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Cloud · head to head

Fastly vs Memcached

Fastly logo

Fastly

Cloud

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
M

Memcached

Databases

Distributed memory object caching system

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fastly bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe; Memcached no persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • They diverge on capability: Fastly covers Edge Compute, Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastly and Memcached actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastly and Memcached differ
AttributeFastlyMemcached
Pricing modelusage-basedOpen source, no licence fee; managed cloud billed separately
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted
CategoryCloudDatabases
Founded2011Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Fastly

  • Edge Compute
  • CDN
  • DDoS Protection
  • Real-time Analytics
  • Image Optimization
  • Video Streaming
  • API
  • Instant Purge

Only in Memcached

  • In-memory key-value cache
  • Multithreaded
  • Client-side sharding
  • Predictable memory use

What people use each for

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

Fastly

  • Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot Memcached
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Memcached

Memcached

  • Caching expensive database query results to cut loadnot Fastly
  • Session storage where losing sessions on restart is acceptablenot Fastly
  • Fronting an API whose responses are costly and change slowlynot Fastly

Where each one falls short

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

Fastly

  • Bandwidth is priced per region, and delivery to India, Africa and South Korea is $0.28 per GB against $0.12 in North America and Europe
  • The same traffic therefore costs more than twice as much depending on where the audience is, which is invisible until the bill arrives
  • The free allowance is 100 GB of bandwidth and 1M requests a month
  • Requests are billed separately from bandwidth, at $0.01 per 10,000 above the first million
  • High volume rates past 50 TB are not published and require contacting sales

Memcached

  • No persistence at all: restart a node and its cache is gone, which every design must assume
  • No replication or failover, so losing a node loses that share of the cache
  • Only simple key-value, with none of the lists, sorted sets or streams Redis offers
  • Values are capped at 1MB by default, which surprises teams caching large documents

Pricing, plan by plan

Fastly

Free
  • Free TrialFree
    • CDN
    • DDoS protection
    • Real-time analytics
  • Pay-As-You-GoFree
    • Usage-based pricing
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Memcached

Free
  • MemcachedFree
    • Full functionality
    • Self-hosted
    • No usage limits

Which should you pick?

Choose Fastly if

  • You need edge compute.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want cdn.
Fastly review

Choose Memcached if

  • You need in-memory key-value cache.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
  • You also want multithreaded.
Memcached review

Questions people ask

Is Fastly or Memcached better?
Neither clearly leads. Fastly starts at Free and Memcached at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fastly or Memcached?
Fastly starts at Free and Memcached at Free.
Does Fastly or Memcached run on more platforms?
Fastly runs on Web, Api. Memcached runs on Linux, macOS, Windows, Docker, Self-hosted.
Can I use Fastly for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Fastly best used for?
Fastly is most often used for serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn, running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application. Of those, serving static and dynamic content through a global cdn and running edge logic and caching in front of an origin application are not what Memcached is typically brought in for.
What can Fastly do that Memcached cannot?
Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Memcached covers In-memory key-value cache, Multithreaded, Client-side sharding, Predictable memory use.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fastly: Does Fastly charge based on usage or a flat monthly fee?

Fastly operates on a usage-based model with volume discounts. They offer a free tier with 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests for experimentation, then customers pay per unit consumed with tiered discounts as consumption increases.

Source
Memcached: Is Memcached free?

Yes, open source with no licence fee.

Fastly: What are Fastly's main service packages and their costs?

Fastly offers Network Services Packages ($1,500-$6,000/month baseline), Security Packages (custom pricing), Compute Packages ($500/month entry level), and Observability Packages ($1,500/month entry level). Enterprise solutions include custom quotes for high-volume deployments.

Source
Memcached: Memcached or Redis?

Memcached is a pure cache: simpler, multithreaded and very predictable. Redis adds persistence, replication and rich data structures, which is why it is the default choice unless you specifically want a cache and nothing more.

Fastly: Can I start using Fastly for free?

Yes, Fastly offers a free tier with generous allowances for experimentation including 100 GB bandwidth and 1M requests. You can start building free and only pay when you use additional resources.

Source
Memcached: Does Memcached persist data?

No. Everything is in memory and lost on restart, by design.

Fastly: Are there surprise overage charges with Fastly?

Fastly advertises predictable pricing with no surprise overages. The pricing structure is designed to be transparent as consumption grows.

Source
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