CDN Comparison
Edge vs Akamai
A detailed comparison of Edge CDN and Akamai for content delivery.
The enterprise CDN alternative
Akamai pioneered the CDN industry and remains a giant in enterprise content delivery. They offer a comprehensive suite of solutions with proven reliability at massive scale.
However, Akamai's enterprise focus comes with enterprise complexity: long contracts, opaque pricing, slow onboarding, and significant costs that make them prohibitive for many organizations.
Edge delivers enterprise-grade performance without the enterprise overhead. Self-service setup in minutes, transparent pricing, and no long-term commitments.
Key Differences
-
Zero egress fees – Akamai charges $0.10+/GB -
6x more edge locations – 2,137 vs 350+ -
Instant cache purge – Akamai takes 5-10 minutes -
No contracts – Monthly billing, cancel anytime
Feature Comparison
How Edge and Akamai compare feature by feature.
| Feature |
Edge
| Akamai |
|---|---|---|
| Egress Fees | Free | $0.10/GB+ |
| Edge Locations | 2,137 | 350+ |
| Instant Purge | < 1 second | 5-10 minutes |
| Setup Time | Minutes | Weeks |
| Contract Length | Monthly | Annual minimum |
| DDoS Protection | Included | Kona (extra) |
| HTTP/3 | | |
| Real-time Analytics | | |
| Free SSL | | |
| Transparent Pricing | | |
| Decentralized | | |
| Self-Service | | Limited |
Price Comparison
Estimated monthly costs. Akamai pricing varies significantly by contract.
| Scenario | Edge | Akamai |
|---|---|---|
| 1 TB egress/month | $48 | $100+ |
| 10 TB egress/month | $480 | $1,000+ |
| 100 TB egress/month | $4,800 | $10,000+ |
* Akamai pricing is negotiated and varies. Estimates based on industry averages.
Migrating from Akamai
Switching from Akamai to Edge is straightforward. Our team can help you migrate without downtime, and you'll start saving from day one.
Sign up for Edge
Create your account and configure your CDN in minutes.
Test in parallel
Run Edge alongside Akamai to verify performance.
Update DNS
Point your traffic to Edge and cancel your Akamai contract.
Ready to leave enterprise complexity behind?
Get enterprise-grade CDN performance without the enterprise overhead.