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13 Best CDN Services for WordPress 2021 (To Boost Speed)

13-best-cdn-services-for-wordpress-2021-to-boost-speed

Want to know which is the best CDN service for WordPress to boost your site performance? Wondering where to look?

That’s okay because this article has a curated collection of awesome CDN services for WordPress to start with.

Slow loading pages make us promptly close the tab. As a result, the bad user experience affects traffic, revenue, lead generation, and SEO. Companies are scrambling to avoid this by putting up websites that load under seconds or even less than a second.

To make this possible, you’ll need a good CDN service to work alongside your hosting service.

What is CDN? How Do CDNs Work?

Basically, a Content Delivery Network (CDN) has servers in multiple locations spread around the globe. These servers store a cached copy of website data like HTML, images, and videos that reside in the main server at a single location.

And when an internet user views your website, the data request is directed to the server closest to the user instead of the main server. This decreases the speed with which it retrieves data and presents it to the viewer resulting in a pleasant user experience.

That’s why CDN services are invaluable for companies with global users. So, let’s learn more about these services, shall we?

Reasons to Use CDN Service for WordPress

It’s a no-brainer that CDN boosts a website’s speed. But, you may be wondering what other reasons there are to use a CDN service for WordPress. Well, to list a few:

  • Most CDN services also offer security features such as Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate.
  • Since the server requests are spread across multiple servers, the load on the main server decreases. This, in turn, lessens the chances of the main server crashing.
  • When the requests going to the server decreases, so does the bandwidth consumption. Hence, a sudden surge of traffic won’t rack up a hefty price.
  • You don’t have to worry about a server crashing because there’s always another one waiting in line for a request.
  • A fast WordPress site helps you rank better in Google search results.

13 Best CDN Services for WordPress 2021

Before we begin, here’s a quick overview of the best CDNs for WordPress below:

CDN Service Free Trial/Plan Pricing Integration with WordPress
Cloudflare Yes Completely free + paid plans start at $20/month Cloudflare plugin
Stackpath No Contact sales team CDN Enabler plugin
Sucuri No Starts at $199.99/year No additional configuration
KeyCDN Yes Pay as you go CDN Enabler plugin
Imperva Yes Contact sales team Standard process, No plugin required
BunnyCDN Yes Regional and volume plans BunnyCDN WordPress plugin
Amazon Cloudfront Yes Regional and custom pricing 3 step process
CDN77 Yes Based on traffic and custom pricing CDN Enabler plugin
CacheFly Yes Starts at $2999/month CDN Enabler plugin
fastly Yes Bandwidth and custom pricing Fastly plugin
Google Cloud CDN Yes Custom pricing Managed Google Cloud WordPress Hosting /
Install WordPress on Google Cloud
Jetpack Yes Free service JetPack plugin
Microsoft Azure CDN Yes Ask for quote W3 Total Cache plugin

1. Cloudflare

Cloudflare best CDN for WordPress

If you’re a global company serving clients around the world, then Cloudflare has you covered. It offers one of the largest global networks with 200+ data centers worldwide, most of which are located in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. So, you can bet your clients get access to fast-loading sites from anywhere.

Cloudflare CDN is also popular for its security features. It comfortably handles traffic surges and DDoS attacks on your website. For secure encrypted connections, you can get SSL certificates as well.

If you’re curious about the cost, it comes with paid and free plans.

Features:

  • Caches data by file types.
  • The maximum file size it can cache is 5 GB.
  • Its Anycast Network works to boost a site’s speed.
  • It can handle large DDoS attacks.
  • Provides cache optimization options like Page Rules.
  • Fast video delivery service.
  • It has support for HTTP/3.

Integration with WordPress:

You need to set up your WordPress site with Cloudflare by using the free Cloudflare plugin. You can install this plugin free from WordPress.org.

Now, all you have to do from here is sign in to your Cloudflare account and configure the settings.

Pricing:

Free Pro Business Enterprise
$0/month $20/month $200/month Ask for quote
Max file size 512 MB Max file size 512 MB Max file size 512 MB Max file size 5 GB
Universal SSL Certificate Universal SSL Certificate Universal SSL Certificate Universal SSL Certificate
DDoS Mitigation DDoS Mitigation DDoS Mitigation DDoS Mitigation

Our Take: This is a great option for individuals and companies who need fast performance but at budget-friendly costs. You already have a decent product with the free version, but even the paid plans are reasonable for all the security benefits added to the CDN service.


