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Akamai vs AWS CloudFront

Based on 52 and 396 real audits

View Akamai details | View AWS CloudFront details
MetricAkamaiAWS CloudFrontWinner
Performance3539AWS CloudFront
Accessibility8889AWS CloudFront
Best Practices8487AWS CloudFront
SEO8791AWS CloudFront
Security6365AWS CloudFront
TTFB814ms232msAWS CloudFront
Composite7172AWS CloudFront
Performance
Akamai
35
AWS CloudFront
39
Accessibility
Akamai
88
AWS CloudFront
89
Security
Akamai
63
AWS CloudFront
65
SEO
Akamai
87
AWS CloudFront
91
Composite
Akamai
71
AWS CloudFront
72

AWS CloudFront outperforms Akamai in 7 of 7 categories, with a stronger composite score (72 vs 71). Akamai leads in no categories.

When to choose Akamai

Akamai doesn't clearly lead AWS CloudFront in any category on the sampled sites — pick it based on developer experience, ecosystem, or existing team skills rather than the audit scores.

When to choose AWS CloudFront

Choose AWS CloudFront when your primary concern is server response time and performance. Its audit data shows consistent strength in these areas across the sampled sites.

How this comparison was built

Scores are medians across 52 audited Akamai sites and 396 audited AWS CloudFront sites in the BeaverCheck database. Every audit runs the same 100+ checks — Lighthouse performance, security headers, accessibility, SEO, server response time — against a real URL. No vendor input, no sponsorship, no affiliate links. Read the full methodology →

FAQ

Which is faster, Akamai or AWS CloudFront?
Based on real BeaverCheck audits, AWS CloudFront sites score higher on Lighthouse performance (39 vs 35 on average).
Which has better security, Akamai or AWS CloudFront?
AWS CloudFront sites score higher on security analysis (65 vs 63 on average).
Which has better accessibility, Akamai or AWS CloudFront?
Accessibility scores measured by Lighthouse WCAG 2.1 checks favor AWS CloudFront (89 vs 88). Both technologies can be made fully accessible with care — the difference reflects common patterns in the sampled sites, not inherent platform limits.
Which is better for SEO, Akamai or AWS CloudFront?
AWS CloudFront sites score higher on Lighthouse SEO signals (91 vs 87 on average), which cover meta tags, crawlability, mobile friendliness, and structured data. Content strategy and backlinks still matter more than platform choice for ranking.
Which has faster server response (TTFB), Akamai or AWS CloudFront?
AWS CloudFront sites show lower Time to First Byte (232 ms vs 814 ms on average). TTFB depends heavily on hosting and CDN setup rather than the technology itself, but the sampled sites suggest a meaningful difference in common deployment patterns.
Should I choose Akamai or AWS CloudFront for my website?
Both platforms have trade-offs. AWS CloudFront scores higher on overall composite score while Akamai may excel in metrics you care about most. Run a free BeaverCheck audit on a real site using each to compare the metrics relevant to your use case.
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