The 10 Best Video CDN Providers for Live Streaming [2024]

The world is currently undergoing a major digital change. This change is focused on many businesses working remotely, canceling in-person events, and searching for ways to keep in touch with employees and clients through technology.

With this shift, video CDNs (content delivery networks) are ramping up business to ensure full accessibility for new customers and viewers alike.

That’s no surprise, given that online video trends for 2023, ranging from live streaming of video on mobile to user-generated video content, show accelerated video growth. 

We’re living in a key moment in the evolution of media and entertainment history. In fact, people watch about 17 hours of videos every week, on average. While this is slightly down from the 2022 peak, it’s much higher than pre-COVID numbers.

There’s extensive research showing that digital video now represents the single most important media format today. The COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this trend, as it forced many businesses to shift to online video content to reach their audiences. The transition to online video content has not slowed down.

In this post, we’re going to look into all things related to video CDNs. We will compare 10 video streaming CDN providers for mobile-compatible, HTML5 live video streaming. We will also look at four online video platforms with built-in content delivery networks or powerful CDN partners.

This post has been revised to reflect the most up-to-date information regarding the top CDN providers as of January 2024.

Table of Contents:

• What is HTML5 Live Video Streaming?
• What is a Video Content Delivery Network (CDN)?
• How Do Video CDNs Work?
• What Is the Difference Between CDN and Caching?
• Why Use a Video Streaming CDN?
• Content Delivery Networks and Video Hosting
• What to Look for in a Video CDN
• Comparison of the 10 Top CDN Video Streaming Platforms
• FAQs
• Final Thoughts

What is HTML5 Live Video Streaming?

In the past, most live video streaming reached viewers via the Flash video player. Originally developed by Macromedia and later acquired by Adobe, the Flash player soon became a ubiquitous part of the internet. Anyone who used the internet in the 1990s or early 2000s is probably familiar with the Flash player.

This all changed with the launch of the first iPhone, however. Steve Jobs famously refused to include Flash support due to security and battery-life problems. Instead, Apple created an alternative called HLS — HTTP Live Streaming.

HLS is supported on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, and almost every other modern platform. Unlike Flash, it doesn’t require a plugin but uses built-in HTML5 browser functionality. Today, the HTML5 video player is by far the most preferred method for video playback.

Many major professional video hosting platforms, like Dacast, use an HTML5 player that can be embedded on any website. Professional platforms typically make these video players white-label and fully customizable so that you can add your own company’s branding, colors, and more.

You can utilize the latest cutting-edge live streaming software technology and long-established standards to deliver your video. HLS delivery and RTMP ingest are currently optimal for low latency, security, and compatibility.

In fact, according to Cisco, about 82% of all internet traffic came from videos in 2022. This number is only expected to grow in the future as the popularity of videos rises. Given this trend, HTML5 and mobile-compatible live streaming are essential for businesses.

What is a Video Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

A content delivery network (CDN) exists to deliver content via the internet. This content can come in text, images, videos, and much more. The use of a content delivery network happens most often when a business is trying to distribute large files. Video CDNs are necessary for the transmission of media files.

Even a short, relatively low-resolution video requires much more storage space (at rest) and has greater bandwidth consumption (in transit) than other data types. Content delivery network providers exist to help you cope with this. Videos use a lot of data, and video CDN helps ensure that you can transmit that data.

As more and more businesses move to remote work and stay in touch with their customer base via the internet, a reliable CDN provider is essential. A video CDN can be compared to a series of cell phone towers that ping one another for optimal signals. A video CDN is a method for transmitting your videos over long distances.

How Do Video CDNs Work?

The internet isn’t immediate. While it may seem like it is, it does take a certain amount of time for internet content to reach computers or mobile devices. You need a video CDN for your video content.

A CDN comprises a network of servers located in various locations around the world. This network exists to “cache” content. Caching is the process of copying data and storing it in multiple content servers across different locations. CDN streaming videos accelerate content delivery, making the video-watching experience better for all your users.

Additionally, video CDN providers create redundancy. Instead of all visitors being routed to one or a small number of servers from the origin server, you can spread the load among many different interconnected servers. CDN caching server ensures that your content never goes down.

