Fastly vs Akamai
CDN & Edge pricing comparison · 2026
Fastly pricing ranges from $0–$6000/month, while Akamai ranges from $5–$992/month. Akamai is typically 99% more affordable, though your actual cost depends on tier and team size.
Fastly
Fastly is a premium edge cloud platform and CDN built on a heavily customized version of V
verified 25d ago
$3.2K
$31K
Akamai
Akamai Technologies is the world's largest and oldest CDN provider, operating over 4,200 e
verified 27d ago
$3.2K
$31K
Verdict · Vendr median · year 1
Akamai
saves
$28K
vs
Fastly
· 25 seats
Cheapest
$3.2K
Spread
90%
Estimated license cost
at 25 seats
List price × seats. Click a tier below to lock it.
Basic Package
$450K/yr
year 1 license · $1.5K/seat
Cloud Computing (Connected Cloud)
$1.5K/yr
year 1 license · $5/seat
What buyers actually pay
median, annual
Vendr deal-flow data. The real benchmark, not list price.
Median annual
$31K/yr
Vendr · n=128
avg 17% negotiated
↓ Lowest median
Median annual
$3.2K/yr
Vendr · n=37
REF · 01
Sources & confidence
Every dollar amount and contract clause below traces back to a sourced fact. We don't manufacture composite scores.
Where this data comes from
Vendr · TrustRadius · Reddit · BBB · official docs
Sources
14 sourced facts
8 hidden-cost · 3 contract · Vendr median · 2 review platforms
Last verified
3w ago
Confidence
Medium confidence
Sources
7 sourced facts
5 hidden-cost · 1 contract · Vendr median
Last verified
3w ago
Confidence
Medium confidence
REF · 02
Plans at a glance
Every tier per product. Lock one to drive the cost row above and reveal a tier-specific outbound CTA.
Tier ladder
Click a tier to lock the cost row to it. Locking surfaces a tier-specific Visit CTA.
REF · 04
Contract terms
The fine print, surfaced. Green = buyer-friendly. Each clause backed by a quoted source.
Fastly
Akamai
Auto-renewal
Yes
—
Cancellation
Requires support ticket - no self-service cancellation available
—
Commitment
✓
Monthly for Usage plan; annual options available for packages
Volume-based traffic commits typical for enterprise customers
Price escalation
No published schedule, but growth can lead to rapid cost increases due to bandwidth-based pricing
—
Can downgrade
No
—
REF · 05
What users say
Aggregated, with sample sizes. We use whichever review platform has data.
User reviews
TrustRadius · Trustpilot · G2
Decide
Get a quote from each vendor
Each link opens the vendor's pricing page in a new tab.
License cost is computed from publicly listed plans (real math, list price × seats).
Median annual cost is from Vendr's deal flow when available — see source badges.
Hidden costs and contract terms each cite their own sources. We do not invent composite scores.
VS
Fastly and Akamai both operate in the cdn & edge category. This page compares their list pricing.
Plan-by-Plan Pricing
| Plan | Fastly | Akamai |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | Free /month | Custom |
| Usage (Pay-As-You-Go) | $50 /month | Custom |
| Basic Package | $1.5K /month | Custom |
| Starter Package | $6K /month | $5 /month |
| Enterprise (Advantage / Ultimate) | Custom | — |
Cost at Scale
Total cost of ownership — licenses, implementation, and hidden costs included.
Fastly
6 scenarios$0/month
Developer Prototyping
Covered by Fastly's permanent $50/month free credit, no charges unless usage exceeds credit
$50
Growing Web Application
$75/month - Pay-as-you-go with $50 minimum, ~$40 in bandwidth + $10-$25 in request fees
$1,500
Mid-Size E-Commerce Platform
$6,000/month - Basic or Starter package with bundled requests, image optimization, and security
Akamai
8 scenarios$500
Small Enterprise Website
$2,000/month - Standard CDN with 12-month contract, estimated $0.049/GB at lower volumes
$5,000
Mid-Size Financial Services
$15,000/month - CDN + Web Application & API Protection bundle with compliance features and premium support
$15,000
Large Media Platform
$50,000+/month - Media Delivery with NetStorage, streaming optimization, multi-CDN support, and dedicated account team
Market Intelligence
Fastly
- Median annual cost
- $31,465
- Average negotiated discount
- 17%
- Based on
- 128 deals
Akamai
- Median annual cost
- $3,200
- Based on
- 37 deals
Contract Terms
| Term | Fastly | Akamai |
|---|---|---|
| Auto-renewal | Yes | — |
| Cancellation | Requires support ticket - no self-service cancellation available | — |
| Minimum commitment | Monthly for Usage plan; annual options available for packages | Volume-based traffic commits typical for enterprise customers |
| Price escalation | No published schedule, but growth can lead to rapid cost increases due to bandwidth-based pricing | — |
| Can downgrade | No | — |