Built-In CDN or Add Your Own?
A CDN serves your pages and files from a server near each visitor. Some hosts include one, and standalone CDNs start at $0 a month. This guide compares both on prices read from each provider's own pages in October 2026.
Written by Tom George · How we research hosts
Do You Need a CDN?
A page that loads fast for a visitor next door can crawl for someone on the other side of the world. A content delivery network (CDN) fixes part of that by serving copies of your pages and files from a server near each visitor.
Some hosts include a CDN in the plan price, and standalone CDNs start at $0 a month. So the real question is whether you need a second one.
This guide compares both on prices read from each provider's own pages in October 2026. The verdict comes first, and the tables below back it up.
Use the CDN your host already includes; add Cloudflare Free if it has none. Kinsta, Rocket.net and Pressable bundle a CDN with edge caching, so a second one rarely pays off. For large media or video traffic, Bunny.net's per-GB pricing is the simplest to budget; CloudFront and Fastly suit teams that already work in those ecosystems.
Choosing a host as well? See our Kinsta review and Pressable review for plans with a CDN included, or compare Kinsta and Rocket.net in our side-by-side.
What a CDN Does, and What It Cannot
A content delivery network keeps copies of your pages, images and scripts on servers around the world and answers each visitor from the nearest one. For a page that can be cached, the distance to your own server stops mattering. Cart, checkout and logged-in pages cannot be cached, so they still reach your origin server, which is why server location and speed still count (see our server response time guide and, for Indian visitors, the India speed guide).
Hosts That Include a CDN
| Host | CDN included | Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Kinsta | Cloudflare-powered CDN with edge caching, on all plans | 260+ POPs |
| Rocket.net | Enterprise Edge CDN, on every plan | 330 edge locations |
| Pressable | Edge cache on every plan | 28 points of presence |
| Cloudways | Cloudflare Enterprise add-on, $4.99 per domain per month | Cloudflare network |
| WP Engine | Standard Cloudflare CDN on Essential; Global Edge Security is a paid add-on | Cloudflare network |
Reach figures are each host's own claims, read in October 2026. If your host's CDN already serves cached pages, check the cache header before adding another layer.
Standalone CDNs Compared
| Provider | Pricing (October 2026) | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | Free $0; Pro $20/month billed annually ($25 monthly); Business $200 ($250 monthly); Enterprise custom. CDN, DDoS protection and WAF on every plan | Most WordPress sites that need a CDN |
| Bunny.net | Standard network $0.01/GB in Europe and North America, $0.03 in Asia and Oceania, $0.045 in South America, $0.06 in the Middle East and Africa; Volume network $0.005/GB; $1 monthly minimum; 14-day trial | Media and download-heavy sites, predictable per-GB cost |
| Amazon CloudFront | Flat-rate plans: Free (100GB, 1M requests), Pro $15/month, Business $200, Premium $1,000; pay-as-you-go also available | Sites already on AWS |
| Fastly | Free tier up to 100GB; pay-as-you-go from $0.12/GB (North America, Europe) and $0.28/GB (India) after the free tier; enterprise custom | Teams that need edge logic and fine control |
Sources: cloudflare.com/plans, bunny.net/pricing, aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/pricing and fastly.com/pricing, read 12 October 2026. Prices exclude tax and change; confirm before you buy.
How to Choose
- Your host includes a CDN: use it, and confirm with the cache header that pages are served from the edge.
- No CDN, a typical blog or business site: start with Cloudflare Free; upgrade only when you need what Pro adds.
- Large images, downloads or video: price the traffic per GB. Bunny.net's Standard network is $0.01/GB in Europe and North America; compare that with your host's bandwidth limits.
- Visitors mainly in India or Asia: per-GB prices rise by region. Bunny.net lists $0.03/GB for Asia and Oceania, while Fastly lists $0.28/GB for India after the free 100GB, so check the regional rate before you commit.
- Stores: a CDN helps product and category pages, but checkout still needs a fast origin; our high-volume WooCommerce guide covers that side.
See Kinsta Plans (CDN Included) → See Pressable Plans →
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a separate CDN if my host already includes one?
Usually not. Kinsta, Rocket.net and Pressable include a CDN with edge caching in their plans, so adding a second one rarely helps and can complicate caching. Add a standalone CDN when your host has none, or when you serve large media files that cost more to deliver through the host.
Is the free Cloudflare plan enough for a WordPress site?
For many blogs and small business sites, yes. Cloudflare's Free plan includes a CDN, DDoS protection and a web application firewall at $0 a month. Paid plans start at $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly), so upgrade only if you need what they add.
What is the cheapest CDN for large files or video?
Bunny.net's pay-as-you-go pricing starts at $0.01 per GB in Europe and North America, $0.03 in Asia and Oceania, and $0.005 per GB on its Volume network, with a $1 monthly minimum and a 14-day free trial. Compare it with your host's included bandwidth first.
Can a CDN speed up checkout or logged-in pages?
Mostly not. A CDN serves copies of pages and files that can be cached. Cart, checkout and logged-in pages go to your origin server, so for those the server's location and speed matter more than the CDN.
How do I check that my CDN is working?
Look at the response headers for a cache status, such as cf-cache-status behind Cloudflare or x-kinsta-cache on Kinsta. A HIT means the page came from the edge. Then run a multi-location TTFB test and compare cached and uncached pages.
The Bottom Line
For most sites the best CDN is the one already in your hosting plan, with Cloudflare Free as the no-cost fallback. Reach for a per-GB CDN such as Bunny.net when large files drive your bandwidth, and test cached and uncached pages separately so you know what the CDN is actually doing.
Sources: CDN pricing pages of Cloudflare, Bunny.net, Amazon CloudFront and Fastly, read 12 October 2026. Host CDN details: kinsta.com/pricing, rocket.net/pricing, pressable.com/data-centers, and cloudways.com and wpengine.com as cited in our reviews. Provider plans and prices change; check before you buy.