CDN comparison
Edge vs Fastly
Fastly is loved by engineering teams for granular control and edge compute. Edge trades VCL for simple rules and per-GB bills for $0 egress. Which fits depends on your team.
fastly · main.vcl
sub vcl_recv {
if (req.url ~ "^/api/") {
return(pass);
}
}
sub vcl_fetch {
if (req.url ~ "^/static/") {
set beresp.ttl = 365d;
}
}edge · caching rules
{ "path": "/api/**", "bypassCache": true },
{ "path": "/static/**", "ttl": 31536000 }The short version
Where each one wins
Where Fastly is stronger
- Powerful VCL configuration for fine-grained control
- Mature edge compute platform, available now
- Very fast purge, around 150ms
- Strong developer tooling and observability
Where Edge is different
- $0 egress instead of $0.08–0.28/GB
- No $50 monthly minimum
- Rules you can read in a minute, no VCL to learn
- 988 locations against 90+
Feature by feature
Edge and Fastly, side by side
| Fastly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Egress | Free | $0.08–0.28/GB |
| Edge locations | 988 | 90+ |
| Instant purge | < 1 second | ~150ms |
| Minimum spend | None | $50/mo |
| Configuration | Simple rules | VCL |
| Edge compute | Coming soon | Available |
| DDoS protection | Included | Included |
| HTTP/3 | ||
| Real-time analytics | ||
| Free SSL | ||
| Transparent pricing | Partially | |
| Decentralised |
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$1.13Fastly$64
- 5 TB · 50M requestsEdge$12.38Fastly$652
- 50 TB · 500M requestsEdge$125Fastly$6,519
Assumes ~100 KB per request. Fastly at $0.12/GB and $0.0075 per 10k requests in North America and Europe, with its $50 monthly minimum. Other regions cost up to $0.28/GB; enterprise contracts vary. Edge egress is $0 at every volume. Estimates, not quotes.
When to choose Edge
Edge is the better fit when…
Your team wants config, not code
Path rules for TTLs, bypass, redirects and headers cover most sites without a new language.Bandwidth is the bill
At $0.12/GB and up, Fastly egress dominates at scale. Edge's is $0.You're small or just starting
No minimum spend and a free tier with every feature, so a side project costs nothing.
Switching
Moving from Fastly without downtime
- 01
Translate VCL to rules
Most VCL covers caching, bypass and redirects, and maps directly to Edge rules. We'll help with the rest. - 02
Test on a staging hostname
Compare headers and hit ratios while Fastly serves production. - 03
Switch the CNAME
Move hostnames one at a time and keep the Fastly service until you're done.
FAQ
Edge vs Fastly, answered
Can Edge do everything VCL can?
No. VCL and Fastly's compute platform can run arbitrary logic at the edge. Edge rules cover caching, bypass, redirects, headers and access control. If your service depends on custom edge logic, Fastly is the better fit today.
Is Fastly's purge faster?
Fastly advertises around 150ms. Edge purges globally in under a second. For most sites both are effectively instant.
How do costs compare?
At ~100 KB per request, 5 TB and 50M requests a month is about $650 on Fastly's North America and Europe rates and about $12 on Edge.
Keep the speed. Drop the egress.
Move a hostname to Edge, translate a few rules, and compare on your own traffic.
Free tier: 3 deployments and 500k requests a month, hard-capped. Bandwidth is always $0.