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Akamai vs Cassandra

Akamai logo

Akamai

Software

Leading content delivery and security platform

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cassandra logo

Cassandra

Software

Manage massive amounts of data with linear scalability

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cassandra has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Akamai only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price; Cassandra no support for joins across tables
  • They diverge on capability: Akamai covers CDN, Cassandra covers Linear Scalability.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Akamai and Cassandra actually diverge.

Attributes where Akamai and Cassandra differ
AttributeAkamaiCassandra
Starting price$1000/monthFree
Pricing modelquoteUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes
Founded19982008

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Akamai

  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Web Application Firewall
  • Bot Management
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Platform
  • API Gateway
  • Analytics

Only in Cassandra

  • Linear Scalability
  • Fault Tolerance
  • Multi-datacenter Replication
  • Tunable Consistency
  • CQL Query Language
  • Distributed Architecture
  • No Single Point of Failure
  • DataStax

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Akamai

  • Content delivery and web performance through Ion and adaptive media deliverynot Cassandra
  • DDoS protection, bot management and API securitynot Cassandra
  • Running compute, Kubernetes and managed databases on Akamai's cloudnot Cassandra
  • Edge compute with EdgeWorkersnot Cassandra
  • Zero trust access for enterprise applicationsnot Cassandra

Cassandra

  • Real-time applicationsnot Akamai
  • Content managementnot Akamai
  • User profilesnot Akamai
  • Mobile backendsnot Akamai
  • Cachingnot Akamai

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Akamai

  • Only the cloud computing services carry published rates; security and content delivery products require contacting sales for a price
  • Cloud pricing varies by region across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific rather than being a single rate

Cassandra

  • No support for joins across tables
  • No ACID transactions across multiple rows
  • Data model must be designed around query patterns upfront, making schema evolution difficult
  • Partition key misconfigurations can cause uneven data distribution and hotspots that degrade performance

Pricing, plan by plan

Akamai

$1000/month
  • CDN$1000/month
    • Content delivery
    • Global edge network
    • Real-time analytics
  • Security Suite$2000/month
    • DDoS protection
    • WAF
    • Bot management

Cassandra

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cassandra review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Akamai if

  • You need cdn.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want ddos protection.
Akamai review

Choose Cassandra if

  • You need linear scalability.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want fault tolerance.
Cassandra review

Questions people ask

Is Akamai or Cassandra better?
Neither clearly leads. Akamai starts at $1000/month and Cassandra at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Akamai or Cassandra?
Cassandra has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1000/month for Akamai and Free for Cassandra.
Does Akamai or Cassandra run on more platforms?
Akamai runs on Web, Api. Cassandra runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Kubernetes.
Can I use Cassandra for free?
Yes. Cassandra has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Akamai starts at $1000/month.
What is Akamai best used for?
Akamai is most often used for content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery, ddos protection, bot management and api security, running compute, kubernetes and managed databases on akamai's cloud, edge compute with edgeworkers. Of those, content delivery and web performance through ion and adaptive media delivery and ddos protection, bot management and api security are not what Cassandra is typically brought in for.
What can Akamai do that Cassandra cannot?
Akamai covers CDN, DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, Bot Management. Cassandra covers Linear Scalability, Fault Tolerance, Multi-datacenter Replication, Tunable Consistency.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cassandra: Does Cassandra support joins between tables?

No. Cassandra does not support joins or foreign keys. The data model requires denormalization, meaning data must be duplicated across tables to support different query patterns.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra offer ACID transactions?

No. Cassandra provides only row-level atomicity and isolation, not full ACID transactions across multiple rows or tables. It uses lightweight transactions via Paxos for per-row compare-and-set operations.

Source
Cassandra: What programming languages can connect to Cassandra?

Cassandra supports official drivers for multiple languages including Python, Java, Node.js, and Go, allowing applications to communicate via the native Cassandra protocol.

Source
Cassandra: Can I deploy Cassandra in the cloud?

Yes. Cassandra can run on any cloud platform (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) via Docker, virtual machines, or managed services like DataStax Astra DB, which provides a fully managed DBaaS option.

Source
Cassandra: Does Cassandra have a free option?

The open source Apache Cassandra is free. DataStax also offers Astra DB with a free tier providing up to 25GB storage and 25 million read/write operations per month.

Source
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