CDN
OPS
MISSION CONTROL
CDN Edge Operations · Cloudflare vs Fastly · 2026
SYSTEMS NOMINAL
00:00:00
CRAFT-01 · CLOUDFLARE ● ONLINE
CLOUDFLARE
Class: All-in-One Edge Platform · Callsign: CF-NET
Global PoPs
330+
Network Capacity
280+ Tbps
Edge Compute
Workers
Cache Purge
~30 sec
Free Tier
YES ★
Pro Plan
$25/mo/site
WAF
Pro+ plans
DDoS
Free unmetered
Object Storage
R2 (0 egress)
AI Gateway
YES
DNS
1.1.1.1
Signal Strength

The all-in-one orbital platform. In 2026, Cloudflare's network spans 330+ cities with Workers serverless, R2 zero-egress storage, AI Gateway for LLM routing, Pages for static hosting, and the industry's most generous free tier. 20%+ of the web routes through Cloudflare. The security-first approach bundles DDoS, WAF, bot management, and Zero Trust into a single control plane. Trade-off: cache purge speed (~30s) lags behind Fastly, and enterprise pricing is opaque.

Free CDN+DDoS+DNS+SSL R2 Zero-Egress Storage AI Gateway 330+ Global PoPs ~30s Cache Purge Enterprise $ Opaque
CRAFT-02 · FASTLY ● ONLINE
FASTLY
Class: Developer Edge Cloud · Callsign: FA-EDGE
Global PoPs
~90
Network Capacity
291+ Tbps
Edge Compute
Compute (Wasm)
Cache Purge
~150ms ★
Free Tier
NO
Minimum
$50/mo
WAF
Next-Gen (Sig.Sci.)
DDoS
Included
Object Storage
N/A
AI Gateway
N/A
VCL Config
Full Granular ★
Signal Strength

The precision interceptor. Fastly is built for engineering teams that need instant control at the edge. 150ms global cache purges remain unmatched. Compute@Edge runs Wasm with millisecond cold starts. Next-Gen WAF (Signal Sciences) blocks 270K+ unwanted requests weekly. Real-time log streaming delivers 100% of data instantly. In 2026, Fastly claims 25% faster TTFB than Cloudflare on average. Trade-off: no free tier, $50/mo minimum, fewer PoPs (~90), and VCL has a learning curve.

150ms Cache Purge Wasm Edge Compute Next-Gen WAF Real-Time Logs (100%) No Free Tier ($50 min) ~90 PoPs Only
ORBITAL TRAJECTORY · HEAD-TO-HEAD COMPARISON ▲ ANALYZING
PoPs Purge Compute WAF DDoS DevUX Value AI CLOUDFLARE FASTLY ↑ HIGHER = BETTER
CF SYSTEMS
Global PoPs330+ ★
Cache Purge~30 sec
Edge ComputeWorkers (JS/Wasm)
WAFPro+ plans
DDoSFree unmetered ★
DNS1.1.1.1 ★
Object StorageR2 (0 egress) ★
AI GatewayYES ★
Free TierYES ★
Log StreamingEnterprise only
TTFB (avg)Baseline
Gartner Rating4.4 / 5.0
FA SYSTEMS
Global PoPs~90
Cache Purge~150ms ★
Edge ComputeCompute (multi-lang) ★
WAFNext-Gen WAF ★
DDoSIncluded
DNSN/A
Object StorageN/A
AI GatewayN/A
Free TierNO ($50 min)
Log Streaming100% real-time ★
TTFB (avg)25% faster ★
Gartner Rating4.8 / 5.0 ★
▲ MISSION ASSESSMENT ▲

DEPLOY CLOUDFLARE IF:

Your mission requires a full-spectrum platform covering CDN, security, storage, AI, and DNS in a single deployment.

  • Budget-conscious teams (free tier)
  • All-in-one infrastructure consolidation
  • R2 storage with zero egress costs
  • AI inference at the edge
  • WordPress, Jamstack, or SaaS products

DEPLOY FASTLY IF:

Your mission demands the absolute fastest cache operations, granular edge control, and real-time telemetry at all costs.

  • Sub-200ms cache purge is critical
  • Engineering teams with VCL expertise
  • Real-time media and live content
  • Full log streaming (100%)
  • Next-Gen WAF with low false positives
ALL PRODUCT NAMES ARE TRADEMARKS OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS
FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY · NOT PROFESSIONAL PROCUREMENT ADVICE
REFLECTS CDN MARKET AS OF 2026 · MISSION CONTROL SIGNING OFF