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Azure Front Door vs AWS CloudFront: Which CDN Should You Choose?

Azure Front Door vs AWS CloudFront: tiers, WAF, DDoS protection, edge code, pricing and network compared, using Microsoft and AWS documentation.
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Choose Azure Front Door when your application and private networking run on Azure, and AWS CloudFront when they run on AWS. Both are global CDNs for static and dynamic content, both accept origins outside their own cloud, and both include network-layer DDoS protection. They differ in how they package the WAF, run logic at the edge, and bill for traffic. This guide compares them using Microsoft and AWS documentation.

How do Azure Front Door and AWS CloudFront differ?

Azure Front Door delivers content through 192 edge locations across 109 metro cities on Microsoft's network. CloudFront routes each request to the edge location with the lowest latency, across more than 750 points of presence in over 100 cities and 50 countries. Each works most closely with its own cloud's services, security tools, and billing.
1.Azure Front Door has Standard and Premium tiers. Front Door (classic) stopped accepting new profiles in 2025 and retires on 31 March 2027.
2.CloudFront has pay-as-you-go pricing and flat-rate plans that bundle the CDN with AWS WAF, DDoS protection, and Route 53 DNS.
3.Data transfer from an origin in the same cloud to the edge is free on both: from Azure origins to Front Door, and from AWS origins such as Amazon S3 to CloudFront.

Tiers and pricing

Azure Front Door Standard and Premium charge a monthly base fee per profile, plus meters for requests and for data transfer from the edge to clients and to origins, which vary across eight pricing zones. Microsoft's pricing guide uses example base fees of $35 a month for Standard and $330 for Premium, and Premium has a higher request rate. CloudFront pay-as-you-go charges for data transfer out from edge locations and for HTTP and HTTPS requests, with rates that vary by region.
1.Azure Front Door: custom WAF rules carry no extra charge on Standard or Premium; managed WAF rules and Private Link to origins are included on Premium and unavailable on Standard.
2.CloudFront pay-as-you-go: AWS WAF charges are added to CloudFront pricing, with a monthly fee per web ACL and per rule plus a fee per million requests.
3.CloudFront flat-rate plans come in Free, Pro, Business, and Premium tiers with no overage charges. Requests blocked by AWS WAF or DDoS protection never count against the allowance.
4.Flat-rate plans exclude distributions that use AWS Shield Advanced, and Lambda@Edge invocations are billed separately.

WAF and DDoS protection

Azure Front Door Standard includes custom WAF rules. Premium adds the Microsoft-managed rule set, bot protection, and Private Link connections to origins. Front Door includes layer 3, 4, and 7 DDoS protection and benefits from Azure's default infrastructure DDoS protection. For public IPs on origin virtual networks, Microsoft points to Azure DDoS Protection, which adds cost protection, an SLA guarantee, and access to its DDoS Rapid Response Team. CloudFront uses AWS WAF for application-layer rules, and every distribution gets AWS Shield Standard automatically at no additional charge, which defends against the most common network and transport layer DDoS attacks.

Edge logic and compute

CloudFront can run your code at the edge in two ways. CloudFront Functions run lightweight JavaScript for high-scale, latency-sensitive changes to requests and responses. Lambda@Edge runs Node.js or Python for fuller application logic: you publish a function to one AWS Region, and CloudFront replicates it around the world. Azure Front Door uses its rules engine for routing, redirects, URL rewrites, and caching behavior, with server variables and regular expressions on the Standard and Premium tiers.

Origins and private connectivity

Both serve origins outside their own cloud. Azure Front Door supports origins in Azure, in your on-premises data center, or with another cloud provider, and balances traffic across an origin group by priority, weight, and latency using health probes. CloudFront works with Amazon S3 buckets and with custom origins, such as a web server on Amazon EC2 or a server you manage. For Azure-hosted origins, Front Door Premium can use Private Link, so the origin does not have to be exposed to the public internet.

Which should you choose?

Start with where the application runs, then check the controls and the pricing shape against your traffic.
1.Choose Azure Front Door when the application and private networking run on Azure and you want Private Link to origins and Microsoft-managed WAF rules in one Azure profile.
2.Choose CloudFront when the application runs on AWS, you want code at the edge with CloudFront Functions or Lambda@Edge, or you want a fixed monthly price through a flat-rate plan.
3.Consider a third option when one edge has to serve applications on both clouds, or you do not want CDN, WAF, and DDoS protection tied to one cloud console. Cloudflare sits in front of any origin and provides unmetered DDoS protection at layers 3, 4, and 7.
4.Test with your own traffic, origins, and user regions before you choose.

Key Takeaways

✓Azure Front Door fits Azure applications and CloudFront fits AWS applications; both accept origins outside their own cloud.
✓Front Door Premium adds Microsoft-managed WAF rules, bot protection, and Private Link; Standard includes custom WAF rules.
✓CloudFront uses AWS WAF and includes AWS Shield Standard; its flat-rate plans bundle WAF and DDoS protection with no overage charges.
✓Front Door charges a base fee per profile plus request and data transfer meters; CloudFront pay-as-you-go charges for data transfer out and requests.
✓For one edge across several clouds, compare Cloudflare as a third option.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Azure Front Door better than AWS CloudFront?

Neither is better in general. Azure Front Door fits applications on Azure, especially when you need Private Link to origins and Microsoft-managed WAF rules on the Premium tier. CloudFront fits applications on AWS, with AWS WAF, AWS Shield Standard, and edge code through CloudFront Functions or Lambda@Edge. Test both with your own traffic and user regions.What to check before buying CloudflareHow a web application firewall works

Which is cheaper, Azure Front Door or AWS CloudFront?

It depends on your traffic. Front Door Standard and Premium add a monthly base fee per profile to request and data transfer meters, so the number of profiles matters. CloudFront pay-as-you-go charges for data transfer out and requests, with AWS WAF billed on top, while flat-rate plans bundle WAF and DDoS protection for a fixed monthly price. Model both with your real traffic.Data transfer from an origin in the same cloud to the edge is free on both: from Azure origins to Front Door, and from AWS origins such as Amazon S3 to CloudFront.What to check before buying CloudflareCloudflare Enterprise with Vigilbase

Do Azure Front Door and AWS CloudFront include DDoS protection?

Yes. Front Door includes layer 3, 4, and 7 DDoS protection and benefits from Azure's default infrastructure DDoS protection; Azure DDoS Protection for origin virtual networks is a separate service. Every CloudFront distribution gets AWS Shield Standard automatically at no additional charge, which defends against the most common network and transport layer attacks.Understand DDoS attacksRespond to a DDoS attack

Can Azure Front Door or CloudFront serve origins in another cloud?

Yes. Azure Front Door supports origins in your on-premises data center or with another cloud provider, added as a custom host. CloudFront supports custom origins, such as a web server you manage. Each still works most closely with its own cloud, for example through Private Link on Front Door Premium or free data transfer from AWS origins to CloudFront.Cloudflare Enterprise with VigilbaseChoose who operates Cloudflare

What happens to Azure Front Door (classic)?

Azure Front Door (classic) no longer accepts new profiles and retires on 31 March 2027. Microsoft provides a migration path to Standard or Premium. Run a cost review first, because the new tiers add a base fee per profile and a request meter.What to check before buying CloudflareCloudflare Enterprise with Vigilbase

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