Before we get into the comparison with these two services, we need to understand what CDN is first. When we talk about CDN we are talking about the content delivery network which is a large group of web servers that are located in different locations worldwide. The different servers are used to store the website static files, images, and JavaScript. A CDN is excellent for people worldwide to access a website. If you consider the further away a person is from your hosting server, the longer it will take for this person to access your site. With CDN a person can easily get to your site quicker because there will be a server that is closer to their location.
When we compare CloudFlare and MaxCDN we need to realize that both these companies offer CDN, however, these two companies have distinctly different types of service they offer you. Now that you understand what CDN is, it is time to compare the two services and see what each one has to offer.
CloudFlare:
The CloudFlare has a global network of data centers around the world. There are 31 data centers that are located in 6 different continents. When you use this company, you'll receive up-to-date notifications about the performance of each data center and where it is located.
This hosting company offers you a large variety of ways to help optimize your website and also provides you with many safeguards to protect your site against DDoS attacks, malicious bots, SQL injections, and comment spam.
CloudFlare has fantastic security that allows you to pass all your website traffic through their networks before it reaches your site. This is an excellent way to protect your website against malicious attacks and protect your content. There are many different pages you can use and customize on your dashboard. You have your security setting, an analytics page that displays complete reports about your website traffic, caching level, image optimization, hotlink prevention, and email address obfuscation. There are only a few of the great services the company has to offer.
MaxCDN:
MaxCDN has a total of 57 different data centers spread out over North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They have 31 data centers in Europe alone, 22 in North America, 1 in Australia, and 3 in Asia. The company servers use a 10GB connection and they have partnered with many of the major internet service providers worldwide to help speed up the mobile connection worldwide.
If you'd like to move a WordPress site to MaxCDN, you'll need to use a caching plugin such as W3 Total Cache or another one like WP Rocket in order to run the site on their servers. The number of configuration options you'll have with your WP account will depend on the caching plugin you've chosen to use.
With MaxCDN you have a higher level of control that allows you to store cached files at their metdna-cdn.com or even at a custom domain of your choosing. Furthermore, the company will divide your files into three different types and store each of the types on servers in a particular zone. Your files are stored in the pull zones, push zones and also in the vod zones.
Pricing:
CloudFlare has 4 different plans for you to choose from. They offer a free plan and go up from there. The enterprise plan will cost $5000 per month and is excellent for large companies.
MaxCDN plans are based on the amount of bandwidth that you need for your website. The cheapest plan is $9 a month and offers you 10GB of bandwidth to use for your site. If you need more bandwidth or use more each month you'll be charged an additional $0.08 per GB used. If you need 1TB you're looking at $79 per month.
I'm curious what is the best option for a website that needs CDN? I'd like to host my side with a company that offers CDN. Who would you recommend?
When we compare CloudFlare and MaxCDN we need to realize that both these companies offer CDN, however, these two companies have distinctly different types of service they offer you. Now that you understand what CDN is, it is time to compare the two services and see what each one has to offer.
CloudFlare:
The CloudFlare has a global network of data centers around the world. There are 31 data centers that are located in 6 different continents. When you use this company, you'll receive up-to-date notifications about the performance of each data center and where it is located.
This hosting company offers you a large variety of ways to help optimize your website and also provides you with many safeguards to protect your site against DDoS attacks, malicious bots, SQL injections, and comment spam.
CloudFlare has fantastic security that allows you to pass all your website traffic through their networks before it reaches your site. This is an excellent way to protect your website against malicious attacks and protect your content. There are many different pages you can use and customize on your dashboard. You have your security setting, an analytics page that displays complete reports about your website traffic, caching level, image optimization, hotlink prevention, and email address obfuscation. There are only a few of the great services the company has to offer.
MaxCDN:
MaxCDN has a total of 57 different data centers spread out over North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. They have 31 data centers in Europe alone, 22 in North America, 1 in Australia, and 3 in Asia. The company servers use a 10GB connection and they have partnered with many of the major internet service providers worldwide to help speed up the mobile connection worldwide.
If you'd like to move a WordPress site to MaxCDN, you'll need to use a caching plugin such as W3 Total Cache or another one like WP Rocket in order to run the site on their servers. The number of configuration options you'll have with your WP account will depend on the caching plugin you've chosen to use.
With MaxCDN you have a higher level of control that allows you to store cached files at their metdna-cdn.com or even at a custom domain of your choosing. Furthermore, the company will divide your files into three different types and store each of the types on servers in a particular zone. Your files are stored in the pull zones, push zones and also in the vod zones.
Pricing:
CloudFlare has 4 different plans for you to choose from. They offer a free plan and go up from there. The enterprise plan will cost $5000 per month and is excellent for large companies.
MaxCDN plans are based on the amount of bandwidth that you need for your website. The cheapest plan is $9 a month and offers you 10GB of bandwidth to use for your site. If you need more bandwidth or use more each month you'll be charged an additional $0.08 per GB used. If you need 1TB you're looking at $79 per month.
I'm curious what is the best option for a website that needs CDN? I'd like to host my side with a company that offers CDN. Who would you recommend?