A high-quality CDN can revolutionize and streamline website performance. A CDN streaming video service helps your business use a widely distributed network of live streaming servers for your content. Viewers who request static and dynamic content from a CDN are routed to the closest single server. That happens through the use of a viewer’s IP address.

Distance between the origin server and the users adds potential latency (lag time) to the internet connection. So a shorter distance between the server and the user means the lag reduces dramatically.

Remember, CDNs reduce bandwidth consumption by caching content and reducing the amount of data transferred between a website’s hosting servers and the visitors’ device. 

By storing internet content closer to end users, CDNs also reduce latency and serve up cached content. This means that the origin servers don’t have to deliver the same content over and over. It also helps reduce bandwidth costs for website owners. It’s one of the major advantages of using CDN servers that are located all over the world.

What Is the Difference Between CDN and Caching?

CDN and caching are two ways to manage and avoid large numbers of data requests. Too many users logging on to one website or requesting to view the same video content can cause platforms to crash or slow down. That’s why processes like caching and CDNs are used to regulate digital supply and demand.  Both are used to achieve the same results, such as:

• Improving the viewer’s experience
• Cost efficiency
• Better resource utilization
• Efficient performance

Here’s how the two are different:

Caching is the process of storing a version of a website or video segments for a limited period on a server or any other memory device. That’s done to speed the webpage up and avoid long page load times. Think of cache as jotting something down on a post-it to help you recall something from your short-term memory.

CDN is also a type of cache, but the two work differently. CDN caches data less prone to constant changes and requires less frequent updates. This data is stored on servers that are spread out all around the globe, and typically comprises video segments, forums, and web pages. Mostly, CDN caches data and files of a more static nature to help reduce load time for users.

There are many other ways of improving a slow loading site, including using plug-ins or widgets. However, using these methods comes with a significant drawback. At times, adding these add-ons to your website means there is now even more data that needs to load and run smoothly, causing it to slow down.

There are different types of caching protocols. In some, data is stored on the unused part of the RAM of the user’s device. Other types of caching store that data directly on the user’s browser. These are commonly known as cookies. 

All types of caches are meant to reduce loading time and make data easily accessible to the user rather than transmitting it from the origin servers. Broadcasters can customize the period for which data, such as video segments or text, is stored before the newest version from the origin server replaces it.

CDNs also perform a similar primary function but differ where this data is stored. They cache data on servers rather than the user’s device. The servers where CDN caches data are based on geographical proximity. This reduces the lag and ensures a better streaming experience for the users. It also improves website performance.

Why Use a Video Streaming CDN?

When a business uses a CDN, it allows for scalability, high-quality content, next to no lag time, and full security for the viewers.

By connecting to servers worldwide, CDNs can create a shorter video stream route from the origin server to a viewer’s computer or mobile phone. Using this large network of connected servers makes it easier to handle streaming video content to the user’s device should viewership increase. Some other benefits of using a CDN provider:

• Speed: Content delivery networks deliver content at low latency. While a local network lags, a CDN is in the passing lane, bypassing the local network and speeding to get to the viewer on time.
• Quality: High-quality video with minimal lag time. Exactly what the viewer wants.
• Security: Businesses are full of confidential information. CDNs provide an extra layer of security to help secure it. Using a CDN will prevent security attacks when a site or resource is flooded by attempts to breach it.

The best CDNs offer consistent speeds, optimize high-quality video delivery, and enhance security.

Content Delivery Networks and Video Hosting

A server is involved when you visit a website and watch a video on the internet. Your computer sends a signal to a server requesting website content, which gets delivered to you. A CDN is made out of hundreds, if not thousands, of these servers located worldwide, making the transmission of video segments possible.

As we’ve mentioned, the better the content delivery network you use, the higher the quality the video segments will be for your users. There will be less lag when loading a video, making it seamless for a viewer. A video delivery network will help increase the quality of your video platform.

The same goes for video hosting platforms. While you can host on-demand videos online for free on YouTube, as a business, you’ll want a more professional private video platform. The dedicated online video streaming service you choose will provide a network of computer servers that will store your media files on their disks. It also provides a robust network connection, ensuring viewers can access the videos quickly and easily without any network lag.

As you can tell, CDNs and video hosting are related. And, as a business, you need the best options to begin your remote video strategy and provide the best live streaming and on-demand video-watching experience for your users. You need to know the best CDN for video streaming.

