Looking for a CDN provider but not sure which one to choose? In this article, we will examine some of the best CDN providers available out there and compare them in order to help you decide which one is best for your WordPress website!
Let’s crack on it!
Top Best CDN Providers for WordPress
The following providers listed below all offer CDN services (as you’d expect!). To avoid this article getting out of scope, we’ll only be focussing on CDN performance and can’t comment on other factors such as quality of customer service.
StackPath
The first of the most popular CDN providers we will examine is StackPath.
Stackpath provides a redundant worldwide network, and content delivery. It is a solid CDN service with loads of important features that improve website performance.
StackPath offers edge CDN capabilities. You can run code and execute scripts closer to the end-users so that dynamic content can be processed more quickly and with less delay. This is a common practice where there is high demand for streaming in a localized area, like a university campus.
Another great feature is Global Anycast, which leverages the network infrastructure to route incoming requests to the most optimal server location.
StackPath’s customer portal allows you to directly manage and configure various standard policies for your content delivery to align with your specific requirements.
You can set rules and/or restrictions for:
- Cache related items such as cache expiration, cache control headers, cache behavior.
- Content access related like URL rewriting, content rewriting, and redirection.
- Security related issues like DDoS mitigation, WAF (Web Application Firewall) protection, IP blacklisting, and whitelisting.
- Performance related practices like image optimization, script minification, GZIP compression
StackPath provides its own Application Programming Interface (RESTful API). It gives lots of potential to the developers:
- It allows programmatically management and control of various aspects of your StackPath account, such as CDN configurations, security settings, content management, and reporting.
- You can automate tasks, develop custom workflows, and build applications in order to leverage StackPath’s features according to your specific requirements.
- The API provides endpoints to manage various resources, like CDN sites, caching rules, SSL certificates, load balancers, security configurations etc.
In Stackpath you can easily customize your caching settings, SSL certificates, and even choose which data centers to use for optimal performance.
- Starting from $27.50 / month (2 sites)
- Pay as you use: $0.033 / GB
Includes:
- CDN Bandwidth: 1TB / month
WordPress integration: Multiple integration options using various plugins. For more info go to https://support.stackpath.com/hc/en-us/sections/360007782591-WordPress
Cloudflare
Cloudflare is another leading provider of content delivery networks with features that optimize website performance through multiple techniques.
Their network is distributed across numerous data centers worldwide where they store cached copies of website content.
They cache images, CSS files, and JavaScript on their edge servers and store them closer to end-users, reducing latency and accelerating content delivery. They further improve response times by automatically routing traffic to the server with the shortest network path(Anycast)
By leveraging various algorithms, they also intelligently route traffic, such as automatically routing traffic around network congestion or server failures, ensuring reliable and efficient content distribution.
Image optimization is included in Cloudflare’s features. By compressing and resizing images without significant quality loss, page load times improve even more, especially on websites with heavy images.
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They provide detailed traffic analytics and insights through a user-friendly dashboard where you can monitor crucial metrics such as bandwidth usage, request volumes, and visitor statistics. These analytics offer you valuable insight into website performance and traffic patterns.
Cloudflare’s free plan offers basic website performance with global CDN and also includes DDoS protection, SSL/TLS encryption, and limited web optimization.
- Free plan
- Pro plans starting from $20/month (Business on a monthly basis and annual plans for Enterprise).
WP integration: Apart from the common CDN plugins WordPress provides, there is the Cloudflare plugin dedicated for use with Cloudflare. Once you install the plugin, go to to the Settings -> Cloudflare admin page and configure the Cloudflare settings. There, you will find easy and clear instructions on how to get your Cloudflare API Key and then configure your Cloudflare dashboard..
KeyCDN
With a high-performance content delivery network and a user-friendly dashboard, KeyCDN is another great choice available for your WordPress CDN.
KeyCDN uses SSD-Powered Edge Servers to provide faster data retrieval and delivery. They also use techniques to reduce connection establishment times and improve throughput, as well as real-time analytics and reporting, giving you valuable insights into your CDN performance (traffic, bandwidth usage, cache hit/miss ratios and more).
Compression is also available, with the support of GZIP compression and SSL/TLS Support for secure content delivery.
KeyCDN also has good feedback on customer support, You can get assistance 24/7 through email, live chat, and a ticketing system. They also provide a great knowledge base with helpful articles on how to use their services.
Pricing: Pay as you go starting from $0.04/GB (Minimum $4/month).
WordPress integration: KeyCDN actually owns the CDN Enabler plugin.
CDN77
CDN77 is another CDN provider that optimizes web content delivery to users worldwide. They utilize advanced technologies to deliver content quickly and smoothly.
CDN77 prioritizes high performance by employing advanced technologies like solid-state drives (SSDs), TCP optimization, and route optimization. These techniques help deliver content with minimal delays and high data transfer rates.