2. StackPath

StackPath best CDN for WordPress

StackPath is one of the best CDNs for WordPress. That’s because it does it all. Speed up your website, provide security, lower total costs while ultimately improving the end user’s experience. Also, you get to view the real-time analytics to understand how the CDN and your site are performing.

Besides, with EdgeRules, you can dictate how the CDN works during requests and content delivery. There’s also the built-in optimization feature with tools like GZIP Compression and Large File Segmentation.

Add to that the advanced security features, and you’ve got an amazing CDN service for WordPress at your hands.

Features:

  • Has EdgeRules to control CDN behavior.
  • It provides real-time analytics.
  • Private or free SSL certificates.
  • Fast download of large files like software and HD videos.
  • It has 50+ Edge locations.
  • Reduces bandwidth costs and downtime.
  • Built-in optimization tools.

Integration with WordPress:

You can easily use StackPath with your WordPress sites with CDN Enabler.

It’s a free WordPress CDN plugin that rewrites URLs and links your assets to the CDN.

Pricing:

Unlike Cloudflare, StackPath hasn’t detailed its pricing plans on the website. To know about the pricing plans and schedule a demo, you’ll have to contact StackPath’s sales team. Just fill the form on their page and they’ll get back to you.

Our Take: StackPath has everything a good WordPress CDN demands. So, if you’re looking for a trustworthy service with added benefits like security, optimization tools, and real-time analytics, we suggest trying it out.


3. Sucuri

Sucuri CDN service for WordPress

Sucuri is the right choice for anyone who wants uncompromised security for their website. Although it’s not a standalone CDN provider, its CDN service is just as good.

It uses a global Anycast Network to improve your site’s speed by approximately 70%. So, you get lightning-fast websites with the ultimate security. It’s a pretty sweet deal.

Moreover, you don’t need any extra configuration to use Sucuri’s CDN. Change your Domain Name System (DNS) records, and you’re good to go.

Features:

  • Advanced DDoS mitigation.
  • Blocks any hack attempts.
  • It’s capable of removing malware.
  • Smart caching options are available.
  • Web Application Firewall (WAF) in all plans.
  • SSL certificate for Pro, Business, and Custom plans.
  • There’s no limit on bandwidth.

Integration with WordPress:

It doesn’t require any additional configuration for integration with WordPress. Actually, it’s a part of the powerful Sucuri security plugin. So, just install the plugin and do the required configuration.

Pricing:

Basic Pro Business Custom Solutions
199.99/year $299.99/year $499.99/year Ask for quote
Scan every 12 hours Scan every 6 hours Scan every 30 minutes Custom
Single Site Single Site Single Site  Custom
Unlimited Bandwidth Unlimited Bandwidth Unlimited Bandwidth Unlimited Bandwidth

Our Take: WordPress users for whom website security is the top priority should consider Sucuri. It has been a leading name in this business for a reason. Plus, they’ve got pricing plans accessible to small business owners as well.


4. KeyCDN

KeyCDN best CDN for WordPress

KeyCDN focuses on what a CDN should do best, improving the speed of content delivery to end-users.

What’s more? Setting up this service is not complicated at all. It’s as simple as adding a domain, customizing the CDN, and integrating it with your Content Management System (CMS).

The cost for this CDN differs according to regions. Aside from that, it collects a minimum charge of $4 per month. Good thing is, you can even calculate an estimate of how much you’ll need to pay based on bandwidth consumption.

Features:

  • Image optimization and transformation in real-time.
  • Restful API for full account control.
  • Easy integration with CMS and frameworks.
  • It has a user-friendly dashboard.
  • Multiple security measures.
  • It includes a 14-day free trial.
  • 40+ data centers around the globe.

Integration with WordPress:

KeyCDN has a WordPress plugin called CDN Enabler for integration with WordPress. It’s free and pretty easy to configure.

You can refer to their support page for a step-by-step guide to the process.

Pricing:

North America/Europe (per month) Asia/Oceania (per month) Africa/South America (per month)
$0.04/GB for first 10 TB $0.09/GB for first 10 TB $0.11/GB for first 10 TB
$0.03/GB for next 40 TB $0.06/GB for next 40 TB $0.08/GB for next 40 TB
$0.02/GB for next 50 TB $0.04/GB for next 50 TB $0.06/GB for next 50 TB
$0.01/GB for over 100 TB $0.02/GB for over 100 TB $0.04/GB for over 100 TB

Our Take: With the price differing according to regions, Africa and South America appear to be at a disadvantage. Regardless, KeyCDN offers a top-tier CDN service to help sites perform at their best speed.