What to Look for in a Video CDN Provider

Before diving into our platform comparison, we wanted to share a tip to consider when deciding which platform to pick. Some of these platforms will only provide a content delivery network. The other platforms are Online Video Platforms (OVPs).

When you choose a dedicated video CDN, ensure it has a large, reliable network of connected servers everywhere you’re trying to reach. You should pay close attention to bandwidth when choosing the best CDN for your video streaming needs.

An OVP is a solution-focused provider specifically for hosting videos, and many support live video streaming as well. These streaming platforms are smaller than all-purpose CDNs but deliver excellent functionality. They can have more affordable pricing, as you’ll read in the comparison.

An OVP allows you to do many things:

• Upload video-on-demand content for viewing at any time
• Stream live video
• Organize files via an online dashboard
• Optimize content for mobile, desktop, smart TVs, and any other devices
• Use custom videos players
• Embed on a website or any social media platform of your choice
• Monetize over-the-top video via methods like pay-per-view or subscriptions
• Restrict access to content using security settings
• Include custom branding on video content

When deciding exactly what you’re looking for, consider a video platform that partners with CDN providers for content delivery. These will likely provide the highest quality on-demand videos for your users and the biggest bang for your buck in terms of additional features for the price.

Top 10 Video CDN Providers

Below is a comparison of the 10 best CDN for video hosting and live streaming. We’ll discuss each company’s history, what features they offer, and their CDN pricing comparison. That way, you can choose the best CDN for your needs.

1. Akamai

Akamai Technologies is an American CDN provider. It’s the leading CDN for media and software delivery. Source: Akamai.com

The first of the CDN providers we’ll examine here is Akamai. Akamai is one of the oldest CDNs in the world. It’s also the largest network, with more than 240,000 servers located in more than 130 countries. Such a wide network of servers ensures that the content delivery network will always have a server close to your users.

Akamai is one of the few video CDNs that we partner with here at Dacast.

Basic Functionality:

The Akamai platform supports live videos and on-demand video hosting and streaming. It provides several other features, including analytics, video security, privacy settings, HTML5 video delivery, and support for a wide range of codecs and protocols.

Key Features:

• Akamai CLI
• Case Management
• Certificate Provisioning System
• China CDN Manager
• Content Control Interfaces
• CP Codes and Reporting Groups Tool
• Diagnostic Tools
• Firewall Rules Notification
• Identity and Access Management
• Log Delivery
• Property Manager API
• Sandbox Environment

Pricing:

Akamai does not have prices listed on its website. However, users can contact sales and request a free trial to get started.

If you need a CDN video streaming network, Akamai is one of the most solid choices on the market.

2. Fastly

Fastly offers a cloud-based content delivery solution Fastly offers several products for video streaming, including security, load balancing, and image optimization.

Basic Functionality:

Fastly is a global, cloud-based video CDN geared towards business video streaming. This platform has a focus on content delivery optimization.

Key Features:

• Lightning-fast delivery
• Real-time analytics
• API access for a custom content delivery experience
• Unique computing code
• Fast loading video
• Cache-control and purging

Pricing:

Fastly prices their services based on the region where you’re streaming to. For example, usage-based pricing for streaming to North America is $0.12/GB for the first 10 TB, $0.08/GB for the next 10 TB, and $0.0075 per 10,000 requests.

Please check out the Fastly pricing page for a complete list of request and bandwidth costs for other regions. You can contact sales for more detailed quotes or custom requirements. If you need a global video streaming CDN, Fastly is a good choice.

3. Cloudflare

Cloudflare is an American web infrastructure and website security company that provides CDN services. Source: Cloudflare.com

Next, let’s take a look at Cloudflare. Cloudflare is a growing CDN with widely distributed PoPs (Points of Presence) worldwide. PoP is an artificial demarcation point or interface point between communicating entities. It’s also very popularly used for security as it protects your core network infrastructure from DDoS and other attacks that could put your users at risk.

Cloudflare’s CDN network is spread over 300 cities across 100 countries, giving you a wide reach.

Basic Functionality:

Their hosting service incorporates some great features, including cloud encoding and customizable HTML5 video players. They also support API access.

