CDN comparison
Edge vs AWS CloudFront
CloudFront is a capable CDN wired deep into AWS. Edge is a standalone CDN that doesn't charge for bandwidth. Here's how the two compare, including where CloudFront wins.
CloudFront · 5 TB month
- Data transfer out$348.16
- HTTPS requests$40.00
- Free tier creditincl.
Total / month$388
Edge · same traffic
- Requests$12.38
- Bandwidth$0.00
- Purge, SSL, analytics$0.00
Total / month$12.38
5 TB · 50M requests · published NA/EU rates
The short version
Where each one wins
Where CloudFront is stronger
- Tight integration with S3, Lambda@Edge, IAM and the rest of AWS
- A generous always-free allowance: 1 TB and 10M requests every month
- Mature edge compute today; Edge's is still coming
- One bill if you already run everything on AWS
Where Edge is different
- $0 egress instead of $0.085/GB after the free terabyte
- One price per request, the same in every region
- Purge worldwide in under a second, not minutes
- Hard caps, so a traffic spike can't become a surprise invoice
Feature by feature
Edge and CloudFront, side by side
| AWS CloudFront | ||
|---|---|---|
| Egress | Free | $0.085/GB after 1 TB free |
| Requests | $0.25 per million after 500k | $0.01 per 10k after 10M free |
| Cache purge | < 1 second | 5–10 minutes |
| Setup | Simple | Complex |
| DDoS protection | Included | Basic included, advanced extra |
| HTTP/3 | ||
| Real-time analytics | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Edge compute | Coming soon | Lambda@Edge |
| Password protection | Included | Via Lambda@Edge |
| Transparent pricing | ||
| Decentralised | ||
| Vendor lock-in | None | High |
Competitor details from their public pricing and product pages. Tell us if something's changed.
Cost
What the same month costs
Three traffic levels at published rates. Edge charges $0.25 per million requests after the free 500k and nothing for bandwidth. Try your own numbers.
- 500 GB · 5M requestsEdge$1.13CloudFront$0.00
- 5 TB · 50M requestsEdge$12.38CloudFront$388
- 50 TB · 500M requestsEdge$125CloudFront$4,755
Assumes ~100 KB per request. CloudFront at $0.085/GB and $0.01 per 10k HTTPS requests, with its permanent 1 TB and 10M-request allowance credited. Volume tiers lower the per-GB rate above 10 TB. Edge egress is $0 at every volume. Estimates, not quotes.
When to choose Edge
Edge is the better fit when…
Bandwidth is your biggest line
Media, downloads and image-heavy sites pay for bytes. With egress at $0, the largest part of a CloudFront bill disappears.You want a bill you can predict
One rate, every region, with a hard monthly ceiling. No calculator needed to know what next month costs.You're not all-in on AWS
Edge works with any origin: S3, a VM, another cloud or your own servers. No IAM policies or distributions to wire up.
Switching
Moving from CloudFront without downtime
- 01
Point Edge at your existing origin
Use the same S3 bucket, ALB or custom origin CloudFront uses today. Nothing moves. - 02
Test on a staging hostname
Compare headers, hit ratios and latency side by side while CloudFront keeps serving production. - 03
Switch the CNAME
Repoint your hostname to Edge. Keep the distribution for a week, then delete it.
FAQ
Edge vs CloudFront, answered
Is Edge always cheaper than CloudFront?
No. Under 1 TB and 10M requests a month, CloudFront's permanent free allowance can cost you nothing, while Edge charges $0.25 per million requests past 500k. The gap opens once you move real bandwidth.
Can I keep my S3 bucket as the origin?
Yes. Point an Edge deployment at the bucket's public or website endpoint. You'll stop paying CloudFront egress, though AWS still bills S3-to-internet transfer for the requests Edge fetches from origin.
What replaces Lambda@Edge?
Edge rules cover redirects, headers, cache control and password protection without code. Full edge compute isn't available yet, so if you depend on Lambda@Edge logic, keep that path on AWS for now.
Take bandwidth off your AWS bill
Point a hostname at Edge, keep your origin where it is, and watch the egress line go to $0.
Free tier: 3 deployments and 500k requests a month, hard-capped. Bandwidth is always $0.