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Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head

Fastly vs Packer

Fastly logo

Fastly

Cloud & Infrastructure

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
P

Packer

Cloud & Infrastructure

Build automated machine images

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; Packer packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • They diverge on capability: Fastly covers Edge Compute, Packer covers Image building.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fastly and Packer actually diverge.

Attributes where Fastly and Packer differ
AttributeFastlyPacker
Pricing modelusage-basedopen-source
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, Windows, Mac
Founded20112013

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

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 Packer

  • Image building
  • Multi-platform support
  • Provisioners
  • Builders
  • Post-processors
  • Variables
  • Data sources
  • Validation

Both cover

  • Terraform
  • Cloud deployment

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 Packer
  • Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Packer

Packer

  • Building identical machine images for multiple clouds from one templatenot Fastly
  • Baking golden AMIs and VM images into a CI pipelinenot Fastly
  • Creating immutable infrastructure artifacts consumed by Terraformnot 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

Packer

  • Packer 1.10.0 and later is licensed under the Business Source License 1.1 with IBM Corporation as licensor, not an OSI open source licence
  • The Additional Use Grant forbids offering Packer to third parties on a hosted or embedded basis in a paid product that competes with IBM's paid versions of Packer
  • Each version converts to the MPL 2.0 Change License only four years after that version is first published, and the Change Date is set separately per version
  • Alternative licensing for uses outside the grant must be arranged with the licensor rather than taken under the public licence

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

Packer

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Multi-platform image building
    • Template-driven
    • Provisioner support

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 Packer if

  • You need image building.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Windows, Mac.
  • You also want multi-platform support.
Packer review

Questions people ask

Is Fastly or Packer better?
Neither clearly leads. Fastly starts at Free and Packer at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fastly or Packer?
Fastly starts at Free and Packer at Free.
Does Fastly or Packer run on more platforms?
Fastly runs on Web, Api. Packer runs on Linux, Windows, Mac.
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 Packer is typically brought in for.
What can Fastly do that Packer cannot?
Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Packer covers Image building, Multi-platform support, Provisioners, Builders. Both handle Terraform, Cloud deployment.
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