Stackpath vs Akamai

If you’re new to content delivery network (CDN) technology, it may seem intimidating, but it works for individuals and small businesses just as it does for massive corporations.

A CDN is a network of remote servers spread worldwide where your website’s files are cached (or copied) so as to accelerate the site.

No matter where your web visitors stream in from, your content will be served to them automatically from the nearest location so they can experience the fastest speeds possible.

The primary goal is to reduce the round trip time (RTT) and latency, but it also helps secure your site and reduce bandwidth usage.

Whether you own a simple blog or a huge business website, you can set up the simplest of CDN services in just minutes.

There are many CDNs on the market. You’ve probably heard of names like Cloudflare, KeyCDN, StackPath (formerly MaxCDN) and Akamai among others, which are hugely popular.

The challenge is in finding the best CDN service for your site that’ll help your website keep up with the dynamic changes in the world, and give your users a great experience every time, regardless of geographic location.

Plus, with the changes happening across the CDN industry, whatever you may have been familiar with in the past has probably grown considerably in recent years.

This post will compare StackPath and Akamai – two of the most popular CDNs – individually, along with their features, what’s different over the years, and their pricing.

We’ll also look at their pros and cons and give our verdict on which one is best.

Related : Best CDN Providers To Speed Up Your Website

Factors To Consider When Picking A CDN

The CDN market is competitive, so it’s easy to get lost in the tons of networks offering what each believes is the best service. But how do you choose between the various options given?

When picking a CDN service, there are four elements you need to consider:

• Geographical location of your web visitors
• Size of your website
• Bandwidth requirements
• Budget

The right CDN will not only increase the loading speed of your website, but it’ll strengthen its security while lessening the load on your server to boot.

So which of the two – StackPath or Akamai – does the job best? We’ll look at each service individually and finally give a verdict at the tail end of this post.

StackPath CDN (formerly MaxCDN)

If you’re familiar with MaxCDN, which has been popular in the market thanks to its reliable network, then you’ve probably heard about its acquisition by StackPath.

The latter was launched in 2016, and is a security-focused service with advanced features including access control, DDoS migration, and content protection.

StackPath is built on the MaxCDN and Highwinds platform, and it promises top-notch security and high performance content delivery on a global scale.

It does all this in a simple, affordable, and transparent manner, while allowing you to monitor the behavior or your content on each server.

Its servers are primarily focused in Europe (nine points) and the US (14 points), even though it’s a global CDN.

However, it collaborates with internet service providers and data centers in several countries in areas like Asia (five points), Australia, South America (Brazil) and Africa, which helps accelerate connections.

As one of the most secure CDNs, StackPath offers protection against DDoS attacks, a capable Web Application firewall and request overloads.

It also provides users with free shared SSL, or if you prefer, you can use your own SSL certificate.

Developers will find it a user-friendly platform with a straightforward web console to manage settings, and an efficient 24/7 365 technical support team via live chat or phone in case of any queries or troubleshooting issues.

Plus, they offer access to real-time information on website performance.

Though it’s about three years old, StackPath has spent the past two years extending and integrating its range of technologies, which include web security specialists Staminus and Fireblade, and VPN service Encrypt.me.

The result of this integration is an all-in-one set of web services: managed DNS, monitoring, powerful web application firewall, and a CDN.

It may have a relatively small network in Western locations, but it delivers speedy cache purging at a refreshingly simple price compared to other CDNs on the market.

StackPath SecureCDN offers a rich set of features that’ll help you deliver your content to a global audience in the most secure way.

Below are some of the tools your business needs to deliver the best content securely and reliably every time.

StackPath Content Caching

With StackPath, you get industry-leading cache depth and caching control thanks to its high-capacity SSDs (solid state drives) and advanced caching techniques.

This makes more of your content available for longer. You can fine tune the how, length, and where your content gets stored.

StackPath Instant/Fast Purge

At the push of a button, you can delete content from the StackPath CDN, whether through the API or customer portal, and it won’t be served anywhere in the world through StackPath.

StackPath EdgeRules

This tool helps you instantly control how your content is delivered. You can customize security measures, asset delivery, SEO, and your mobile experience to your liking from the Edge.

301 Redirects

From the Edge, you can also send your website’s visitors where you want them to go by creating a 301 redirect rule.

StackPath Cache Management

StackPath also lets you set specific cache or nocache rules based on the information requested.

Add/Remove Headers

Before requests go to the origin or back to the connecting client, you can create, modify, or remove any headers using the EdgeRules feature.

StackPath URL Signing

With this Edge tool in StackPath, you can protect your content by signing your URLs.

EdgeRules Included

StackPath provides ready-to-use rules, which you can activate to customize content protection and security, delivery, SEO, origin relationships, and mobile user experience, plus much more.

Free Private EdgeSSL Certificate

From the Edge, you can also serve SSL certificates to increase availability and speed up performance by taking the SSL workload from the origin.

StackPath Serverless Scripting

You can deliver personalized content, incorporate custom logic into workflows, modify end user experiences, and much more without having to manage any infrastructure.

