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Proxmox VE vs Fastly

Proxmox VE logo

Proxmox VE

Software

Open-source hypervisor combining KVM and LXC virtualisation

From
€120/year
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Fastly logo

Fastly

Software

High performance edge computing platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fastly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Proxmox VE per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers; 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

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Proxmox VE and Fastly actually diverge.

Attributes where Proxmox VE and Fastly differ
AttributeProxmox VEFastly
Starting price€120/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsLinux, Web, API, Self-hostedWeb, Api
FoundedUnknown2011

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

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 Proxmox VE

Nothing recorded that Fastly does not also cover.

Only in Fastly

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

What people use each for

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

Proxmox VE

  • Open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platformsnot Fastly
  • Cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisorsnot Fastly
  • High-availability clustering for disaster recovery and business continuitynot Fastly
  • Container deployments using LXC as lighter-weight alternative to Dockernot Fastly
  • Hybrid VM and container workloads in a single management interfacenot Fastly
  • Backup and archival infrastructure alongside primary virtualisationnot Fastly

Fastly

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

Where each one falls short

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

Proxmox VE

  • Per-socket licensing model: cost scales with CPU socket count, not vCore count, resulting in high costs for multi-socket servers
  • Linux-based host only; Windows hypervisors not supported, limiting adoption in Windows-focused organisations
  • Clustering and high-availability setup requires operational expertise and careful network configuration
  • Commercial support tiers limit advanced features (just-in-time access, network flow logs) to paid subscriptions
  • Smaller ecosystem of third-party plugins and integrations compared to VMware vSphere

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

Proxmox VE

€120/year
  • Community$120/year
    • Enterprise Repository access
    • Community forum support only
    • Per-socket subscription model
  • Basic$370/year
    • 3 support tickets per year
    • 1 business day response time
    • Stable updates and Enterprise Repository
  • Standard$550/year
    • 10 support tickets per year
    • 4-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates
  • Premium$1100/year
    • Unlimited support tickets
    • 2-hour response time for critical issues
    • Remote SSH support and offline updates

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 Proxmox VE if

  • You work on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted.
Proxmox VE review

Choose Fastly if

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

Questions people ask

Is Proxmox VE or Fastly better?
Neither clearly leads. Proxmox VE starts at €120/year and Fastly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Proxmox VE or Fastly?
Fastly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at €120/year for Proxmox VE and Free for Fastly.
Does Proxmox VE or Fastly run on more platforms?
Proxmox VE runs on Linux, Web, API, Self-hosted. Fastly runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Fastly for free?
Yes. Fastly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Proxmox VE starts at €120/year.
What is Proxmox VE best used for?
Proxmox VE is most often used for open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platforms, cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisors, high-availability clustering for disaster recovery and business continuity, container deployments using lxc as lighter-weight alternative to docker. Of those, open-source datacenter virtualisation for hosting providers and cloud platforms and cost-sensitive enterprise virtualisation replacing commercial hypervisors are not what Fastly is typically brought in for.
What can Proxmox VE do that Fastly cannot?
Fastly covers Edge Compute, CDN, DDoS Protection, Real-time Analytics.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Proxmox VE: What is the licensing model for Proxmox VE?

Proxmox VE is open-source and free to deploy. Optional subscription tiers provide technical support, priority response times, and access to the Enterprise Repository for stable update channels. All tiers include identical virtualisation features.

Source
Proxmox VE: Can I run Proxmox VE without a support subscription?

Yes. Community Edition (€120/year per socket) provides Enterprise Repository access with community-based support through forums. The core Proxmox VE platform is fully functional without any subscription.

Source
Proxmox VE: What hypervisors does Proxmox VE support?

Proxmox VE includes both KVM for full virtualisation and LXC for Linux containers. It does not support Xen or Hyper-V. Workloads on those platforms must be migrated or reimplemented.

Source
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