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Cloud · head to head

Akamai vs Infracost

Akamai logo

Akamai

Cloud

Leading content delivery and security platform

From
$1000/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Infracost logo

Infracost

Cloud

Cloud cost estimates in pull requests, with governance in the paid tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Infracost has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Akamai no public pricing available; custom quotes required; Infracost usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.
  • They diverge on capability: Akamai covers CDN, Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Akamai and Infracost actually diverge.

Attributes where Akamai and Infracost differ
AttributeAkamaiInfracost
Starting price$1000/monthFree
Pricing modelquoteFree open source tool, then per month by run volume
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker
Founded1998Unknown

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

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 Infracost

  • Pull request cost diffs
  • Multi-format parsing
  • Apache-2.0 CLI
  • FinOps policies
  • Automated remediation
  • IDE integration

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 Infracost
  • DDoS protection, bot management and API securitynot Infracost
  • Running compute, Kubernetes and managed databases on Akamai's cloudnot Infracost
  • Edge compute with EdgeWorkersnot Infracost
  • Zero trust access for enterprise applicationsnot Infracost

Infracost

  • Teams that want an expensive infrastructure change questioned at review rather than discovered on an invoicenot Akamai
  • Platform groups enforcing tagging so cloud spend can be attributed to a team at allnot Akamai
  • Organisations adopting FinOps practice without buying a full cloud management platformnot Akamai
  • Engineers who want a cost figure in the editor while writing the Terraformnot Akamai

Where each one falls short

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

Akamai

  • No public pricing available; custom quotes required
  • Sales-focused pricing model

Infracost

  • Usage-based resources such as object storage, serverless functions and data transfer have no cost without monthly usage figures supplied by hand, and the documentation warns plainly that engineers otherwise read them as free.
  • Splitting production from non-production usage assumptions is not supported in the free usage file, which the docs attribute to a missing project filter, so that separation requires the paid product.
  • The step from 250 to 1,000 dollars a month is large and the Cloud tier includes only ten admin seats, with developer seats charged at a figure that is not published, so the cost for a large organisation cannot be computed from the pricing page.
  • Estimates are list price. Negotiated agreements, committed use discounts and reserved instance economics require SKU-level overrides available only on Enterprise, so the number in the pull request is not the number on the bill.
  • The share of the product covered by the Apache-2.0 licence is shrinking. Checks, automated fixes, policies and agent integrations are all hosted-only, so the permissive licence increasingly protects the estimation engine rather than the product.

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

Infracost

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1,000 runs a month
    • Terraform, CloudFormation and CDK estimates
    • Community support
  • Starter$250/month
    • 10,000 runs a month
    • Email support
  • Cloud$1000/month
    • Ten admin seats, developer seats charged separately
    • FinOps policies and cost guardrails
    • Dashboards and audit trails
  • Enterprise$undefined/year
    • SKU-level price overrides for negotiated rates
    • Business unit reporting
    • SSO with SAML group mapping

Which should you pick?

Choose Akamai if

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

Choose Infracost if

  • You need pull request cost diffs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
  • You also want multi-format parsing.
Infracost review

Questions people ask

Is Akamai or Infracost better?
Neither clearly leads. Akamai starts at $1000/month and Infracost at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Akamai or Infracost?
Infracost has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $1000/month for Akamai and Free for Infracost.
Does Akamai or Infracost run on more platforms?
Akamai runs on Web, Api. Infracost runs on Web, macOS, Linux, Windows, Docker.
Can I use Infracost for free?
Yes. Infracost 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 Infracost is typically brought in for.
What can Akamai do that Infracost cannot?
Akamai covers CDN, DDoS Protection, Web Application Firewall, Bot Management. Infracost covers Pull request cost diffs, Multi-format parsing, Apache-2.0 CLI, FinOps policies.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Akamai: How is Akamai pricing structured?

Akamai emphasizes straightforward pricing with no hidden fees, no egress surprises, and no vendor lock-in, but specific pricing is not published. Regional pricing pages exist for North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and other areas, with customers directed to contact sales.

Source
Infracost: Is the open source version genuinely useful on its own?

Yes, for estimation. It parses your definitions and produces breakdowns and diffs locally. What it does not do is comment on pull requests, enforce policy or report across an organisation, all of which are hosted-only.

Akamai: Does Akamai offer a free trial?

Akamai offers a promotional trial with $100 in credits for Akamai Cloud, though conditions apply.

Source
Infracost: Will the estimate match my cloud bill?

No. It is list price. Committed use discounts, enterprise agreements and reserved instances need SKU-level overrides that sit in the Enterprise tier.

Infracost: Why do my S3 and Lambda resources show no cost?

Usage-based resources need monthly usage values supplied in a usage file or defined centrally. Without them they estimate at zero, which is the documented behaviour and the most common way the tool misleads.

Infracost: Has the licence ever changed?

No. The command line tool has been Apache 2.0 throughout, with no Business Source or AGPL episode, which is unusual in this category.

Infracost: What is a run?

Not defined on the public pricing page, and the run allowance is what separates the free and Starter tiers, so establish the definition before choosing between them.

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