Key Features:

• Globally Load Balanced CDN
• Static Web Content Caching
• Instant Full Cache Purge
• Min Cache TTL Expiry
• Custom Cache Keys
• Argo Smart Routing
• China Network
• Accelerated Mobile Links (AMP)
• Async JavaScript Loading with Rocket Loader
• Mobile Optimization
• CNAME Setup
• Key-value Storage with Workers

Pricing:

Cloudflare has simple, transparent pricing plans. Their packages have 4 tiers:

• Free plan: available for personal websites, but it doesn’t support video hosting.
• Pro plan: $25/month
• Business plan: $250/month per domain
• Enterprise plans: customized pricing for each user

4. KeyCDN

KeyCDN is a Switzerland-based, high-performance CDN provider that accelerates web content. Source: KeyCDN.com

KeyCDN is a content delivery network that delivers content to 6 continents and over 120,000 deployment zones. This service offers content delivery for video and streaming and delivery and storage of other media, including website data, photos, and more.

Basic Functionality:

KeyCDN is a secure, global content delivery network for broadcasters and other users with digital assets.

Key Features:

• Global network for content distribution and delivery
• Optimized server hardware
• Easy development with API access
• Reliable security
• Smooth playback

Pricing:

Like Fastly, KeyCDN prices per region. Here’s how the prices break down:

• North America and Europe: first 10 TB costs $0.04/GB, next 40 TB is $0.03/GB, next 50 TB is $0.02/GB, over 100 TB is $0.01/GB
• Asia and Oceania: first 10 TB costs $0.08/GB, next 40 TB is $0.06GB, next 50 TB is $0.04/GB, over 100 TB is $0.02/GB
• Africa and Latin America: first 10 TB costs $0.10/GB, next 40 TB is $0.08/GB, next 50 TB is $0.06/GB, over 100 TB is $0.04/GB

Custom plans are available for users using over 100 TB/month.

KeyCDN is a reliable global CDN provider that you can use for smooth live streaming CDN needs.

5. CloudFront

AWS CloudFront is a CDN offered by Amazon Web Services. Source: AWS CloudFront

CloudFront is the CDN offering from Amazon’s Web Services division. The platform has a relatively large server network, with 600+ PoPs globally. It also has CDN edge servers located across the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East, China, Africa, and Australia and New Zealand. 

Basic Functionality:

Its service is popular and widely used for hosting large downloads and web files. It also supports video streaming, both live and on-demand. CloudFront’s system is pretty basic, but you can build on your features using external tools and API.

Key Features:

• Global Edge Network
• Security Protection against Network and Application Layer Attacks
• Availability
• Edge Computing
• Real-time Metrics and Logging
• DevOps Friendly
• Full-featured APIs and DevOps Tools
• Cost-Effective – Pay-as-you-go publicly available pricing
• Free data Transfer between AWS cloud services and Amazon CloudFront for origin fetches

Pricing:

CloudFront pricing is on-demand and based on multiple geographical locations, bandwidth usage, and the features you need. CloudFront offers three tiers:

• Always Free Tier, which allows 1 TB of transfer-out data per month, 10,000,000 HTTP(s) requests per month, and no limitations on all features
• On-demand pricing tier based on data transfer out (internet/origin) and HTTP/HTTPS requests
• Discounted pricing tier for customers who are willing to make certain minimum web traffic commit (typically 10 TB/month or higher, for 12 months or longer)

If you want to start with a free CDN video provider, CloudFront has you covered.

6. Google Cloud CDN

Google’s content delivery networks—Cloud CDN and Media CDN—use Google’s global edge network to serve content closer to users, which accelerates websites and applications. 

Cloud CDN operates caches at more than 100 locations across North America, South America, Europe, Middle East, Asia Pacific, and Africa.

Basic Functionality:

Cloud CDN relies on the same CDN edge Points of Presence that Google uses to serve Google’s web properties to billions of users. This approach connects individual PoPs into as many networks as possible, reducing network latency and ensuring capacity for web traffic spikes.

