Amazon CloudFront vs Azure Front Door

Amazon CloudFront9.2Visit Azure Front Door8.8Visit

Higher score Amazon CloudFront #1 in Content Delivery Networks 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 3 of 5 features Visit CloudFront

vs

Azure Front Door #3 in Content Delivery Networks 8.8/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Front Door

• Amazon CloudFront fits best

  AWS-centric teams needing a full-featured CDN

• Azure Front Door fits best

  Azure teams needing CDN, routing, and security

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Side by side

Feature	Amazon CloudFront 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Azure Front Door 8.8/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.8
Ranking	#1 in Content Delivery Networks	#3 in Content Delivery Networks
Best for	AWS-centric teams needing a full-featured CDN	Azure teams needing CDN, routing, and security
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Paid
Starting price	Free plan	$35/unit/mo
Free plan	✓ (best)	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Built for	Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Amazon CloudFront 3/5 · Azure Front Door 1/5
Image optimization	Not checked yet	—
Video delivery	✓	✓
Origin shield	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Edge compute	✓ (best)	Not checked yet
Real-time logs	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Edge locations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	750 edge locations with global content caching Edge compute through CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge Origin failover, streaming, logging, and AWS integrations	Global caching, load balancing, and origin failover Premium adds WAF, bot protection, and Private Link Integrates with Azure services and infrastructure tools
Cons	Advanced plans become costly at $200 and $1,000 monthly Image optimization uses an architecture combining CloudFront, S3, and Lambda The strongest ecosystem fit is centered on AWS services	No free plan Premium starts at $330 per month Usage charges apply beyond the monthly base fee
Our verdict	Amazon CloudFront is a content delivery network for websites, applications, APIs, videos, and other web content. It caches content at 750 edge locations, supports custom HTTP origins, and delivers content over HTTPS and TLS. Its feature… Read the review →	Azure Front Door is a managed global content delivery network for static and dynamic web content, applications, files, and APIs. It combines edge caching with global HTTP load balancing, origin health probing, routing rules, managed TLS,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Amazon CloudFront — where it wins

  • 750 edge locations with global content caching
  • Edge compute through CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge
  • Origin failover, streaming, logging, and AWS integrations

  Where it doesn't

  • Advanced plans become costly at $200 and $1,000 monthly
  • Image optimization uses an architecture combining CloudFront, S3, and Lambda
  • The strongest ecosystem fit is centered on AWS services

• Azure Front Door — where it wins

  • Global caching, load balancing, and origin failover
  • Premium adds WAF, bot protection, and Private Link
  • Integrates with Azure services and infrastructure tools

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Premium starts at $330 per month
  • Usage charges apply beyond the monthly base fee

• Amazon CloudFront9.2/10 · Free plan

  A full-featured CDN with strong AWS integration and plans from free to custom.

  Visit CloudFrontFull verdict →
• Azure Front Door8.8/10 · Paid

  A capable Azure CDN for teams that need delivery, routing, failover, and security.

  Visit Front DoorFull verdict →