Updated July 5, 2023

Difference Between Cloudflare vs Akamai

Cloudflare is web and security enabled, which provides services such as content delivery network, DDoS, internet security, and domain name server services. The History of Cloudflare started in 2009, when it was created by Matthew Prince, Lee Holloway, and Michelle Zatlyn, and was later launched in 2010 at the Tech Crunch Disrupt conference. It came to notice in 2011 when it provided security services to the website.

In 2012, Cloudflare partnered with several web hosts to improve performance. In the year 2014, it twice mitigated DDoS attacks which peaked at 400 gigabits/second and 500 gigabits/second. As the most popular reverse proxy service, Cloudflare provides DNS services to more than 13 million websites. Cloudflare provides several services such as DDoS protection, Web Application Firewall, DNS, etc.

On the other hand, Akamai is a CDN cyber security and cloud service provider headquartered in Cambridge, US. It is the world’s largest content delivery network, serving around 15 % to 30 % of web traffic. Akamai entered the market in 1998 but was later recognized in 2001 when it was added to Russell 2000 and 3000 indexes. Akamai currently has its base at Broadway as of December 2019.

Akamai has several technologies such as Akamai’s Intelligent platform, content delivery services, peer-to-peer networking, state of the internet, visualization of the internet, etc.

Head-to-Head Comparison Between Cloudflare vs Akamai (Infographics)

Below are the top 11 differences between Cloudflare vs Akamai:

Key Differences Between Cloudflare vs Akamai

Akamai and Cloudflare are both classified as content delivery network tools. Cloudflare speeds up performance and boosts up by protecting millions of websites, APIs, and SaaS connected to networks. Akamai is one of the leading sources for mobile, cloud, media, and security anywhere. Companies preferring Cloudflare are Udemy, Digital Ocean, etc., whereas Linked prefers Akamai In (a professional network site). There are several alternatives to Cloudflare and Akamai, such as CloudFront, Cloud CDN, Fastly, and many more.

Comparison of Cloudflare and Akamai as per several benefits and disadvantages:

Cloudflare

Cloudflare comes with a free plan package and provides DDoS protection security on higher-added plans. It is a package afforded by potential users.
It has an easy setup installation process with an easily handled interface.
Cloudflare works well with both static and dynamic content.
It has a feature of a wide selection of app support, which allows users to install the app through Cloudflare instead of their site.
It is highly secure and provides free SSL certificates and SSL encryption.
It works well with different Content Delivery Networks.
It has automatic IPv6, and page rules are more powerful.
It provides an official WordPress plugin, too, that provides easy customization.

Cloudflare Demerits:

Anonymity a user always requires to enter a captcha at each site they access using Cloudflare. Sometimes this results in an unnecessary roadblock.
Cloudflare mostly relies on Captcha screens to validate users, resulting in problems for potential and legitimate users.
Secure Communication using “https” with different Cloudflare sites is intercepted in their servers and encrypted and decrypted with Cloudflare certificates (SSL).
There is a lack of cache control & end Layer 7 of Cloudflare must be manually controlled by users.

Akamai

Akamai has a large-scale presence across networks responsible for handling bulk attacks.
Akamai has customizable rules where the site defender is customizable with regular updates of what is happening and regarding protection views.
Akamai provides a dedicated bandwidth of 2.3 terabytes per second for DDoS absorption.
Akamai provides tools for rate-controlling traffic segments according to request rate consequences.
It caps bursting fees, i.e., if a sudden & unknown attack damages a lot of bandwidth, then the bandwidth costs are capped.
Akamai provides a WAF (web application firewall) to protect against application-layer attacks.
Akamai has an extensive reseller program which results in selling its services.

Akamai Demerits:

Other security-related CDN services cost approximately one-third of what Akamai charges, making Akamai significantly more expensive.
Due to its large CDN network structure, it takes some time for security propagation.

Cloudflare vs Akamai Comparison Table

Let us discuss the top comparison between Cloudflare vs Akamai:

Cloudflare	Akamai
Cloudflare is the global CDN that provides unique performance with a strong focus on security.	Akamai is the oldest Content Delivery Network and is recognized as the global CDN.
The company has a global infrastructure using high-performance equipment.	They have widespread servers and a range of products and services.
It doesn’t support live video.	It supports live video.
It has an easy setup method.	It is more complicated.
Documentation is public, and it is in the Cloudflare community.	Documentation is provided, but it’s not public.
There is no minimum contract term for the avail of services.	There is a minimum of 12 months of contract duration for the services.
24/7 email and phone support is provided with high pricing.	24/7 email and phone support to its customers.
Cloudflare doesn’t charge on bandwidth.	Akamai charges on bandwidth.
It has 2-factor authentication.	It doesn’t have 2-factor authentication.
Free SSL certification.	No SSL encryption.
The networks are well spread across boundaries.	The networks are wide but still unknown.

Conclusion

Cloudflare and Akamai are both the best CDN-proving services. Cloudflare is a combination of network security and performance solution that increases the website’s performance and network speed. It also provides secure DNS with load balancing and web optimization. In the case of Akamai, being a global CDN, it provides a highly secure web and mobile experience. Here the pricing model is scalable enough, as it goes with pay-as-you-go. Akamai has many benefits compared to Cloudflare, but that comes through paid services, which are quite expensive compared to Cloudflare’s free services. No matter what, akamai automatically delivers the best image for every end-user. Cloudflare is quite responsive when it comes to assistance and advice on products. Both CDN are comprehensive and have an easy setup process, which provides complete control to the users.