CDN & Protection

AWS CloudFront

Amazon's global CDN with a $0/month free plan that includes WAF, DDoS protection, Route 53 DNS, TLS certificates, and serverless edge compute — no overage charges.

Use Cases

Accelerate a JAMstack site hosted on S3 with global CDN and free DDoS protection

Protect a small API with WAF rules and route traffic through CloudFront's edge network

Build a full-stack app using Lambda + S3 + CloudFront, all within AWS free tier limits

Free Tier

$0/month Free plan: 100GB data transfer, 1M requests, WAF with 5 rules, DDoS protection, DNS, TLS, 5GB S3 storage.

How to Maximize the Free Tier

Sign up for an AWS account and navigate to CloudFront console. Create a new distribution and select the Free flat-rate plan ($0/month). Point your domain to CloudFront via DNS. The free plan includes 100GB data transfer and 1M requests monthly with no overage charges — if you exceed, you simply stop getting served (no surprise bills). To maximize, use CloudFront for all static and dynamic content, enable the built-in WAF with 5 free rules to block common attacks, and leverage the included Route 53 DNS for free domain management. The 5GB S3 storage credit covers small asset libraries. Monitor usage via CloudWatch to stay within limits. Combine with other AWS free tier services (Lambda, S3) for a full-stack free deployment.

Getting Started

1. Sign up at aws.amazon.com and log into the AWS Console. 2. Search for CloudFront and click Create Distribution. 3. Enter your origin domain (S3 bucket, ALB, or any public URL). 4. Select the Free flat-rate plan ($0/month). 5. Configure default cache behavior and click Create Distribution. 6. Once deployed, copy the distribution domain name (e.g., d1234.cloudfront.net). 7. Update your DNS to point to the CloudFront domain. 8. Test by loading your site through the CloudFront URL.

Pros

Comprehensive Free Plan: $0/month includes CDN, WAF, DDoS, DNS, TLS, edge compute, and S3 storage — rare bundled value at no cost
No Overage Charges: Flat-rate pricing means no surprise bills from traffic spikes or DDoS attacks
AWS Integration: Native integration with S3, Lambda, ALB, and the full AWS ecosystem for seamless deployments

Cons

AWS Complexity: Requires an AWS account and familiarity with the AWS Console — steeper learning curve than simpler CDNs
Free Plan Limits: 100GB transfer and 1M requests are generous but the 5 WAF rules are basic compared to paid tiers
Vendor Lock-in: Deep AWS integration makes it harder to migrate away if you outgrow the free tier

Alternatives

Cloudflare CDN9/10★★★★½ Gcore CDN8/10★★★★☆CacheFly8/10★★★★☆