Key Features:

• Top-notch security with Cloud Armor
• Origin selection and route matching
• Load balancing and health checks
• Global caching
• HTTP-to-HTTPS redirection
• SSL certificate management
• Detailed logs and metrics
• On-demand cache invalidation

Pricing:

Google Cloud CDN pricing is based on bandwidth and HTTP(S) requests, where:

• Cache egress: starts at $0.08/GB for 10GB or less
• Cache fill: region specific, with North America starting at $0.01/GB 
• Cache lookup: $0.0075 per 10,000 HTTP(S) lookup requests

You must get in touch with the Google sales team to request a quote for Media CDN pricing. The same applies if you wish to get volume-based discounts on Cloud CDN. For this, however, you must serve more than 500 TB of content per month to qualify. 

7. Leaseweb

Leaseweb has two types of Video CDNs: private and multi-CDNs. Source: Leaseweb.com

Leaseweb offers a wide variety of digital services, including content delivery. The platform offers access to both private CDNs and multi-CDNs.

Leaseweb was founded over two decades ago, making it a longtime player in the content delivery game.

Basic Functionality:

The Leaseweb CDN is pretty standard in terms of video CDN functionality. It delivers video content to viewers around the world.

Key Features:

• Reliable security
• Global network for optimal content distribution and delivery
• 43 PoPs and 29 internet exchanges
• API access
• Option for private delivery through your own connected servers

Pricing:

Leaseweb does not publish pricing information, so you must contact sales for a quote.

8. CDN77

CDN77 is a content delivery company that offers access to a video CDN and advanced cybersecurity services. This company is trusted by major video creation and distribution companies like TedX, Udemy, and Eleven Sports.

This CDN is so popular because it is reliable, secure, and scalable, all of which are desirable characteristics to broadcasters.

Basic Functionality:

CDN77 offers support for both security and video content delivery.

Key Features:

• Redundant delivery
• Tools for secure delivery
• Smooth delivery
• Scalability
• CDN management

Pricing:

In addition to custom-priced, high-volume plans, CDN has these standard revised pricing options available. These plans include:

• Free Trial (1 TB of traffic) and custom trial available
• 6 TB of monthly traffic for $199 ($0.033/GB for overages)
• 25 TB of monthly traffic for $385 ($0.015/GB for overages)
• 50 TB of monthly traffic for $580 ($0.012/GB for overages)
• 100 TB of monthly traffic for $990 ($0.010/GB for overages)
• 150 TB of monthly traffic for $1,390 ($0.009/GB for overages)

CDN77 has been around for decades and provides a reliable and extensive network for global video CDN services.

9. Microsoft Azure CDN

Microsoft Azure combines the efforts of several other well-known CDNs.

Hailing from the Microsoft technology powerhouse, Microsoft Azure is a global content distribution network that broadcasters rely on for fast delivery of their streaming content. This CDN is easy to configure, and it uses a pay-as-you-go pricing structure, so you don’t have to worry about being locked into a long-term agreement.

Microsoft Azure brings together the support of other top-tier content delivery networks, including some that we’ve mentioned on this list.

Basic Functionality:

Microsoft Azure is a CDN that delivers video among other types of media.

Key Features:

• Reliable security
• Scalable, global coverage
• Bandwidth analytics
• Several options for integrations
• Capable of handling high-capacity delivery

Pricing:

Microsoft Azure uses a complex pricing structure based on zones and usage. We recommend checking out their pricing page to learn more about costs based on your unique broadcasting needs.

10. Sucuri

Sucuri is another great CDN provider. This platform offers software for content delivery and security. Sucuri has advanced firewalls that keep your content out of the wrong hands. The security features stand out here as the platform keeps your website secure and provides a safe video-watching experience to your users.

This content delivery network uses PoPs worldwide to deliver high-quality content both near and far.

Basic Functionality:

Securi offers state-of-the-art firewalls and global content delivery.

Key Features:

• Website security
• Website firewalls
• Global content deliveries
• Adequately spaced PoPs
• Support by ticket

Pricing:

Securi has four pricing plans with different scan frequencies. Content delivery is included with each plan. Here’s how they are laid out.

• Basic: $199.99/year; security scans every 12 hours. This plan is ideal for bloggers, content creators, and smaller-scale website owners who need periodic security scans
• Pro: $299.99/year; security scans every 6 hours. Designed websites of small to mid-sized businesses that require minimal disruptions. This plan offers superior user support as well.
• Business: $499.99/year; security scans every 30 minutes. This plan offers the fastest site-cleanup time. Perfect for websites with more traffic that need more frequent scans to catch any security threats quickly.
• Multi-site and Custom: Price available on request. Broadcasters can opt for a custom plan. These plans come with unlimited, dedicated customer support and can be used for multiple sites. However, you need to get in touch with their team for a quote.

