | $0 | Unknown |
Features
| Web acceleration | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Instant setupSign up, configure, start testing. | ||
| Change propagation delayHow fast do config changes propagate to all POPs? | Instant | <10 minutes |
Apex/root domain OK  No performance degradation when using http(s)://domain.com |
Global Anycast network |
Global Anycasted network
Tata recommends against root domain though, as they may make changes in DNS at any time
|
| HTTP/2 | End of 2017 | |
| HTTP/3 | HTTP/3 Prioritization | |
| WebSockets | WebSockets docs | |
| IPv6Do the edge servers have IPv6? | ||
| Compression Reduce file size for faster delivery |
Resend from origin, or compress on edge |
Resend from origin
Always fetch compressed from origin
|
| Origin pull - protocolHTTP only or HTTPS possible too? | HTTP and HTTPS | HTTP and HTTPS |
| Origin pull - Host headerUse client > edge value? Set specific value? | Can be an IP address | Can't configure specific other Host header |
| Origin ShieldOne POP pulls from origin, other POPs pull from the shield POP | Tiered Cache, included in all paid plans |
Tiered architecture, not single POP shield
Tata support is needed to enable/configure this
|
| 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 | Page rules for overriding caching headers | Full and granular control |
| 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 |
Purge Speed | No longer than 2 mins, often much faster |
| Purge - capabilities | Purge per file and purge all | Purge all, purge by directory, not by tag or header |
| Analytics | Web analytics, threats and more. Live-updating for paying customers |
Many metrics in the UI
2 seconds refresh ('instant') possible at extra charge
|
| Log files | Only for Enterprise customers, instantly available |
Refreshed every 24h. Available via FTP
15m refresh possible at extra charge
|
| API | Purge, analytics, configuration | Purge, configuration. Not analytics |
| HTTPS & Content Protection | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
SNI. Pricing is custom.
Update cert via UI or API
|
|
| Token authentication | More info | |
| Geo blocking | Access Rules | |
| Hotlink protectionThird parties cannot deeplink to your content | Their support team is needed | |
| Basic authenticationUser logs in on the CDN to get content | Possible with Workers | |
| IP white/blacklisting | Access Rules |
White or black listing. IP addresses and CIDR blocks
Customer can configure self in UI
|
Support
| Customer support | Cloudflare | Tata Communications |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Yes, public. Cloudflare Community. | Some documentation, not public |
| Humans | Email support for all. Phone only for Enterprise customers | All customers get 24/7 email and phone support. |