For developers, serverless scripting allows them to focus on what’s important: coding their application.

When the code is ready, it’s deployed to the serverless environment without them worrying about things like where it’s deployed, server or container provisioning, creation of failover or scaling plans, and more.

This way, they can easily and simply deploy highly distributed, performant, and scalable global applications.

StackPath Segmented Downloads

Optimize delivery of your files using segmented downloading by tracking the file sections that users have already received or request the most.

StackPath Real Time Analytics

StackPath offers useful and detailed data points with insights on content delivery and traffic with advanced analytics and reporting capabilities.

StackPath GZIP Compression

GZIP compression reduces the size of files for common site objects like HTML and text, which enables faster content delivery and lessens the cost of bandwidth.

StackPath WebSocket Support

This tool enables the speed and security of your applications with support for dedicated WebSocket connections.

WebSocket is a communications protocol that can send data to clients without receiving requests because it’s Full Duplex, while facilitating real-time data transfers and reducing the overheads required.

Its real-time and Full Duplex nature make it useful where multiple users are collaborating, or when server-side data is updated regularly.

These instances include multiplayer games, social apps like multimedia chat and social feeds, real-time multi-user collaboration tools, live event reporting, and clickstream data tracking.

StackPath Pricing

StackPath price is simple and affordable. The basic SecureCDN plan costs $10 per month, which is ideal for personal blogs and websites with standard traffic and content.

It gets you 1TB bandwidth, support for unlimited requests and websites, global PoPs, free private SSL certificate for each site, SSL traffic, and network layer DDoS protection.

Upgrading to the Pro Plan costs $20, ideal for professional sites and blogs, while the Business and Enterprise plans cost $200 and $2000 per month respectively.

A custom plan is also available based on your request. There are no annoying hidden extras, plus you get features like DDoS protection and origin shield (a mid-tier caching layer) for free with the business plans.

All plans offer 24/7 support with 100 percent uptime guarantee.

StackPath Pros & Cons

Pros

• Simple, fair pricing
• No-hassle free month trial
• Easy setup and management
• Responsive support team
• No need to change nameservers
• Gives you full control

Cons

• Relatively few locations
• No EdgeRules in basic plan
• Average speeds
• No free plan (just a one-month trial)

Akamai

Founded in 1988, Akamai is one of the oldest names and most used in the CDN industry used by large businesses and enterprises.

Globally, it’s known for its speedy networks and robust infrastructure, but over the years, it has evolved from a simple CDN to a “cloud-based platform” that takes your apps and sites closer to the end users.

Its server locations are spread across over 130 countries, and the pricing is based on a pay-as-you-grow model, though the information isn’t publicly available – you’d have to request it.

However, it does have a rich feature set as well, though some come at an extra cost, and others may take time to become available.

It’s ideal if you have a large scale enterprise with a huge budget because you have to pay a premium to access its vast network of servers, which number more than 240,000.

The company partners with tech giants, like Apple and Microsoft, and powers some of the biggest websites on the internet, including Hulu and others, offering services based on Akamai patented technologies.

As a pioneer of CDN technology, Akamai offers benefits such as a huge point of presence based server network, which other CDN providers can’t do.

This means that if you have visitors in some obscure locations, Akamai’s servers are nearby and will deliver similar end-user satisfaction as it would to those in a large metropolis.

Its assurance, market breadth, and security offers high value, which is why it’s one of the best CDNs available, and probably why large businesses bank on it to deliver content to their large audiences worldwide.

Akamai’s team is also constantly refining its routing methods so the end users can get the best possible experience regardless of their location.

This shows the experience the company has in replicating and delivering content to users globally, on a by-need basis.

Its dedicated hardware set also eliminates the need for central data centers that require lengthy IP routes thereby increasing load times for the utmost in blazing-fast content reproduction.

Akamai is a great example of what industry-leading software, dedication, rock-solid hardware, and consumer focus can accomplish.

But what services does it offer, and how will it benefit you? Here’s a list of some of its powerful features.

DDoS

DDoS attacks are one of the top cyber threats businesses face today, so knowing and thwarting them the smart way should be a priority.

Akamai offers information on DDoS attacks and resources on their trends and how you can be protected.

Akamai Malware Protection

With Akamai, you can rest assured that any threats in the kill chain will be stopped early enough, so your users and data are kept safe from costly attacks.

Such threats include malware, phishing, ransomware, and data exfiltration among others, which scan enterprises for any security posture gaps and even exploit the DNS to extract your organization’s sensitive data.

Akamai Bot Management

This isn’t a full time job but helps deal with credential stuffing attacks that cost your business money, time, and user experience.

You can preserve your bottom line and protect your business from out-evolve, out-scale, and out-pace credential stuffing attacks.

Akamai DNS Security & Services

With fast and reliable DNS resolution, Akamai protects your DNS because it’s vulnerable to attacks.

This has major implications for internet security, service infrastructure, web reliability, and performance teams.

Akamai Secure Application Access

Akamai’s Enterprise Application Access solution provides secure, remote application access anywhere and on any device.

Users get seamless access to only the apps they need – not the whole network.