Top 4 Online Video Platforms with Integrated CDNs

Now, let’s shift gears and review a few of the top online video platforms with integrated video content delivery networks. When you need a video content distribution network and a video CDN network, it can be great to work with a service provider that can give you both simultaneously.

1. Dacast

Dacast is an online video platform that works with businesses to broadcast and host video content through the use of CDNs.

To kick off this review of CDN providers and OVPs, we will start by examining our own video hosting and streaming platform.

Basic Functionality:

All video content hosted on Dacast is delivered via top-tier CDNs from Akamai and Limelight. Our streaming solution includes various security features, offers 24/7 customer support, and an easy-to-use online video platform. All of this is available through every plan level. Dacast also uses an HTML5 video player to provide you with better performance, which you can customize to your own needs.

Key Features:

• Secure video streaming and global content delivery, including industry-best video hosting
• 24/7 tech support with all plans, including email and live chat
• Video security features, including password protection and encryption
• Player API access for 3rd party player integration
• Video API access on premium plans (event and scale)
• RTMP (real-time messaging protocol) ingest playback, and streaming support
• VOD platform to monetize on-demand content, and to scale your VOD business
• Low-latency HTML5 channels for video streaming
• Multi-bitrate streaming
• Annual transcoding data included
• Real-time analytics
• Ad-free streaming

New!

• Multi-user access on Scale and Custom plans
• Zoom live streaming integration for meetings and live events in real-time
• Expo 2.0 galleries video portal for immersive video experiences
• AES video encryption for best-in-class streaming security

Pros:

• Live streaming and VOD packages on all plans
• Unlimited viewers and live channels
• White label and branding control
• Embeddable HTML5 video player
• SVOD, AVOD, and pay-per-view TVOD monetization options
• Mobile device support
• Live stream recording
• China Video Hosting
• Plans for every budget

Cons:

• Takes a little bit of time to learn all of the features

Upload Guidelines and Specs:

• Minimum dimension: None (but 240p is the recommended minimum)
• Maximum dimension: 1080p or 4K (depends on the user’s hardware and internet)
• Video aspect ratio: No restrictions (but 16:9 is the default)
• Max file size: None
• Max video length: None
• Total file storage: 10-1000GB (depends on plan)
• Compatible video formats: MP4 (preferred), MOV, M4V, M2V, AVI, MPG, FLV, WMV, MKV, WEBM, OGV, MXF, ASF, VOB, MTS

Pricing:

Dacast offers different plans for broadcasters with different needs. The video streaming pricing plans include:

• Starter plan: ideal for newcomers with 2.4 TB of bandwidth per year and 500 GB of storage at just $39 per month billed annually.
• Event plan: best for organizations who’d rather not sign a contract and want to purchase bandwidth separately to live stream an event. It offers 6 TB of bandwidth upfront, 250 GB of storage, and costs just $63 per month (or $750/year). Additional data and storage can be added as needed.
• Scale plan: includes 24 TB of bandwidth per year, with 2 TB of storage for $165 per month, billed annually. This pricing plan adds phone support, a monetization paywall, a M3U8 online player for live channels, ad insertion, white-label Cnames, and video API access.
• Custom plan: if your enterprise business has high-volume streaming needs, you can contact Dacast for a custom plan tailored to your needs.

Read more here about live streaming pricing plans in more detail.

If you need a video hosting platform where you can customize the video player to fit your needs with an integrated CDN hosting service, Dacast is the way to go. Dacast also offers a multi-CDN feature, the type of CDN you need for live video streaming.

2. IBM Cloud Video

IBM Cloud Video is an American live video streaming company based in San Francisco. They offer CDN services along with their online streaming services.

IBM Cloud Video came about after the acquisition of Ustream by IBM several years ago. Today, the IBM Cloud Video service offers various services, including video hosting and CDN video streaming via “Streaming Manager.”

