Cloudflare offers a more developer-friendly, affordable platform with integrated security and performance tools starting at $20/month, while Akamai is an enterprise-grade solution with 30+ years of CDN dominance, more global edge locations, and premium DDoS protection but at significantly higher costs starting at $600+/month.
Cloudflare vs Akamai — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
CDN and cybersecurity platform providing DDoS protection, performance optimization, and security services.
Enterprise-grade CDN and DDoS mitigation platform with 30+ years of industry dominance.
Starting Price. Global Edge Locations. DDoS Protection Capacity. Time to Deploy. Target Market Segment. API-First Architecture. Integrated WAF Availability
Choose Cloudflare if you're a startup, SMB, or mid-market company needing fast deployment, transparent pricing, integrated security, and excellent developer experience. Choose Akamai if you're an enterprise requiring maximum global scale, highest DDoS mitigation capacity (3.5+ Tbps), dedicated support, and are willing to invest in a longer implementation cycle.
Cloudflare: Developer-focused | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare DNS primary | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: DDoS, threat intelligence, WARP, Magic | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Community & documentation | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: $10.20 (at-cost) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Excellent for enterprise | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Industry standard | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Highly accessible with strong freemium | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 74% planning to expand | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Comprehensive and standardized | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Superior and broader distribution | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 31% (Q3 2025: $562M) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Growing (not disclosed) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Workers Bindings, multimodal models, AI agents | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 230+ billion threats blocked | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Free tier + affordable paid plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Per-domain flat-rate plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Limited; requires manual configuration | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 100+ countries | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 230 billion threats (2026) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes, included in plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers (lightweight functions) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Limited, requires manual configuration | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Simple DNS-based setup | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Predictable, no hidden charges | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 275+ edge cities | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Unlimited on all plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Free tier available | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Included on all plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 24/7 community + paid support | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: No (requires external provider) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Not applicable | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 3.8M requests/month | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 121 Tbps network capacity | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: No native VMs; Workers $5-200/month | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: $20/month Pro plan | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 23ms (fastest DNS globally) | Akamai: N/A
Supported Programming Languages (Workers/Serverless)
Cloudflare: JavaScript/TypeScript, Rust, C, C++ (WebAssembly) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 15 minutes (Enterprise) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 300+ across 100+ countries | Akamai: N/A
DNS Query Response Time (Global Average)
Cloudflare: Yes - full CDN, DNS, DDoS protection | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers - included | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes - full-featured | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Advanced (free tier + enterprise) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Free Universal SSL all plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Unlimited (CDN-based) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Partial (requires Access addon) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 5-10 (DNS propagation) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Cloudflare Workers (full serverless) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 25+ core services | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: $20 (Pro plan) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes, all plans | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 5 minutes (DNS change) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 1 (Cloudflare D1 beta) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: ~30ms (median global) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: 150 Tbps (Pro plan) | Akamai: 3500+ Tbps
Cloudflare: 5-15 minutes | Akamai: 840-2880 minutes (2-4 weeks)
Cloudflare: Yes ($20/month plan) | Akamai: Enterprise plans only
Cloudflare: Native REST + GraphQL APIs | Akamai: Available but legacy implementation
Cloudflare: Workers AI (beta), limited models | Akamai: N/A
Serverless Function Cost (1M executions/month)
Cloudflare: $1.50 (Workers) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Not offered (Kubernetes at edge via Workers) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes (with core features) | Akamai: N/A
Global Website Speed Improvement (Average)
Cloudflare: L3/L4 included | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: N/A (not a registrar) | Akamai: N/A
Cloudflare: Yes (Pro plan+) | Akamai: N/A
How to choose between Cloudflare and Akamai
Cloudflare vs Akamai — Structured Comparison Data
Machine-readable comparison dataset for Cloudflare vs Akamai. Contains 114 attribute comparisons, 5 FAQ pairs.
Cloudflare vs Akamai — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for Cloudflare vs Akamai.
Cloudflare is significantly better for startups due to its $20/month entry price, 5-15 minute deployment, integrated security features, and developer-friendly APIs. Akamai's $600+ minimum monthly cost and 2-4 week implementation timeline make it impractical for early-stage companies with limited budgets.
Can Cloudflare handle enterprise-level DDoS attacks?
Cloudflare can mitigate attacks up to 150 Tbps on its Pro plan (suitable for 99%+ of real-world attacks), but Akamai's 3.5+ Tbps capacity is necessary only for mega-attacks targeting Fortune 500 entities. Most enterprises find Cloudflare's capacity more than adequate.
How long does it take to switch from Akamai to Cloudflare?
Migration to Cloudflare typically takes 5-15 minutes for DNS-based setup, though full optimization may take 1-2 weeks. Unlike Akamai's 2-4 week implementation, Cloudflare allows you to be operational immediately, reducing business interruption risk.
Does Cloudflare offer dedicated support like Akamai?
Cloudflare offers 24/7 support starting at the Pro tier ($20/month) with email support, and premium support escalation on Enterprise plans. Akamai provides white-glove, dedicated account teams only at enterprise pricing. For most mid-market companies, Cloudflare's support is sufficient.
Which platform has better global coverage?
Akamai has 365+ edge locations vs. Cloudflare's 275+, providing slightly denser global coverage. However, Cloudflare's network covers 99%+ of internet users globally, and for most use cases outside specialized financial markets, the difference is negligible.
How to Choose Between Cloudflare and Akamai
Starting Price: Cloudflare has $20/month, while Akamai has $600+/month.
Global Edge Locations: Cloudflare has 275+, while Akamai has 365+.
DDoS Protection Capacity: Cloudflare has Up to 150 Tbps (Pro plan), while Akamai has Up to 3.5+ Tbps.
Time to Deploy: Cloudflare has 5-15 minutes, while Akamai has 2-4 weeks.
Target Market Segment: Cloudflare has SMBs, Startups, Mid-market, while Akamai has Enterprise, Fortune 500.
API-First Architecture: Cloudflare has Yes - native REST & GraphQL APIs, while Akamai has Yes - but less developer-friendly.
Integrated WAF Availability: Cloudflare has All plans (from $20/month), while Akamai has Enterprise plans only.