Cloud & Infrastructure · head to head
IBM Cloud vs Fastly
IBM Cloud
Cloud & Infrastructure
Enterprise cloud solutions from a trusted partner
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Fastly
Cloud & Infrastructure
High performance edge computing platform
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: IBM Cloud the USD 200 starter cloud credit is valid for 30 days only; 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
- They diverge on capability: IBM Cloud covers Virtual Servers, Fastly covers Edge Compute.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which IBM Cloud and Fastly actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (usage-based), 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 IBM Cloud
- Virtual Servers
- Bare Metal
- Cloud Foundry
- Kubernetes
- Watson AI
- Blockchain
- Databases
- API Gateway
Only in Fastly
- Edge Compute
- CDN
- DDoS Protection
- Real-time Analytics
- Image Optimization
- Video Streaming
- API
- Instant Purge
Both cover
- Terraform
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
IBM Cloud
- Running containerized and VM workloads on IBM's public cloudnot Fastly
- Building on Watson APIs and IBM middleware as managed servicesnot Fastly
Fastly
- Serving static and dynamic content through a global CDNnot IBM Cloud
- Running edge logic and caching in front of an origin applicationnot IBM Cloud
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
IBM Cloud
- The USD 200 starter cloud credit is valid for 30 days only
- The larger promotional credits are time boxed: USD 1,000 for Bare Metal Servers for VPC over 120 days, USD 2,500 for Power Virtual Server over 90 days, and USD 5,000 for Backup and Recovery over 90 days
- The USD 5,000 Backup and Recovery promotion is valid for new clients only and requires a checkout promo code
- The listed promotions carry an expiry date of 31 December 2026
- Beyond the free tier the account is pay as you go, so cost tracks usage with no published cap
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
Pricing, plan by plan
IBM Cloud
Free- Lite PlanFree
- Free services
- Limited resources
- 30-day trial
- Standard PlanFree
- Pay-as-you-go
- Enterprise support
- Advanced services
Fastly
Free- Free TrialFree
- CDN
- DDoS protection
- Real-time analytics
- Pay-As-You-GoFree
- Usage-based pricing
- Advanced features
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose IBM Cloud if
- You need virtual servers.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli.
- You also want bare metal.
Choose Fastly if
- You need edge compute.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Api.
- You also want cdn.
Questions people ask
- Is IBM Cloud or Fastly better?
- Neither clearly leads. IBM Cloud starts at Free and Fastly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, IBM Cloud or Fastly?
- IBM Cloud starts at Free and Fastly at Free.
- Does IBM Cloud or Fastly run on more platforms?
- IBM Cloud runs on Linux, Windows, Api, Cli. Fastly runs on Web, Api.
- Can I use IBM Cloud for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is IBM Cloud best used for?
- IBM Cloud is most often used for running containerized and vm workloads on ibm's public cloud, building on watson apis and ibm middleware as managed services. Of those, running containerized and vm workloads on ibm's public cloud and building on watson apis and ibm middleware as managed services are not what Fastly is typically brought in for.
- What can IBM Cloud do that Fastly cannot?
- IBM Cloud covers Virtual Servers, Bare Metal, Cloud Foundry, Kubernetes. Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics. Both handle Terraform, Cloud deployment.