CacheFly

CacheFly is a Chicago‑based CDN provider known for prioritizing throughput and latency performance rather than bundling a broad suite of cloud products. The company’s roots trace back to the early 2000s, launching its service in 2002–2005 and distinguishing itself as the first CDN to build around TCP Anycast for routing. Anycast assigns a single IP to many nodes; user requests are automatically delivered to the closest available edge based on network health and topology, providing natural redundancy and resilient failover during congestion or node issues. This architectural decision continues to define CacheFly’s focus on speed and predictable delivery. Network‑wise, CacheFly publicly cites 65–80+ PoPs and coverage across six to seven continents, with notable presence in North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. Third‑party directories and analyst sites list 50+ PoPs and detailed city maps, reflecting steady build‑out over time and strong regional diversity—including markets such as Johannesburg, Dubai, São Paulo, and Mumbai. The company’s messaging emphasizes high cache hit ratios (frequently marketing “98%” and even “100%” with specialized storage offerings) and sub‑second starts for video, aligning with its specialization in large‑file delivery and media streaming. From a feature perspective, CacheFly supports HTTP/2 and HTTP/3 (QUIC), TLS 1.3, origin shield/tiered caching, instant purge, signed URLs, image optimization, VOD and live video delivery, WebSockets, and real‑time log push. Its platform is API‑first, with documentation and analytics designed for engineering teams that need transparent telemetry and rapid configuration changes. Compared to “full‑stack” CDNs, some security features are offered in higher‑tier packages, while others (e.g., WAF, bot mitigation, or advanced edge compute) may be limited relative to hyperscale competitors—consistent with CacheFly’s identity as a performance‑centric CDN. Pricing is positioned to be flexible and transparent. The official pricing page outlines a free developer tier, business plans starting around $300/month for 10 TB, and enterprise tiers beginning near $2,000/month for 100 TB, with overage rates that scale down as volume increases. TrustRadius and industry blogs corroborate those ranges and note additional high‑volume, petabyte‑scale options, private nodes, and white‑glove integration for complex workloads. The company also promotes month‑to‑month billing to reduce lock‑in and risk for switchers, a strategy that became relevant during industry consolidation and the sunset of certain CDN offerings elsewhere. Performance claims are a central part of CacheFly’s narrative. Citrix/Cedexis and CDNPerf have published comparative throughput insights that CacheFly references in press materials, with headlines such as “fastest global throughput” and “158% faster than other global CDNs.” While specific results vary by region, network path, and measurement methodology, the consistency of third‑party testing in CacheFly’s marketing underscores its throughput‑first philosophy. The company supplements this with guidance on how to benchmark CDN speed and tune cache strategies, reinforcing an engineer‑friendly posture. Use cases reflect the architecture: media/OTT and streaming platforms, gaming studios handling patch downloads and instant startup, e‑learning portals, and software vendors distributing installers. CacheFly has announced partnerships designed to extend streaming capabilities—e.g., with StreamGuys for <1‑second, browser‑based live video across devices, and with Streaming Media Hosting for OTT/AVOD workflows—illustrating its focus on low‑latency media experiences at global scale. Case studies and product pages highlight “TLS edge termination” to reduce startup times and dedicated capacity per customer to guarantee consistency during spiky events.

CacheFly’s clearest advantage is architectural focus and execution. By building its network around TCP Anycast, it minimizes connection hops and reduces variance in routes, naturally balancing traffic and providing resilient failover. This design differs from DNS‑centric steering used by many CDNs and is particularly effective for throughput‑intensive workloads such as large downloads and real‑time streaming, where “from first byte to last byte” speed matters. The company’s persistent investment in Anycast routing and tuning gives it an edge in median and p95 throughput, as reflected in Cedexis/Citrix and CDNPerf comparisons that CacheFly cites frequently. Another differentiator is white‑glove, engineer‑to‑engineer support combined with flexible contracts. CacheFly offers 24/7 priority channels—including dedicated Slack—for enterprise accounts, plus month‑to‑month billing and custom quotes. In an industry where rigid pricing and multi‑year commitments are common, this lowers friction for migrations and multi‑CDN strategies. The official pricing page publishes concrete plan tiers and overage schedules, backed by optional private nodes and petabyte plans for high‑volume buyers. That transparency, plus tailored onboarding, attracts customers displaced by industry consolidation and those who value predictable costs for global delivery.

• Small Businesses (1-99)
• Mid Market (100-500)
• Enterprise (500+)