Basic Functionality:

Key features of the IBM Cloud Video platform include custom branding on higher-priced plans, password-protected hosting, and an HTML5 video player. The service also includes HD broadcasting up to 720p resolution with full 1080 supported only on Enterprise plans.

Key Features:

• 4K streaming
• Support for mobile streaming
• Uses IBM internal CDN to distribute content
• Reliable video distribution and workflow
• OTT video management
• Enterprise video streaming

Pros:

• Hong Kong (China) video hosting
• Monetization capabilities
• Access to an enterprise-grade content delivery network

Cons:

• API only available with high-end plans
• White-label video player customization is only available with high-end plans

Upload Guidelines and Specs:

• Minimum dimension: 480p (480 x 270)
• Maximum dimension:  4K (3840 x 2160)
• Aspect ratio: No published aspect ratio
• Max file size: 4 GB
• Max video length: No published limits
• Total file storage: 1TB – 5TB (depends on plan)
• Compatible video formats: MKV, MP4, MOV, FLV, AVI, WMV, MPEG2, H264, H263, MPEG4, VP6, VP8, THEORA, WMV, MP3, AAC-LC, NELLYMOSER, PCM, SPEEX, VORBIS, WMA

Pricing:

IBM Video Streaming pricing plans range from $99 to $999+ per month and include the following:

• Silver: starting at $129/month
• Gold: starting at $649/month
• Platinum: starting at $1299/month

For enhanced features and functionality, including AI-driven deep search and detailed metrics, IBM Enterprise Video Streaming has the following plans:

• Enterprise Silver: starting at $799/month
• Enterprise Gold: starting at $1,999/month
• Enterprise Premium: starting at $4,999/month
• Custom: contact sales

IBM Cloud has been a reliable hosting platform and CDN provider that’s been in the game for a long time. It can provide you with access to reliable video streaming CDNs.

3. Vimeo Livestream

Vimeo Livestream is an American video live streaming platform that offers CDN servers to customers.

Founded in 2004 by a group of filmmakers, Vimeo is the next service we’ll look at here. Vimeo acquired streaming platform Livestream in 2017, and today it provides CDN video streaming and video hosting services.

Features of the Vimeo platform include several hardware and software integrations. The platform also offers an HTML5 video player, integrated chat, and no charge for bandwidth or storage.

Basic Functionality:

Like IBM Cloud Video, Vimeo has always been one of the market’s more expensive video hosting services. One element of this shift is the Vimeo OTT solution, which markets itself as an all-in-one streaming solution for live broadcasting and hosting. As a streaming service, Vimeo OTT offers uploading from any device, player customization, and video analytics. Overall, Vimeo OTT targets larger-scale businesses with substantial budgets.

Key Features:

• Full-HD quality
• All-device video player
• Adaptive bitrate streaming
• Privacy tools
• Embed to any website
• White-label service
• Live audience chat
• Monetization tools

Pros:

• Large storage capacity
• High-quality videos and streams
• Upload from anywhere
• Video privacy and security

Cons:

• No China video delivery

Upload Guidelines and Specs:

• Recommended dimension: 720p (1280 x 720)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9, 4:3
• Max file size: 3GB
• Max video length: Information not available
• Total file storage: Information not available
• Compatible video formats: MP4 (recommended)

Pricing:

Vimeo Livestream comes in two pricing plans, namely:

• Advanced: $108/seat per month, with 500 videos, simulcasting, and capability to stream multiple events
• Enterprise: custom pricing, with unlimited videos, backup streams, and high latency fail-safe streaming

Vimeo also offers an over-the-top (OTT) platform for online video monetization. Vimeo OTT plans include all the basics for starting your web-based OTT channel and growing your OTT business solutions online. They are:

• Starter: from $1/subscriber per month
• Enterprise: contact sales for custom pricing 

For more details, check out our comprehensive guide to Vimeo Livestream pricing. If CDN video streaming is your focus, Vimeo is a CDN video hosting platform worth considering.

4. Wowza

Wowza was founded in 2005 and is based out of Colorado. It is a streaming media software that offers CDN services.

Next up in our review of CDN providers, let’s take a look at Wowza Media Systems. Wowza is an online video platform that provides products and services widely used in the streaming video CDN industry. That includes Wowza Streaming Cloud, their hosting, and streaming platform. Streaming Cloud is the service we will be looking at here.

