Company snapshot
| Category | Fastly | Uploadcare CDN |
|---|---|---|
| Status | active | active |
| Founded | — | — |
| Headquarters | — | — |
| Website | — | — |
| Docs | — | — |
Overview
Fastly is a global content delivery network (CDN) and edge cloud platform founded in 2011, headquartered in San Francisco, USA. It focuses on delivering fast, secure, and customizable content delivery and edge computing services. Fastly serves a range of enterprise customers, including The New York Times, GitHub, Spotify, and Pinterest, with a developer-centric approach. Its platform emphasizes real-time control, analytics, and edge computing capabilities. Fastly went public in 2019 and remains active, though it has faced challenges with outages and industry slowdowns.
Uploadcare CDN, part of Uploadcare, is a file management platform and content delivery network designed for web and mobile applications. It specializes in handling file uploads, processing, and delivery, with a focus on media optimization for images and videos. The service caters to developers and businesses, offering tools for content creators and engineers. Its customer base includes startups, SMBs, and enterprises needing efficient media workflows. Uploadcare is headquartered in Palo Alto, USA, and has been operational since 2011.
Network & Architecture
Fastly operates over 60 points of presence (POPs) globally, with a focus on major population centers for low-latency content delivery. Its global anycast network optimizes routing, but its smaller POP count compared to competitors like Akamai or Cloudflare may limit coverage in some regions. Fastly has strong peering agreements, enhancing performance for high-traffic sites. It excels in North America, EMEA, and APAC but has less presence in Africa and LatAm. The platform leverages WebAssembly for edge computing isolation and resiliency.
Uploadcare CDN operates a global network, though specific details on the number of Points of Presence (POPs) are not publicly disclosed. The platform leverages a multi-vendor CDN approach to ensure reliable content delivery across regions, including North America, EMEA, APAC, and others. It integrates with major cloud providers for storage and processing, optimizing for low-latency delivery of media assets. The architecture is developer-centric, prioritizing API-driven workflows and seamless integration with web and mobile apps.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Fastly | Uploadcare CDN |
|---|---|---|
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
Fastly uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with pricing based on data transfer ($0.12–$0.19 per GB) and requests ($0.0075 per 10,000). Additional features like WAF or edge computing may incur extra costs. No free tier is offered, and pricing targets enterprise users. Full details are available at https://www.fastly.com/pricing.
Uploadcare CDN uses a pay-as-you-go (PAYG) model with a free tier for low-volume users. Paid plans start at $20/month, with per-GB pricing for CDN traffic and storage. For example, the Regular plan includes 100 GB of CDN traffic for $49/month. A free tier offers limited monthly CDN traffic, suitable for testing or small projects. Enterprise plans are available for custom needs. Full details are at https://uploadcare.com/pricing/.
Integrations & DevEx
Fastly supports Terraform for infrastructure-as-code, with recent updates like the Terraform Provider 7.1.0 adding domain metadata and IPv6 preferences. It offers SDKs and APIs for custom integrations, CI/CD pipelines, and real-time analytics. Realtime logs and log-push capabilities integrate with monitoring tools like Splunk or Datadog. Migration tools are limited, but the API-first design simplifies configuration for developers.
Uploadcare provides a REST API and webhooks for programmatic control, with SDKs for JavaScript, Python, and other languages. Its React Uploader component simplifies file uploads in React applications. Real-time logs are available for monitoring, and instant purge is supported via API. No Terraform or CI/CD pipeline integrations are documented. The platform includes a dashboard for managing files and monitoring usage, aimed at developers and content teams.
When it fits
- Enterprises needing real-time control and analytics for dynamic content delivery.
- Developers requiring edge computing with Compute@Edge for serverless applications.
- Sites with high-traffic demands in North America, EMEA, or APAC regions.
- Small to medium businesses needing a developer-friendly CDN for media-heavy web or mobile apps.
- Projects requiring robust image optimization and video-on-demand delivery with simple API integration.
- Teams on a budget leveraging the free tier or PAYG pricing for low-to-moderate traffic.
When it doesn’t
- Small businesses seeking free tiers or simpler, budget-friendly CDN options.
- Users needing extensive POP coverage in Africa or Latin America.
- Applications requiring advanced video streaming features like HLS/DASH packaging or DRM.
- Enterprises needing advanced security features like WAF, DDoS protection, or bot mitigation, which are not offered.
- Applications requiring live video streaming, DRM, or complex edge compute capabilities.
- Organizations needing detailed network transparency or extensive POP coverage, as specific network details are limited.
History & Notes
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