Easily compare Lumen and BytePlus 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 | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| Short profile | Lumen (formerly known as Centurylink or Level 3) owns and operates a global Tier-1 network and - logically - their CDN runs on top of it. Lumen CDN has POPs on many continents and their product focus is on video, large object delivery and edge computing. | BytePlus CDN launched their services in 2021 with a focus on high-performance video content delivery. With a global presence spanning 72 locations and over 1,300 POPs, BytePlus CDN offers scalable security bundle solutions worldwide. |
Products
| Product | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic content deliveryNon-cacheable content delivery. User login, shopping cart ... | CDN Edge Compute | BytePlus CDN |
| Small file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of small files (file size <1 MB) | CDN and/or CDN Edge Compute | BytePlus CDN |
| Large file deliveryStatic object delivery; caching of large files (file size >1 MB) |
BytePlus CDN
No file size limit
|
|
| Live videoDelivery of live video. RTMP? Transcoding/transmuxing? | CDN and/or CDN Mesh Delivery |
BytePlus Live
BytePlus Live is an enterprise-level live streaming platform that leverages cloud computing, video distribution, and big-data processing to provide industries, enterprises, and organizations with superior live streaming experience
|
| Video on demandDelivery of on demand video | CDN and/or CDN Mesh Delivery |
BytePlus VOD
BytePlus Video on Demand (VOD) is an all-in-one VOD service that offers: Media upload, Media storage, Media processing, Accelerated content distribution, and Video playback
|
| Image OptimizationAutomatic image transformation/compression/optimization | part of CDN Edge Compute | |
| DNSAuthoritative DNS for customer domain |
BytePlus DNS Suite
BytePlus DNS Suite provides recursive and authoritative DNS for public and private networks, ensuring high availability, fast load times, and intelligent traffic routing
|
|
| WAFWeb Application Firewall | WAF |
BytePlus WAF
Web Application Firewall (WAF) is an all-in-one security solution for websites and APIs, providing vulnerability protection, access control, bot management, and other service-related features
|
| Anti-DDoSDDoS attack protection. Specific product(s) for this. | Lumen DDoS Hyper (on-demand) and DDoS Mitigation Service |
BytePlus Advanced DDoS Protection
With global traffic scrubbing centers, multi-dimensional algorithms, and a reliable scrubbing system, Advanced DDoS Protection shields gaming, E-commerce, finance, and other sectors against DDoS attacks to ensure service continuity
|
| Private CDNDedicated edge resources & custom configs | CDN Mesh Delivery for Enterprise |
BytePlus Hybrid CDN
BytePlus Hybrid CDN product deploys a content distribution service platform within the local ISPs. It provides caching and distribution services for popular platform content to local end users
|
| Edge ComputeRun your code on CDN edge servers | Edge Compute | BytePlus CDN Edge Function |
Network
How many POP locations do Lumen and BytePlus have in different parts of the world?
| Region | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| North America | 28 | 15 |
| Latin America | 11 | 5 |
| Europe | 35 | 13 |
| Russia & CIS | 0 | 2 |
| Asia excl. China | 7 | 26 |
| China | 0 | 800 |
| Oceania | 5 | 1 |
| Middle East | 4 | 10 |
| Africa | 3 | 3 |
Pricing
| Pricing & contract duration | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum contract term | Unknown | None |
| Minimum monthly costs | Unknown | $0 |
| Requests costsCustomers pay for client to CDN requests | Unknown | $0.012 per 10k requests |
| Ingress costsCustomers pay for origin-to-CDN bytes transferred | Unknown | Yes, but negotiable in contract |
| NA/EU traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0.044 per GB |
| APAC traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0.06 - $0.078 per GB |
| LATAM traffic (low volume) | Unknown | $0.10 per GB |
Features
| Web acceleration | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| Instant setupSign up, configure, start testing. | Not yet, but coming soon. | |
| Change propagation delayHow fast do config changes propagate to all POPs? | No longer than 15 minutes - Often instant | 2 to 3 minutes |
Apex/root domain OK  No performance degradation when using http(s)://domain.com |
Available with Section product for an additional fee | Customer needs ALIAS records |
| HTTP/2 | ||
| HTTP/3 | ||
| WebSockets | ||
| IPv6Do the edge servers have IPv6? | ||
| Compression Reduce file size for faster delivery |
Resend from origin, or compress on edge |
Resend, or compress on edge
Off by default
|
| Origin pull - protocolHTTP only or HTTPS possible too? | 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
|
|
| Origin ShieldOne POP pulls from origin, other POPs pull from the shield POP | Multiple POPs as shield | |
| Waiting RoomDuring peak traffic, route users to a virtual waiting room | ||
| Push / uploadStore your content directly on CDN, no customer origin | FTP, SFTP, rsync. Storage costs apply | |
| Cache control - CDN caching | ||
| Cache control - client caching | ||
| Serve Stale CDN serves cached but expired content in case origin is in trouble |
||
| Purge Invalidate or delete cached objects on CDN |
Instant | |
| Purge - capabilities | Purge all but not purge by directory or tag or header | Purge all and by directory, not by tag or header |
| Analytics | ||
| Log files | ||
| API | Purge, analytics, configuration | Account & Billing info not available |
| HTTPS & Content Protection | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| CDN domain HTTPSUse the CDN's domain, like cloudfront.net | ||
| Customer domain HTTPSYour domain in the CDN's certificate | Let's Encrypt | |
| Customer cert HTTPSYour certificate on the CDN | Powered by DigiCert | |
| Token authentication | ||
| Geo blocking | ||
| Hotlink protectionThird parties cannot deeplink to your content | ||
| Basic authenticationUser logs in on the CDN to get content | ||
| IP white/blacklisting |
Support
| Customer support | Lumen | BytePlus |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation | Yes, but not public | Yes, public. |
| Humans | Email support for all. Extra support for business services |