Akamai vs Cloudflare Workers
A detailed comparison to help you choose between Akamai and Cloudflare Workers.
Quick Verdict
4.1/5
Akamai
0 reviews
4.3/5
Cloudflare Workers
0 reviews
Cloudflare Workers is rated higher (4.3 vs 4.1). Akamai invented the CDN industry in 1998. 340,000+ servers in 130+ countries. Enterprise CDN, edge security, and media delivery at massive scale. Acquired Linode for cloud compute. Run JavaScript, Python, and Rust functions at the edge with sub-millisecond latency. Ideal for APIs, middleware, and full-stack applications needing global distribution.
 Akamai The original CDN — 4,400+ edge PoPs across 130+ countries | Cloudflare Workers Deploy serverless code globally on Cloudflare's edge network | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Rating | 4.1 (0 reviews) | 4.3 (0 reviews)✓ |
| Pricing model | paid | freemium |
| Starting price | Free tier available | Free tier available |
| Best for | Global media and streaming platforms, gaming backends, and attack-prone enterprises that need the largest edge footprint and top-tier DDoS scrubbing under enterprise contracts | Latency-sensitive APIs, middleware, edge rendering and full-stack applications that want global deployment with no infrastructure to run — especially teams already using Cloudflare's storage and CDN products. |
| Specifications (entry plan) | ||
| CPU cores | — | 10 vCPU |
| RAM | — | — |
| Storage | — | 1 GB |
| Bandwidth | — | — |
| SLA uptime | — | 100% |
| Data-center count | — | 330 |
| €/vCPU/mo | — | €0.00 |
| Features | ||
| IPv6 | ||
| DDoS protection | ||
| Automated backups | ||
| Snapshots | ||
| Managed option | ||
| Bare metal | ||
| GPU available | ||
| S3-compatible | ||
| Hourly billing | ||
| Free tier | ✓ | |
| Data-center locations | ||
| Regions | — | Global — 300+ cities |
| Tags | ||
| Tags | ddos protectioneu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenter | free tierddos protectionipv6eu datacenterus datacenterapac datacenterapi accessopen source |
| Visit Akamai → | Visit Cloudflare Workers → | |
Akamai
Pros
- + Unmatched edge reach: 4,400+ PoPs across 130+ countries and 1,200+ networks
- + Prolexic DDoS scrubbing is the industry reference: 20+ Tbps dedicated capacity, zero-second mitigation, 100% platform availability SLA
- + Two decades-plus of delivery track record at the largest media and event scale
- + Aggressive egress pricing on the Akamai Cloud compute side, inherited from the Linode acquisition
- + Edge compute (EdgeWorkers, Functions) plus core and distributed compute regions under one network
Cons
- - No public pricing — quote-based enterprise procurement with real sales-cycle overhead
- - Not an option for individuals, small businesses, or anyone who wants self-serve onboarding
- - Dense, modular product catalog that is easy to over-buy or misconfigure
- - Volume commitments can make traffic overruns expensive
- - Compute breadth is thin compared with AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud
Cloudflare Workers
Pros
- + No cold starts: V8 isolates start in microseconds at 330+ locations
- + CPU-time billing with a genuinely usable free tier (100k requests/day)
- + No egress or bandwidth charges on any plan
- + Storage stack (KV, D1, Durable Objects, R2) binds declaratively and stays in-network
- + Strong docs: pricing and limits pages are explicit and example-driven
Cons
- - CPU time caps exclude compute-heavy and long-running workloads
- - Real vendor lock-in through Durable Objects, bindings and deployment model
- - KV writes ($5.00/M) and Durable Objects duration billing surprise stateful designs
- - Conceptual shift for teams used to container-based serverless
- - No uptime SLA below the Business plan
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