5. Imperva

Imperva best CDN for WordPress

Imperva is similar to Sucuri in the sense that they primarily provide cybersecurity with CDN service on the side. Its CDN network consists of 47 data centers and uses cloud servers for load balancing on local and global servers.

Imperva also claims to decrease bandwidth consumption by 60% and improve performance by 50%. Besides, it reduces downtime by mitigating DDoS attacks on your website.

Still having doubts? If so, you can test the waters with its free trial and decide after seeing how it works for you.

Features:

  • Reduced downtime.
  • It reduces latency to 50ms.
  • DDoS protection and other security features.
  • Improves performance by nearly 50%.
  • It decreases bandwidth consumption by 60%.
  • Only DNS change is required to start using it.
  • It uses cloud server balancing to decrease the load.

Integration with WordPress:

You don’t need a plugin to set up your WordPress site with Imperva.

Like for any other site, add your website and follow the steps suggested to complete the setup process.

Pricing:

Imperva also doesn’t have a pricing plan available on their website. Just like StackPath, you’ll have to go through the sales team for that. You can put forward any other queries you have in the live chat as well.

Our Take: Imperva is the best CDN for WordPress for individuals and corporations who need that extra cybersecurity along with a fast performing site. With the significant performance improvement it brings about, the end-user experience is also noticeably enhanced.


6. BunnyCDN

BunnyCDN best CDN for WordPress

BunnyCDN has made its purpose clear enough with its name. It boosts your website’s speed while providing excellent security to prevent any cyber-attacks.

It’s also one of the most budget-friendly products on this list. You can get started with a $1 minimum monthly charge and pay as you go.

Moreover, you can monitor a site’s traffic in real-time with its dashboard. It also uses Edge rules, so you can control routing, content delivery, and security as per your needs. If you run into any problems, the private Slack channel is there to provide 24/7 support for you.

Features:

  • Only $1 minimum monthly charge.
  • It uses Let’s Encrypt SSL.
  • Edge rules for controlling CDN behavior.
  • Real-time monitoring dashboard.
  • Private Slack channel for support.
  • Permanent storage of files with Perma-Cache.
  • It provides powerful security.

Integration with WordPress:

To integrate this CDN with WordPress, you’ll need the BunnyCDN WordPress plugin.

It’s free, so you can just install, configure and enable it. Simple as that!

Pricing:

Standard Network Volume Network
50 PoPs 8 PoPs
$0.01/GB for Europe and North America $0.005/GB for the first 500TB
$0.03/GB for Asia and Oceania $0.004/GB for 500TB-1PB
$0.045/GB for South America $0.003/GB for 1PB-2PB
$0.06/GB for Middle East and Africa $0.0025/GB for 2PB+

Our Take: BunnyCDN is the best CDN for WordPress sites that deal with high bandwidths. Its volume network plan offers an affordable service that won’t leave a hole in your pocket. It’s also comparatively cheaper than KeyCDN, Fastly, and Cloudfront.


7. Amazon Cloudfront

Amazon Cloudfront

Amazon Cloudfront is a developer-friendly CDN service. The Amazon Web Services (AWS) network backbone connects edge networks spread across the globe. It’s responsible for fast and secure content delivery to your end-users.

Integration with AWS Shield, AWS Web Application Firewall, and Route 53 provides advanced protection to your site and prevents DDoS attacks.

And say goodbye to slow videos because Cloudfront also has the capacity to deliver live videos and video streams in high quality.

Features:

  • 225+ Points of Presence (PoPs)
  • Multi-tiered caching architecture. 
  • It provides network and application-level security.
  • Programmable computing capabilities.
  • AWS services integration.
  • High-quality video streaming and live videos.
  • Intelligent traffic routing.

Integration with WordPress:

Configuring Amazon Cloudfront for WordPress is more complicated than other CDNs.

It involves creating a distribution, defining your origin, and configuring cache behaviors.

For more details, go through their blog on accelerating a WordPress site with Cloudfront.

Pricing:

Free Tier On-demand Discounted Pricing
Available for 12 months Based on regions Custom Pricing
50 GB data transfer out Ranges from 10 TB to over 5 PB Minimum 10 TB/month commitment

Our Take: Due to its complicated configuration progress, it can be hard for non-professionals to work with Amazon Cloudfront. But, at the same time, it’s a wonderful CDN for developers because of its features. So, we recommend it to people who know their way around programming and other technical aspects.