Basic Functionality:

Wowza offers its Wowza Streaming Engine for self-hosted video workflows in addition to Wowza Video, which is a comprehensive streaming and integrated video solution.

Wowza allows broadcasters to build highly customized streaming workflows using third-party integrations, APIs, and other advanced features.

Key Features:

• Cloud transcoding
• Live streaming and VOD hosting
• White-label video player for advanced customization
• HTML5 video player for all-device video streaming
• Analytics and API access
• Top-notch customer support

Pros:

• APIs are available
• Live stream recording
• Premium technical support
• 4K streaming
• Wide range of security options

Cons:

• No simulcasting tools
• Lack of video monetization and audience analytics tools

Upload Guidelines and Specs:

• Minimum dimension: 240p (320 x 240)
• Maximum dimension: 4K (3840 x 2160)
• Aspect ratio: 16:9, 4:3
• Max file size: Not available
• Max video length: Not available
• Total file storage: 250 GB (depends on the plan)
• Compatible file formats: MP4, FLV, MP3, SMIL, AMLST, ID3, NGRP

Pricing:

Wowza recently overhauled its pricing plans and added several options. These are split into two main tiers: Wowza Video and Wowza Streaming Engine.

For Wowza Video, there are three distinct pricing plans and services. These are:

• One Month of Streaming: $149 one-time purchase; includes 15 hours of live streaming and 500 viewing hours 
• Pay As You Go: $25/month; best for fluctuating usage; flexible streaming with low startup costs
• Enterprise: Custom pricing; all the features are customizable to your needs, including 24×7 real-time streaming

All of these Live Event plans include full brand control, multi-bitrate streaming, and HD and UHD streaming.

The Wowza Streaming Engine has its own pricing plans. These professional-grade streaming plans are billed annually and include:

• • Basic: $195/month + $195/month for each additional instance 
  • One Month of Streaming: $295/month + $295/month for each additional instance
  • Enterprise: Please contact Wowza directly for access to their custom-tailored high volume enterprise solutions

FAQs

1. What is live streaming and how does it work?

Live streaming is a technology that allows you to broadcast video and audio content over the internet in real time. Unlike pre-recorded videos, it doesn’t require any editing or processing before it’s made available to viewers. 

Live streaming of video can be done using various platforms and devices, such as websites, apps, cameras, computers, and smartphones. It can be used for various purposes, including entertainment, education, communication, marketing, and social media.

2. What does CDN stand for?

CDN is short for content delivery network, which is a group of multiple servers in data centers geographically distributed all over the world. These servers cache content and deliver it to the users. As these content delivery network servers are geo-distributed, the users get content from the operational servers nearest to them, leading to faster load times.

3. What is CDN media?

Like video content delivery networks, a media CDN is one that’s optimized for different types of media like audio, video, and images. It ensures that the content is optimally delivered to the users with minimal delay (less lag) and better reliability.

4. Which CDN services are best for video streaming?

Here are the best content delivery networks for video streaming:

• Akamai
• Fastly
• Cloudflare
• KeyCDN
• CloudFront
• Google Cloud CDN
• Leaseweb
• CDN77
• Microsoft Azure CDN
• Sucuri

5. What is CDN vs DNS?

CDN stands for content delivery network, while DNS stands for domain name server. A CDN is a group of geographically distributed network servers that deliver content effectively to users. On the contrary, DNS is a distributed directory that maps domain names to IP addresses. A DNS web server redirects user requests to a CDN using its CNAME record when a user wants to access a website that uses a CDN.

Final Thoughts

Choosing a video CDN for your content delivery can be daunting, but we hope this guide has helped narrow down your options. 

We’ve reviewed some of the best video CDNs in the market, based on their features, performance, and pricing. However, the final decision should depend on your specific needs and budget. 

Also, don’t forget to consider the quality of customer support that each video CDN offers. As a beginner in video streaming, you may encounter some challenges along the way. Having a reliable support team can make a big difference in resolving them quickly.

Interested in testing out a powerful live streaming solution today? We recommend taking advantage of the Dacast free trial. With 14 days of free access (no credit card required), you can test out nearly every Dacast feature. Just click the button below to sign up and give it a try today.

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