Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Microsoft Azure CDN VS Amazon CloudFront

Compare Microsoft Azure CDN VS Amazon CloudFront and see what are their differences

Microsoft Azure CDN logo Microsoft Azure CDN

Azure CDN is a content delivery network for audio, video, applications, images and other high-bandwidth files.

Amazon CloudFront logo Amazon CloudFront

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery web service.
  • Microsoft Azure CDN Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-25
  • Amazon CloudFront Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-28

Microsoft Azure CDN features and specs

  • Global Reach
    Microsoft Azure CDN offers a vast and extensive network of edge locations around the world, ensuring fast content delivery to users regardless of their geographic location.
  • Scalability
    Azure CDN is highly scalable, capable of handling large volumes of traffic and data without degradation in performance.
  • Security
    It offers enhanced security features, including DDoS protection, encryption, and custom domain HTTPS support.
  • Integration with Azure Services
    Seamlessly integrates with other Azure services like Azure Storage, Azure Web Apps, and Azure Media Services, enabling streamlined workflows.
  • Customizability
    Supports custom caching rules and advanced delivery optimizations, allowing for tailored solutions based on specific business requirements.
  • Analytics and Monitoring
    Provides robust analytics and monitoring features to track performance metrics, traffic patterns, and cache hit ratios, which help in optimizing content delivery.
  • Cost-Effective
    Offers flexible pricing plans that can be cost-effective for both small and large scale operations, allowing businesses to pay only for what they use.

Possible disadvantages of Microsoft Azure CDN

  • Complexity
    The array of features and capabilities can be overwhelming for new users or those without a strong technical background.
  • Learning Curve
    It can take time to fully understand and effectively manage the CDN due to its sophisticated and comprehensive set of tools.
  • Initial Setup
    The initial setup and configuration might require significant effort, especially for non-technical users.
  • Dependency on Azure Ecosystem
    While integration with Azure services is a pro, it can also become a con if your operations are not heavily invested in the Azure ecosystem, limiting interoperability.
  • Cost Management
    While it can be cost-effective, managing and predicting costs can become challenging due to the variable pricing model based on data transfer and requests.

Amazon CloudFront features and specs

  • Global Distribution
    Amazon CloudFront has a global network of edge locations that help in delivering content with low latency and high transfer speeds to users around the world.
  • Scalability
    CloudFront can handle large spikes in traffic without any manual intervention, ensuring that your content is always available, even under high demand.
  • Integration with AWS Services
    CloudFront integrates seamlessly with other AWS services like S3, EC2, and Lambda, providing a more cohesive and efficient experience.
  • Security Features
    CloudFront offers multiple security measures including DDoS protection, AWS Shield Standard, and AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) to keep your content secure.
  • Custom SSL Certificates
    CloudFront allows you to use your own SSL certificates, enabling secure connections for your end users.
  • Pay-as-you-Go Pricing
    CloudFront offers a flexible pricing model where you pay only for what you use, making it cost-effective for both small and large scale operations.

Possible disadvantages of Amazon CloudFront

  • Complexity
    The wide array of features and settings may be overwhelming for users who are not familiar with AWS services or content delivery networks.
  • Pricing Structure
    While pay-as-you-go pricing is flexible, it can be difficult to estimate costs upfront due to the various factors that influence the final bill.
  • Initial Setup
    Setting up CloudFront for the first time can be time-consuming and may require a learning curve, particularly for beginners.
  • Latency for Dynamic Content
    While CloudFront is optimized for static content delivery, delivering dynamic content can sometimes result in higher latencies depending on the configuration.
  • Region-Based Restrictions
    Content distribution and access may face region-based restrictions and regulations, which can limit its effectiveness in certain areas.

Microsoft Azure CDN videos

Azure CDN | Azure Content Delivery Network Tutorial | Azure CDN Tutorial | Intellipaat

More videos:

Amazon CloudFront videos

JioSaavn Uses Amazon CloudFront to Stream Music and Video to Millions of Subscribers Daily

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Microsoft Azure CDN and Amazon CloudFront)
Cloud Computing
24 24%
76% 76
CDN
23 23%
77% 77
Content Distribution
31 31%
69% 69
Content Delivery Network
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Microsoft Azure CDN and Amazon CloudFront