8. CDN77

CDN77

With PoPs located around 6 continents, CDN77 promises low latency and a cache hit ratio of 97%. It’s capable of handling traffic even during sudden spikes, thus preventing any downtime.

Along with the fast content delivery, it provides security features like DDoS/DoS protection and SmartWAF.

It comes with a client panel that’s visually appealing as well as easy to use. The dashboard helps you keep track of and analyze traffic, bandwidth, hit or miss cache ratio, and so much more.

Features:

  • It has PoPs on 6 continents.
  • 24/7 live support for customers.
  • Detailed analytics is available on your dashboard.
  • DDoS protection and SSL certificates.
  • It has customizable cache rules.
  • Multilayer caching.
  • Purge and Prefetch options.

Integration with WordPress:

Just like KeyCDN, you’ll need the CDN Enabler plugin to integrate this service with your WordPress site.

Pricing:

Preset Monthly Custom Monthly High Volume
For Up to 150 TB 150 TB – 50 PB 50 PB – 500 PB+
Based on monthly traffic Tailored price Tailored price
24/7 support Slack support Private Slack channel
Single global rate Single global rate Single global rate

Our Take: CDN77 fits the needs of global companies with huge traffic. The fact that they offer tailored prices for individual clients is a plus point as well.


9. CacheFly

CacheFly CDN service for WordPress

CacheFly is one of the best CDN for WordPress you can find. Video streaming sites and gaming companies can benefit the most from it.

That’s because it reduces the latency of video delivery down to less than 1 ms. Players from every corner of the world get to enjoy fast downloads and no lagging or glitches.

Users expect an even faster experience on mobile devices. So, CacheFly focuses on mobile content optimization. This means that it automatically optimizes images for mobile devices to boost their loading speed.

Features:

  • Latency of less than 1 ms during video delivery.
  • Websocket live video is available. 
  • Fast gaming and downloads.
  • Mobile Content Optimization.
  • Integration with multiple CDNs.
  • Servers located in 50+ places.
  • Optional addons are available.

Integration with WordPress:

To integrate it with WordPress, install CDN Enabler.

Simply add your domain name, configure it in the settings, and you’re good to go.

Pricing:

1 PB Plan Global Premium Elite Managed
Starts at $2999/month Ask for quote Free consultation
Basic support 50+ Global PoPs 24/7 Priority support
98% Global cache hit ratio Fastest global throughput 100% cache hit ratio

Our Take: CacheFly guarantees to provide the fastest CDN service anywhere. With its 100% cache hit ratio, it’s sure to deliver content to your end-users within the shortest time. So, if uncompromised speed is your priority, you should give this CDN a chance.


10. Fastly

Fastly best CDN for WordPress

Fastly is a CDN service for WordPress that helps you keep your website fast and secure. Its programmable CDN feature is useful for developers who want a flexible service that can be customized the way they want.

But, your website content doesn’t remain the same forever. You need to purge cached data regularly to keep your content up to date.

Fastly solves this problem with its mean purge time of 150 ms. For instance, news portal sites that display weather forecasts benefit the most from this.

Features:

  • Application Programming Interface (API) first approach.
  • 150 ms mean purge time.
  • Real-time logs for granular visibility.
  • It has a cache hit ratio of more than 85%.
  • DDoS and bot protection.
  • Dedicated support is available.

Integration with WordPress:

The Fastly plugin works to seamlessly integrate your WordPress website with the CDN.

You’ll need to sign up on Fastly first and add the service ID and API token to the settings to complete the configuration.

Pricing:

Essential Professional  Enterprise
Small companies Mid-sized companies Large scale companies
3 TB global delivery per month 10 TB global delivery per month Unlimited global delivery

Our Take: If you want to start your CDN journey with a free service first, give Fastly a try. Other than that, it’s great for people who need the lowest possible mean purge time they can find in a CDN. Plus, you’ll be getting security like DDoS protection as well.


11. Google Cloud CDN

Google Cloud CDN

Google Cloud CDN is one of the fastest CDN for WordPress. Thanks to the use of anycast IP. The distributed networks bring your content closer to clients all around the world. So, they can enjoy fast loading websites and you won’t lose traffic, revenue, and rankings.

This CDN is also integrated with Google Cloud services. So, you can use Cloud Monitoring and Cloud Logging to view data about latency and HTTP requests.

