Company snapshot
| Category | Alibaba Cloud CDN | BlazingCDN |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | active |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
Alibaba Cloud CDN, operated by Alibaba Cloud, is a global content delivery network with over 1,200 points of presence (POPs) across more than 70 countries. It specializes in accelerating content delivery for websites, video streaming, and large-scale downloads, particularly in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and China. The service supports a range of industries, including e-commerce, gaming, and media, with a strong focus on compliance with China’s regulatory requirements. Customers include enterprises and developers needing low-latency delivery in APAC markets. The platform integrates with other Alibaba Cloud services like Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and Object Storage Service (OSS) for streamlined content hosting.
BlazingCDN is a content delivery network provider focused on delivering video, gaming, and large file content with global coverage. It serves businesses of various sizes, including media, gaming, and software companies, by offering solutions for video-on-demand, live streaming, and static content acceleration. The service emphasizes straightforward pricing and a user-friendly dashboard for managing CDN zones and analytics. Its infrastructure supports high-traffic projects, with a network designed to minimize latency for end users.
Network & Architecture
Alibaba Cloud CDN operates over 1,200 POPs globally, with a significant presence in APAC, including China, where it holds a Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) license for compliance. The network leverages extensive peering with local ISPs in China to ensure low-latency delivery. It uses tiered caching and origin shield to reduce origin server load. The service is optimized for high-traffic scenarios like e-commerce events (e.g., Singles Day), but its coverage in Africa and Latin America is less extensive compared to North America and EMEA.
BlazingCDN operates over 25 points of presence (PoPs) globally, with 50 GBps uplink per server and a total network capacity exceeding 10 Tbps. It uses Anycast routing to optimize content delivery by directing traffic to the nearest server. The network has strong coverage in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, but lacks PoPs in Africa and the Middle East. Its architecture supports a private global backbone with 4.5 petabytes of cached files and an average latency of 27 ms in the USA and EU.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Alibaba Cloud CDN | BlazingCDN |
|---|---|---|
waf | ✓ | ✗ |
bot_mitigation | ✗ | ✗ |
ddos | ✓ | ✓ |
rate_limit | ✗ | ✗ |
http3_quic | ✓ | ✓ |
tls13 | ✓ | ✓ |
tiered_cache | ✓ | ✓ |
origin_shield | ✓ | ✗ |
instant_purge | ✓ | ✓ |
stale_while_revalidate | ✗ | ✗ |
stale_if_error | ✗ | ✗ |
image_optimization | ✓ | ✗ |
video_vod | ✓ | ✓ |
video_live | ✓ | ✓ |
drm | ✗ | ✗ |
hls_dash_packaging | ✗ | ✓ |
websockets | ✗ | ✗ |
signed_urls | ✓ | ✓ |
edge_compute | ✓ | ✗ |
functions | ✗ | ✗ |
kv_storage | ✗ | ✗ |
api_first | ✗ | ✓ |
realtime_logs | ✓ | ✓ |
log_push | ✓ | ✓ |
terraform | ✓ | ✗ |
Legend: ✓ = Supported, ✗ = Not supported, — = Not listed
Pricing
Alibaba Cloud CDN uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with pricing based on traffic volume and region. A free trial is available, offering up to 12 months of usage for select services like Elastic Compute Service, which integrates with CDN. Per-GB pricing varies by region, with China typically higher due to regulatory compliance costs. Detailed pricing is available at https://www.alibabacloud.com/product/cdn/pricing.
BlazingCDN offers pay-as-you-go pricing starting at $5 per TB, dropping to $1.5 per TB for higher usage, with a minimum monthly cost of $25 for 5 terabytes. Enterprise plans are available for projects exceeding 25 TB. A 14-day trial is provided for testing. Pricing details are available at https://blazingcdn.com/pricing/.
Integrations & DevEx
The service supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code, enabling automated configuration of CDN domains. SDKs are available for multiple languages, facilitating integration with CI/CD pipelines. Real-time logs and analytics are accessible via the console or API, with log push capabilities for external storage. A self-service diagnostics tool helps troubleshoot issues like page loading failures. Domain transfer tools simplify migrations across Alibaba Cloud accounts.
BlazingCDN provides an API-first platform with a user-friendly dashboard for managing CDN zones, custom domains, and analytics. It supports integration with object storage and tools like Cyberduck for file uploads via Swift protocol. Real-time analytics and log push enable monitoring and debugging. Migration support is offered with 24/7 SLA monitoring, though Terraform and other IaC tools are not explicitly supported. Documentation is available at https://help.blazingcdn.com/.
When it fits
- Businesses targeting APAC and China markets, especially those needing MIIT-compliant CDN services.
- E-commerce and media companies handling high-traffic events with video streaming or large downloads.
- Users integrating with Alibaba Cloud’s ecosystem (ECS, OSS) for end-to-end content management.
- Businesses needing affordable CDN for video streaming, gaming, or large file delivery with global reach.
- Small to medium-sized companies seeking simple setup and transparent pay-as-you-go pricing.
- Projects requiring low-latency content delivery in North America, Europe, or Asia-Pacific.
When it doesn’t
- Organizations prioritizing extensive coverage in Africa or Latin America, where POP density is lower.
- Small businesses seeking simple, low-cost CDN solutions without complex integrations.
- Users requiring advanced bot mitigation or managed WAF rules, which are not fully supported.
- Organizations needing coverage in Africa or the Middle East due to absent PoPs.
- Users requiring advanced WAF, bot mitigation, or edge compute capabilities not offered.
- Enterprises needing extensive third-party integrations or Terraform support for infrastructure automation.
History & Notes
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