Company snapshot

CategoryAmazon CloudFrontAzion Technologies
Statusactiveactive
Founded
Headquarters
Website
Docs

Overview

Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network (CDN) provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS), designed to deliver web content, APIs, and streaming media with low latency and high availability. It integrates with other AWS services like S3, EC2, and Lambda for seamless content storage and compute capabilities. CloudFront serves a wide range of users, from startups to large enterprises, particularly those already using AWS infrastructure. It supports static and dynamic content, video streaming, and edge computing through Lambda@Edge. The service is known for its global reach and integration with AWS’s security and monitoring tools.
Azion Technologies offers a global edge computing platform and CDN, focusing on performance, security, and scalability for digital applications. Founded in 2011, the company serves industries like e-commerce, finance, and media with solutions for web acceleration, security, and serverless computing. Customers include enterprises and developers building mission-critical applications such as AI, IoT, and real-time streaming. The platform emphasizes programmability and automation, integrating with modern DevOps workflows. Azion operates a global network with a strong presence in Latin America.

Network & Architecture

CloudFront operates over 600 points of presence (PoPs) across 100+ cities in 50+ countries, with regional edge caches for improved performance. It leverages AWS’s global backbone for efficient routing and peering with major ISPs. The service has a strong presence in North America, EMEA, and APAC, with growing coverage in LATAM, India, and the Middle East. Its architecture supports tiered caching and origin shielding to reduce origin load. Limitations include less penetration in Africa and certain APAC regions compared to competitors like Cloudflare.
Azion operates over 100 points of presence (POPs) across North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, with notable strength in Latin America, particularly Brazil. Its edge network leverages intelligent routing and peering with major ISPs to optimize latency and reliability. The platform uses a distributed architecture to support edge computing and content delivery, with capabilities like Edge Functions for serverless processing. Limitations include less extensive coverage in certain APAC and Middle Eastern regions compared to larger competitors like Cloudflare or Akamai.

Feature comparison

FeatureAmazon CloudFrontAzion Technologies
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

CloudFront uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with no upfront commitments. A free tier includes 1 TB of data transfer and 10 million HTTP/HTTPS requests per month for the first year. Pricing varies by region, with per-GB rates starting at $0.085 in the US and Europe, higher in regions like India ($0.109). Enterprise plans are available for high-volume users with custom pricing. Full details: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/pricing/.
Azion uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with pricing based on traffic, requests, and edge function executions. Enterprise plans are tailored for high-volume users, with custom pricing and SLAs. No free tier is publicly advertised, but trials are available for testing. Specific per-GB pricing is not disclosed without a quote, but costs are competitive for enterprise use cases. See https://www.azion.com/en/pricing/ for details.

Integrations & DevEx

CloudFront supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code deployments. SDKs are available in multiple languages (Python, Java, Node.js, etc.) for API integration. It integrates with AWS CI/CD tools like CodePipeline and offers real-time logs via CloudWatch and log push via Kinesis. Migration tools include S3 transfer acceleration and origin failover configurations. Analytics are real-time through CloudWatch dashboards, though RUM is not natively supported.
Azion supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code, enabling automated deployments. SDKs and APIs are available for custom integrations, with an API-first design for programmatic control. Real-time logs and analytics integrate with tools like Datadog and Splunk via log push. The platform includes a CLI and supports CI/CD pipelines for DevOps workflows. Migration tools are available to simplify onboarding from other CDNs, with documentation at https://www.azion.com/en/documentation/.

When it fits

  • Organizations already using AWS services (S3, EC2, Lambda) needing tight integration with a CDN.
  • Applications requiring global content delivery with strong support for video streaming and edge computing.
  • Enterprises needing robust security (WAF, DDoS) and customizable caching policies.
  • Enterprises needing a programmable edge platform for custom applications, especially in e-commerce or media.
  • Developers in Latin America seeking a CDN with strong regional coverage and low latency.
  • Teams requiring serverless edge computing with Terraform and API-first integrations.

When it doesn’t

  • Small businesses or startups looking for simpler, non-AWS-integrated solutions with lower complexity.
  • Users prioritizing deep coverage in Africa or specific APAC regions where PoP density is lower.
  • Budget-conscious buyers seeking predictable pricing without regional rate variations.
  • Small businesses or startups looking for a free tier or simpler pricing models.
  • Users needing extensive POP coverage in APAC or Middle East, where competitors like Cloudflare have broader reach.
  • Applications requiring advanced video features like DRM or HLS/DASH packaging, which are not currently supported.

History & Notes