Plus, it has built-in SSL certificates, for which you don’t need to pay any extra charges.

Features:

  • Integrated with Google Cloud.
  • Uses global anycast IP.
  • 130+ locations.
  • No URL redirection.
  • Supports Google-managed SSL certificates.
  • It supports HTTP/2 and QUIC.

Integration with WordPress:

Making Google Cloud CDN work with WordPress is kind of different from what we’ve discussed till now.

You can either use a Managed Google Cloud WordPress hosting service. Or, you can install WordPress on Google Cloud and activate the CDN there.

Pricing:

The cost of using this CDN service for WordPress is calculated based on cache egress, cache fill, and HTTP/HTTPS cache lookup requests. A pricing calculator on Cloud CDN’s website will help you calculate the estimated cost of using its service.

Our Take: Google Cloud CDN would be best for those who already have WordPress installed on the cloud. Or, those who use a Managed Google Cloud WordPress hosting service. This makes integrating the service with your WordPress site trouble-free.


12. Jetpack Site Accelerator

Jetpack site accelerator

Jetpack Site Accelerator is a free CDN service for WordPress included in Jetpack. If you don’t know, JetPack is one of the most popular WordPress plugins available.

Its main focus used to be image optimization. This feature enables automatic image resizing in mobile devices for fast loading. But now, it caches assets like CSS and Javascript as well.

Overall it reduces loading time for a WordPress site. This naturally decreases bandwidth costs that surge because of sudden traffic spikes. On top of that, using Site Accelerator for WordPress is quite easy due to the simple setup process.

Features:

  • Fast loading images.
  • Automatic image resizing.
  • It hosts static assets like CSS and Javascript.
  • It reduces load time and total costs.
  • Quick and easy setup.
  • Comes free with JetPack.

Integration with WordPress:

No need to frustrate yourself with complicated configurations with this one.

You can install the Jetpack plugin and enable all the site accelerator options from the settings. That’s it!

Pricing:

Jetpack Site Accelerator is completely free for all WordPress websites using Jetpack.

Our Take: We recommend Jetpack Site Accelerator for people who are already using the Jetpack product on their WordPress website. That’s not to say the rest shouldn’t use it. But, you’ll have to pay a separate price for Jetpack to get the free CDN service.


13. Microsoft Azure CDN

Microsoft Azure CDN

Microsoft Azure CDN optimizes your website’s performance by increasing speed and decreasing the load on servers. That’s why you don’t have to worry about your site crashing during traffic spikes.

Azure CDN also provides advanced analytics. So, you can get insight into your site traffic and cached assets. Moreover, it handles cyber attacks like DDoS easily to prevent downtime and any loss caused by it.

Best thing is that if you’re unsure about buying this service, you get to use a free account before making the final decision.

Features:

  • Azure services integration.
  • It’s developer-friendly.
  • Advanced analytics is available.
  • It mitigates DDoS attacks.
  • Additional features and products available.
  • You can use a free account before upgrading.

Integration with WordPress:

You should create an Azure CDN profile first before attempting to integrate it with WordPress.

Then, install the W3 Total Cache plugin and enable CDN in its settings.

This article detailing the process of enabling the CDN will help you.

Pricing:

You have to request a pricing quote to know exactly how much you’ll be paying for using Azure CDN. If interested, you can also discuss cost optimization with a sales specialist.

Our Take: Azure CDN’s capacity and reliability make it a good CDN for everyone. But, it’s especially suitable for developers. The developer-friendly tools and Azure APIs let you customize the features any way you want.


Wrapping Up

To wrap it up, should we decide on the absolute best CDN for WordPress websites? But the thing is, these services are not one-fit-for-all solutions. Thus, the perfect option for you actually depends on what your requirements and budget are.

Are you looking for a service focusing on security, or video streaming? Or does any budget-friendly CDN work for you? You’re sure to find the features you’re looking for in the CDN services for WordPress listed here. So, go ahead and boost your website’s speed right away. And see how your WordPress website traffic, leads, revenue, and SEO take a turn for the better.

That’s all for CDN services for WordPress. However, they’re not the only solution to speeding up your website. You can also use speed optimization plugins and image optimization plugins.

And if you’re unfamiliar with hosting providers, you can through our handpicked list of best WordPress hosting services.

Share this article if you found it useful! Leave a comment below if you have any suggestion or feedback!

The post 13 Best CDN Services for WordPress 2021 (To Boost Speed) appeared first on ThemeGrill Blog.

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