Akamai APIs

You can protect, scale, and manage APIs, which are the core of each digital experience.

This means their security, performance, and scalability are important in increasing your revenues while keeping your customers engaged.

Akamai DevOps

Akamai for DevOps offers a collection of tools, integrations, and plugins that’ll help you automate, monitor, and operate your workflows seamlessly.

Akamai Zero Trust Security

Akamai gives you a security model that enables growth for your business while protecting it from attacks on the network and security architecture.

Akamai Customer Identity & Access Management (CIAM)

With this feature, you can provide end users with trusted digital experiences. CIAM helps you build unified, data-rich, and highly secure customer profiles that meet compliance requirements.

This way, you get powerful insights that you can use to create and offer personalized experience for your customers.

Akamai API Security

In order to be successful, APIs need protection, scale, and governance so that organizations can create connections for employees, develop partnerships, and enable modern application architectures.

Akamai Cloud Migration

You can easily and simply migrate to the cloud so as to deliver a secure, digital experience across multiple cloud providers or in a hybrid cloud environment, built on web apps deployed on-premises.

Akamai Image Management

Optimized images help you drive customer engagement. With Akamai, you can learn how solving the image quality issue can enhance their experience while preserving the quality of your brand.

Akamai Mobile Performance

Akamai also helps you deliver better user experiences across apps and sites.

With more reliable and faster experiences, you can get more satisfied audiences everywhere.

Akamai IoT Edge Cloud

Akamai offers a secure and real-time cloud message service with steamed data storage, global reach, and MQTT to scale.

This meets business growth, giving you a massive edge in connected device messaging.

Other helpful features include insights on how to deliver legendary gaming experiences, OTT & Media Delivery that allow you to deliver broadcast-quality videos, and Video Delivery and Workflow tools that help you redefine the online entertainment experience while solving the challenges of multi-device consumption in a simplified multi-channel workflow.

Akamai Support

Akamai’s support team offers good services. They monitor all network and hardware connections 24/7 so they can respond anytime something happens.

You can reach out to them with any queries or issues, though they’ll probably have been aware of troubleshooting issues that arise.

They’re not only responsive, but also helpful and willing to work with you for a better service and overall satisfactory experience.

Akamai Pricing

You won’t get much information about Akamai’s pricing on their website, owing to its high-powered target market.

This is certainly frustrating, but if you dig into it enough, you can find prices for specific services.

It would be helpful if they had at least an approximate cost to expect, but you can contact them for a custom quote.

The sales professionals’ team will work with you to determine what services you need, the levels you need them, and make sure you get exactly what you need.

However, there are free trials that you can use to take Akamai for a test run.

These allow you to see the difference in using the service, which promises the best and most secure digital experience with faster performance, seamless media delivery, and stronger security.

Just fill out the free trial request form, verify your information via email, and start experiencing the power of Akamai’s Intelligent Edge platform.

Akamai Pros & Cons

Pros

• Easy to use
• Specialized web security
• Responsive support team
• Reputable and reliable
• Improves site load speeds

Cons

• Website may be hard to figure out
• No pricing information
• Not suitable for beginners

StackPath vs Akamai – Which Is Best

So this was our Akamai vs StackPath comparison.

StackPath has good security and monitoring functionality, plus its pricing is pretty flexible. It’s also easy to use and simple to set up and manage.

Plus, its reporting is of high quality with simple integration with its other products like the DNS and Web Application Firewall.

Beginners will find StackPath a great choice, plus you get a free one-month trial to check it out and see if you like it before subscribing.

There’s no information on Akamai’s website as to the pricing structure, but you can contact their sales team for more details.

This is frustrating, especially when you want to make a decision quickly, but it just isn’t available.

Akamai, on the other hand, is a highly advanced CDN worth considering for anyone looking for speedy delivery of their site’s content.

However, it’s aimed at enterprise users who can employ their own developers, and not beginners. The setting is complex with an outdated user interface.

Therefore, between the two, the outright choice would ideally be Akamai, but that’s largely dependent on the size of your business and website.

StackPath works for beginners and small businesses because it’s pretty straightforward with flexible and affordable pricing.

Akamai works best for large enterprises looking to deliver huge volumes of content faster and more reliably over a wide scope and to meet the needs of a global audience.

Its security features are also highly advanced, so are the performance enhancements, and more.

Final Verdict

Keeping your website secure and fast is important. You need to ensure that your users can quickly access the site no matter where they’re located.

With a CDN, you can simply and affordably accomplish all these and more, while keeping your data safe and your site protected.

After carefully evaluating StackPath and Akamai, it’s clear that the best CDN is Akamai.

It offers the most comprehensive feature set, except it’s aimed at large enterprises with a big budget and larger team of employees.

StackPath, as mentioned, is worth considering for individuals and small businesses with a leaner budget and fewer resources, but looking to reach a sizeable global audience with a market primarily in Europe or US.

It’s also a decent option if you want to save money.

Both services are great, but as we said in the beginning, find out the needs of your website and business so you can determine which of the two CDNs work best for yours.

Their functionalities will also be different.