Azure Front Door vs Azure Content Delivery Network

Azure Front Door8.8Visit Azure Content Delivery Network7.9Visit

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

vs

Azure Content Delivery Network #8 in Content Delivery Networks 7.9/10 Paid ✓ 1 of 5 features Visit Azure CDN

• Azure Front Door fits best

  Azure teams needing CDN, routing, and security

• Azure Content Delivery Network fits best

  Azure customers needing basic legacy CDN delivery

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Side by side

Feature	Azure Front Door 8.8/10 Visit ↗	Azure Content Delivery Network 7.9/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	8.8	7.9
Ranking	#3 in Content Delivery Networks	#8 in Content Delivery Networks
Best for	Azure teams needing CDN, routing, and security	Azure customers needing basic legacy CDN delivery
Pricing model	Paid	Paid
Starting price	$35/unit/mo	$0.08/GB/mo
Free plan	—	—
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud	Cloud
Platforms	Web	Web
Support	Docs, Community, Tickets	Docs
Built for	Mid-market, Enterprise	Mid-market, Enterprise
Features Azure Front Door 1/5 · Azure Content Delivery Network 1/5
Image optimization	—	Not checked yet
Video delivery	✓	✓
Origin shield	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Edge compute	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Real-time logs	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Specs
Edge locations	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Our review
Pros	Global caching, load balancing, and origin failover Premium adds WAF, bot protection, and Private Link Integrates with Azure services and infrastructure tools	Global caching for websites, media, and large files Dynamic acceleration for non-cacheable content HTTPS, WAF, DDoS protection, rules, APIs, and logs
Cons	No free plan Premium starts at $330 per month Usage charges apply beyond the monthly base fee	No free plan Microsoft CDN Standard classic retires September 30, 2027 Azure Front Door is positioned as the modern replacement
Our verdict	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 →	Azure Content Delivery Network is Microsoft's cloud service for caching and delivering websites, applications, media, photos, and large files from distributed edge locations. It is suited to Azure customers that need global edge delivery,… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• 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

• Azure Content Delivery Network — where it wins

  • Global caching for websites, media, and large files
  • Dynamic acceleration for non-cacheable content
  • HTTPS, WAF, DDoS protection, rules, APIs, and logs

  Where it doesn't

  • No free plan
  • Microsoft CDN Standard classic retires September 30, 2027
  • Azure Front Door is positioned as the modern replacement

• Azure Front Door8.8/10 · Paid

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

  Visit Front DoorFull verdict →
• Azure Content Delivery Network7.9/10 · Paid

  A capable Azure CDN for core delivery needs, but a legacy service nearing retirement.

  Visit Azure CDNFull verdict →