Furthermore, CDN77 supports the latest iteration of the HTTP/2 protocol, offering advanced features and heightened efficiency compared to its earlier version. In addition, they provide complimentary SSL/TLS certificates, enabling secure and encrypted communication between end users of your website or application and your platform.
To alleviate the load on your origin server during traffic surges, CDN77 offers an Origin Shield feature which acts as a caching layer between your origin server and the CDN.
Real-time analytics and reporting tools are also available to monitor content delivery performance. It’s important to check CDN77’s website or contact their support for specific features based on plans and pricing.
It’s important to note that CDN77 offers a range of features, and the specific ones available may vary depending on the chosen plan or pricing tier.
Pricing: Starting from US$199.00/month for 6 TB monthly traffic.
WordPress integration: You can use one of the generic-purpose CDN plugins.
BunnyCDN
BunnyCDN is a reliable and highly recommended CDN provider for WordPress websites that offers a wide range of features to enhance the performance and speed of WordPress websites.
One standout feature of BunnyCDN is its powerful caching capabilities. You have control over advanced caching mechanisms, such as cache control headers and cache purging. This allows you to optimize the caching behavior of your website’s content.
BunnyCDN will automatically compress and optimize images without compromising quality, and supports HTTP/2, which facilitates faster and more efficient data transfer between the server and the client’s browser.
To assist with optimization efforts, BunnyCDN also offers comprehensive analytics and reporting tools. You can track essential metrics, such as bandwidth usage, traffic patterns, and CDN performance.
Pricing: Bunny CDN offers a flexible pay-use pricing structure based on your specific needs and usage requirements. You only pay for the actual CDN usage. The pricing starts at $0.01/GB for data transfer and $0.01/GB for storage. This flexible pricing structure makes BunnyCDN a cost-effective choice for websites of all sizes. On top of that, they offer a calculation tool to help you estimate the monthly expenses.
WordPress integration: By utilizing the BunnyCDN WordPress plugin available in the official WordPress plugin repository, you can easily configure and manage your BunnyCDN settings directly from your WordPress dashboard:
- Install and activate the BunnyCDN plugin from the WordPress plugin repository.
- Sign up for a BunnyCDN account and obtain your API key.
- In your WordPress admin dashboard, go to Settings > BunnyCDN.
- Enter your BunnyCDN API key in the designated field.
- Save the settings.
Once these steps are completed, the BunnyCDN plugin will automatically rewrite the URLs of your static assets, ensuring they point to the BunnyCDN servers. This optimizes content delivery, resulting in improved performance and reduced load times for your website.
Remember to thoroughly test your website after integrating BunnyCDN to ensure proper functionality and efficient content delivery through the CDN.
Best WordPress CDN Providers Comparison Board
In US dollars
| StackPath | Cloudflare | KeyCDN | CDN77 | BunnyCDN | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hotlink Protection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| custom SSL | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Version | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Free Trial | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Starting from | $27.50/month | $0/month | $0.04/GB | $199/month | $0.01/GB |
| Bandwidth Pricing | $0.033 / GB | – | $0.04/GB (North America,Europe) $0.08/GB (Asia) $0.10/GB (Latin America,Africa) | – | $0.01 /GB (Europe, North America) $0.045 /GB (South America) $0.03 /GB (Asia, Oceania) $0.06 /GB (Middle East, Africa) |
| DDoS protection | Yes (Free) | Yes (Free) | Yes (Paid) | Yes (Free) | Yes (Free) |
| Origin Shield | Yes (Free) | Yes (Paid) | Yes (Free) | Yes (Free) | Yes (Free) |
| Raw Logs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose a CDN provider?
When choosing a CDN provider, it’s important to consider a few key factors to ensure the best fit for your website. Start by understanding your website’s needs, such as the amount of traffic you receive and where your audience is located. Look for a provider with a global network of servers to ensure fast and reliable content delivery to users worldwide. Consider features like caching, which can boost performance, as well as support for modern protocols like HTTP/2 and secure connections with SSL/TLS encryption. It’s also crucial to assess customer support quality and reliability, so you can rely on them when needed. Take your time to read reviews and check for integration options with WordPress.
Is Cloudflare a good CDN?
Cloudflare is widely regarded as one of the best CDNs available. It has earned widespread recognition for its superior functionality and dependability. Anyone looking to improve their website’s speed, reliability, and security can benefit from using Cloudflare.
Cloudflare guarantees quick and reliable content delivery to users. They use a vast global network of strategically located servers all over the world, an intuitive interface, comprehensive documentation, and affordable pricing plans. As an added bonus, it also provides robust security measures like protection from Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, SSL/TLS encryption, and firewall protection.
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