Microsoft Azure CDN Reviews

The 7 Best Content-Delivery-Network Providers
Microsoft completes the trio of big internet names. With Azure CDN you can send your content to every corner of the world with high bandwidth. APIs and other tools make it easy for developers to customise the content delivery network. Also, the CDN can be paired with other Azure services. Microsoft Azure CDN is well equipped against DDoS attacks and other threats and when it...
Source: omr.com
Top 15 Cloudflare Alternatives: A Complete Guide
Azure CDN is a CDN service that is part of the Microsoft Azure cloud platform. Azure CDN integrates with other Azure services, such as Storage, Web Apps, Cloud Services, and Media Services, to deliver web content and applications with low latency and high bandwidth. Azure CDN also provides security features, such as SSL, DDoS protection, and WAF, to protect your web content...
11 Best CDN Providers To Speed Up A Website
Microsoft Azure CDN has an impressive infrastructure that helps you reduce load times, save bandwidth and increase responsiveness for an assortment of websites that are heavily dealing in streaming media, gaming softwares or firmware updates etc. This is why it is counted among the best CDNs.
Source: mofluid.com
The best CDN providers of 2018 to speed up any website
The best CDN providers 20191. CloudflareCapable free planLots of featuresGreat performance2. FastlyDelivers fast speedsHugely configurableCan be tricky to set up3. KeyCDNVery low pricesEasy setupPerformance isn’t the best4. MetaCDNShould deliver top performanceEasy-to-useBarely any configuration options5. StackPathEasy to set upPowerful security featuresLacks locations...

Amazon CloudFront Reviews

8 Best Cloudflare Alternatives (Free + Premium)
Operated by Amazon Web Services, Amazon Cloudfront had a beta launch in 2008. AWS then decided to make Cloudfront part of their free tier offerings in 2014. As of current writing, Cloudfront boasts of more than 310 POPs scattered throughout the globe.
Source: hostscore.net
The 7 Best Content-Delivery-Network Providers
Being one of the major internet companies that operates almost worldwide, it goes without saying that Amazon also offers a CDN with Amazon Cloudfront. The focus is on the Amazon Backbone network and developer friendliness. As a result, there are many possibilities for individual programmability and linking other AWS services. As a cherry on top, Amazon CloudFront also takes...
Source: omr.com
Top 15 Cloudflare Alternatives: A Complete Guide
Amazon CloudFront is a CDN service that is part of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud platform. CloudFront integrates with other AWS services, such as S3, EC2, Lambda, and Media Services, to deliver web content and applications with low latency and high transfer speeds.
Introduction to Cloudflare Alternatives In 2021
CloudFront is the sound known CDN that deals with the “pay as you go” design. CloudFront has big competition with Akamai and Limelight Networks upon Content Delivery Services. Released in the year 2008, having more than 138 gain access to points across 29 countries offered web fixed and dynamic material, website velocity, material download, and video streaming. CloudFront...
10 Top Cloudflare Alternatives for Your Website
While Amazon CloudFront is widely regarded as one of the best and most reliable CDN service providers there is, there are a few issues that users need to keep in mind. First off, some of the settings are a bit over-simplified, so as a sysadmin, you’ll need to artificially trigger Stackoverflow just to figure out simple details like how long objects linger before being...
Source: beebom.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Amazon CloudFront seems to be a lot more popular than Microsoft Azure CDN. While we know about 78 links to Amazon CloudFront, we've tracked only 1 mention of Microsoft Azure CDN. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Microsoft Azure CDN mentions (1)

Amazon CloudFront mentions (78)

  • Understanding AWS Regions and Availability Zones: A Guide for Beginners
    AWS CloudFront is the star of the show here. It caches static content (like media, scripts, and images) to ensure fast, reliable delivery. Other AWS services that run at the edge include Route 53 for DNS routing, Shield and WAF for security, and even Lambda via Lambda@Edge — giving you the ability to run serverless logic closer to the user. - Source: dev.to / 4 days ago
  • 🚀 Supercharge Your Website Speed with Code Splitting & CDN Optimization — A Complete Guide!
    AWS CloudFront — Scalable, pay-as-you-go, and widely trusted. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Cheating Lambda scalability
    CloudFront is my primary option for server-side caching. Caching at the edge reduces latency and is cost-effective because it decreases the number of calls to the service. CloudFront only caches responses to GET, HEAD, and OPTIONS requests. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
  • The Impact of Cloud Computing in DevOps
    Content Delivery Networks (CDNs): Services like CloudFront and Azure CDN distribute content globally, ensuring fast access for users. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • Why You Should TRUST Frameworks (And What It Takes to Build One From Scratch)
    AWS S3 and CloudFront host and deliver artifacts globally with low latency. - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Microsoft Azure CDN and Amazon CloudFront, you can also consider the following products

CloudFlare - Cloudflare is a global network designed to make everything you connect to the Internet secure, private, fast, and reliable.

CDN77 - Content Delivery Network - website speed acceleration with CDN77. 28+ PoPs, Pay-as-you-go prices, no commitments.

KeyCDN - KeyCDN is a high-performance Content Delivery Network (CDN). Lowest price globally at $0.04/GB with HTTP/2 Support and free Origin Shield.

Fastly - Real-time CDN

Akamai - Akamai is the leading content delivery network (CDN) services provider for media and software delivery, and cloud security solutions.

Google Cloud CDN - Google Cloud CDN leverages Google's globally distributed edge points to accelerate content delivery for websites and applications.