Cloud · head to head
Fastly vs Rev
Rev
AI
Human and AI transcription, captions and subtitles priced per minute
- From
- Free
- Free plan
- Yes
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; Rev human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
- They diverge on capability: Fastly covers Edge Compute, Rev covers Human transcription.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fastly and Rev actually diverge.
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 Rev
- Human transcription
- AI transcription
- Captions and subtitles
- Legal transcripts
- File analysis
- Clio integration
- Rev API
- Speaker identification
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 Rev
- Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot Rev
Rev
- A law firm that needs a deposition transcript in a court-acceptable page format with a fixed turnaround and a published per-page price it can bill to a matter.not Fastly
- A documentary or podcast producer costing a project in advance, because human transcription at a published per-minute rate makes the transcription line item a known number.not Fastly
- A broadcaster needing compliant human captions rather than machine captions, where accuracy is a regulatory requirement and not a convenience.not Fastly
- A team with high AI volume and occasional high-stakes files, using the subscription for the bulk and paying the discounted human rate only where accuracy matters.not 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
Rev
- Human transcription at 1.99 US dollars a minute means roughly 120 dollars an hour of audio, so a long-form interview series costs more in transcription than most teams assume before they run the arithmetic.
- AI minutes are allocated per seat per month and do not roll over, so bursty workloads, which is how most media production actually behaves, waste allowance in quiet months and run out in busy ones.
- The product direction has moved towards legal and investigative use, so a newsroom or media buyer is choosing a tool whose roadmap priority sits elsewhere.
- Foreign-language subtitles are priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, an order of magnitude above transcription, which makes multi-language localisation of any volume of video expensive enough to change the plan.
- Human turnaround is stated in hours rather than guaranteed contractually on the published plans, so a hard broadcast or filing deadline needs an agreement beyond the standard terms.
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
Rev
Free- FreeFree
- 45 AI transcription and caption minutes per month
- Up to 5 files analysed
- No human transcription included
- Essentials$25.49/month
- 5,000 AI minutes per seat per month
- Up to 3 seats
- 10 per cent discount on human transcription, captions and subtitles
- Pro$47.99/month
- 10,000 AI minutes per seat per month
- Up to 5 seats
- 15 per cent discount on human work
- Unlimited$undefined/month
- Unlimited AI minutes
- Up to 500 files analysed at once
- Dedicated account specialist
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.
Choose Rev if
- You need human transcription.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- You also want ai transcription.
Questions people ask
- Is Fastly or Rev better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fastly starts at Free and Rev at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fastly or Rev?
- Fastly starts at Free and Rev at Free.
- Does Fastly or Rev run on more platforms?
- Fastly runs on Web, Api. Rev runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
- 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 Rev is typically brought in for.
- What can Fastly do that Rev cannot?
- Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Rev covers Human transcription, AI transcription, Captions and subtitles, Legal transcripts.
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.
SourceRev: How much is human transcription?
1.99 US dollars per minute with a stated accuracy target above 99 per cent, typically returned within 12 hours. Subscribers get 10 to 15 per cent off.
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.
SourceRev: Is there a free tier?
Yes, 45 AI minutes per month and up to 5 files analysed, with no human transcription included.
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.
SourceRev: Do unused AI minutes roll over?
No. The allowance is per seat per month and resets, which penalises irregular workloads.
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.
SourceRev: Can it do subtitles in other languages?
Yes, across seventeen languages, priced from 6.49 to 15.99 US dollars per minute, considerably more than transcription.
Rev: Is Rev still a good choice for newsrooms?
It works, but the subscription tiers are now positioned around legal and investigative workflows, so a newsroom should compare it against a tool built specifically for journalism.
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