Company snapshot
| Category | BelugaCDN | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | active |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
BelugaCDN is a content delivery network (CDN) provider founded in 2014, designed to accelerate website content delivery globally at a low cost. It operates a dual-stack IPv4 and IPv6 network, focusing on delivering static content like images and videos to users across various devices. The service is utilized by small to medium-sized businesses, e-commerce platforms, and media sites seeking affordable CDN solutions. BelugaCDN emphasizes straightforward caching, real-time analytics, and easy integration with existing web infrastructure. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and operates as a subsidiary of Xcitium following its acquisition in 2018.
Microsoft Azure CDN provides content delivery services through a global network of edge nodes, integrated with Azure’s cloud ecosystem. It serves enterprises, developers, and media companies, offering caching, security, and analytics. The service supports web content, video streaming, and edge compute capabilities. Azure partners with Akamai and Verizon for its underlying infrastructure in some configurations.
Network & Architecture
BelugaCDN maintains 28 points of presence (POPs) across five continents, with 9 high-capacity “SuperPOPs” in key locations such as New York, Miami, Dallas, San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, London, Amsterdam, and Frankfurt. Its network is optimized for North America and Europe, with smaller-capacity POPs in Asia, Latin America, and Oceania, including São Paulo, Bangalore, Singapore, and Sydney. The provider uses proxy-based authorization and a private high-speed global network to ensure low-latency content delivery. Plans to upgrade Bangalore and Singapore POPs to SuperPOPs were noted in 2017, but no recent updates confirm completion. Limitations include limited presence in China and the Middle East, which may impact performance for users in those regions.
Azure CDN operates over 100 points of presence (POPs) globally, with strong coverage in North America, EMEA, and APAC. It leverages Microsoft’s global backbone and partnerships with Akamai and Verizon for optimized routing and peering. The service supports HTTP/3 and dynamic content acceleration. Limited public data exists on specific peering arrangements or regional performance nuances.
Feature comparison
| Feature | BelugaCDN | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
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
BelugaCDN operates on a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with no long-term contracts, starting at $5 per month for 500 GB of traffic at $0.01 per GB for North America and Europe. Higher-volume plans reduce costs to $0.005 per GB, with special pricing for enterprise users exceeding 10 TB monthly. A free trial of the Pro Plan is available. Request overages cost $0.0035 per 10,000 requests, and ingress costs are not charged. Full pricing details are available at https://www.belugacdn.com/pricing/.
Azure CDN uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with tiered pricing based on regions and usage. No free tier is offered, and pricing is enterprise-focused. Example: data transfer costs ~$0.08/GB in North America (subject to change). Full details at https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/cdn/.
Integrations & DevEx
BelugaCDN offers a RESTful API for managing properties, purging content, and accessing analytics, making it developer-friendly. Real-time logs can be exported to Elastic Search or Redis, with 10 million requests per month included free. The Grafana App provides usage metrics visualization. No public documentation confirms Terraform or CI/CD integrations, nor specific migration tools from other CDNs. The intuitive UI simplifies setup and management for non-technical users.
Azure CDN supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code. SDKs are available for multiple languages (Python, .NET, Java). Real-time logs and analytics integrate with Azure Monitor. Migration tools are provided for importing configurations from other CDNs. The API-first approach simplifies integration with CI/CD pipelines.
When it fits
- Small to medium-sized businesses needing an affordable CDN with PAYG pricing and no long-term commitments.
- Websites with traffic primarily in North America and Europe, leveraging BelugaCDN’s SuperPOPs for low-latency delivery.
- Developers seeking API-first access and real-time analytics for straightforward content delivery.
- Enterprises already using Azure services, seeking seamless CDN integration.
- Organizations needing global reach with strong North America and EMEA presence.
- Developers requiring edge compute with Azure Functions and Terraform support.
When it doesn’t
- Organizations requiring extensive presence in China or the Middle East, where BelugaCDN lacks POPs.
- Users needing advanced video features like HLS/DASH packaging or DRM, which are not supported.
- Enterprises needing robust edge compute or managed WAF solutions, as BelugaCDN focuses on basic caching and delivery.
- Small businesses or startups looking for a free tier or lower-cost options.
- Users needing specialized video features like HLS/DASH packaging or DRM.
- Those requiring detailed public data on network peering or POP specifics.
History & Notes
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