CDN, edge compute & global acceleration
Amazon CloudFront vs Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium)
Amazon CloudFront maps to Azure Front Door (Standard or Premium), which combines CDN caching with global layer 7 load balancing and WAF.
Front Door (classic) retires March 31, 2027, Azure CDN Standard from Microsoft (classic) retires September 30, 2027, and Azure CDN from Edgio shut down on January 15, 2025.
Side-by-side comparison
| Aspect | Amazon Web Services | Microsoft Azure |
|---|---|---|
| Service | Amazon CloudFront | Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium) |
| Lifecycle | Generally available | Generally available |
| What it is | Global CDN for static and dynamic content, APIs, and video, with edge caching, origin shield, TLS, WAF and Shield integration, and pay-as-you-go or flat-rate pricing plans. | Global layer 7 CDN and application delivery network with caching, global load balancing, WAF, bot protection, and Private Link origins (Premium). Front Door (classic) retires March 31, 2027, and Azure CDN Standard from Microsoft (classic) retires September 30, 2027. |
| Pricing model | Pay-as-you-go per GB out to the internet and per 10,000 requests, by region (with a free tier), or a flat monthly plan. | A monthly base fee per profile by tier, plus per GB out (edge to client and edge to origin) and per 10,000 requests. |
| Docs | Amazon CloudFront docs | Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium) docs |
| Pricing page | Amazon CloudFront pricing | Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium) pricing |
| Exams | CLF-C02 SAA-C03 ANS-C01 Retiring | AZ-700 AZ-305 |
Key differences
- Tiers. Front Door Standard covers content delivery and custom WAF rules. Premium adds managed WAF rules, bot protection, and Private Link to origins. CloudFront has one service with optional features, plus flat-rate plans (Free, Pro, Business, and Premium) that bundle CloudFront with WAF, DDoS protection, and other services.
- Load balancing. Front Door is also a global HTTP load balancer with origin groups and health probes. CloudFront supports origin groups for failover, and multi-region routing usually adds Route 53 or Global Accelerator.
- Edge compute. CloudFront has CloudFront Functions and Lambda@Edge. Front Door has rule sets and edge actions (preview).
Pricing summary
Pricing models only. No prices are quoted because they change by region and over time.
- AWS
- Pay-as-you-go per GB out to the internet and per 10,000 requests, by region (with a free tier), or a flat monthly plan. Amazon CloudFront pricing →
- Azure
- A monthly base fee per profile by tier, plus per GB out (edge to client and edge to origin) and per 10,000 requests. Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium) pricing →
Certification exam mapping
| Exam | Provider | Level | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner CLF-C02 | AWS | Foundational | current Italian and German versions retire after Dec 31, 2026. |
| AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate SAA-C03 | AWS | Associate | current Italian version retires after Dec 31, 2026. |
| AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty ANS-C01 | AWS | Specialty | retiring The exam is being retired. The last day to take it is Dec 31, 2026. Existing certifications stay active for their three-year period. |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Network Engineer Associate AZ-700 | Azure | Associate | current |
| Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert AZ-305 | Azure | Expert | current English version updated Apr 17, 2026. |
Relevance is based on each exam's published scope, not a line-by-line objective match. Check the official study guide.
FAQ
What is the Azure equivalent of Amazon CloudFront?
Amazon CloudFront maps to Azure Front Door (Standard or Premium), which combines CDN caching with global layer 7 load balancing and WAF. Front Door (classic) retires March 31, 2027, Azure CDN Standard from Microsoft (classic) retires September 30, 2027, and Azure CDN from Edgio shut down on January 15, 2025.
How does pricing compare between Amazon CloudFront and Azure Front Door (Standard and Premium)?
AWS: Pay-as-you-go per GB out to the internet and per 10,000 requests, by region (with a free tier), or a flat monthly plan. Azure: A monthly base fee per profile by tier, plus per GB out (edge to client and edge to origin) and per 10,000 requests. Check the official pricing pages for current rates.
Which certification exams cover this topic?
AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C02); AWS Certified Solutions Architect – Associate (SAA-C03); AWS Certified Advanced Networking – Specialty (ANS-C01) [retiring]; Microsoft Certified – Azure Network Engineer Associate (AZ-700); Microsoft Certified – Azure Solutions Architect Expert (AZ-305).
Should I use Azure CDN or Front Door?
Use Front Door Standard or Premium. Microsoft's classic CDN and classic Front Door tiers no longer accept new profiles and are retiring, and Azure CDN from Edgio has already shut down.
Related comparisons
Official sources
- docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/Introduction.html
- docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonCloudFront/latest/DeveloperGuide/flat-rate-pricing-plan.html
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/frontdoor/front-door-overview
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/frontdoor/classic-retirement-faq
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/cdn/classic-cdn-retirement-faq
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/azure/cdn/edgio-retirement-faq
- learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/aws-professional/networking