# Content delivery networks for small business buyers: what AI models recommend, October 2026

Gane Index, October 2026 Edition. Asked as "CDN" and as "content delivery network", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of a small B2B company. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/content-delivery-networks/2026-10/smb

This is the permanent record of the October 2026 Edition, published October 1, 2026 and superseded since. The current standing: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/network/content-delivery-networks/smb/index.md

**Standing:** Cloudflare leads with 85% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 53 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Cloudflare](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/cloudflare/index.md) | 85% | 3% | 73 |
| 2 | [Bunny.net](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/bunny-net/index.md) | 9% | 0% | 64 |
| 3 | [KeyCDN](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/keycdn/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 35 |
| 6 | [Amazon CloudFront](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/amazon-cloudfront/index.md) | 0% | 33% | 51 |
| 17 | [Fastly](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/fastly/index.md) | 0% | 42% | 40 |
| 42 | [Google Cloud CDN](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/google-cloud-cdn/index.md) | 0% | 57% | 14 |
| 44 | [Akamai](https://www.gane.ai/index/it/vendors/akamai/index.md) | 0% | 75% | 20 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 44 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Bunny.net, Cloudflare; alternatives CDNsun, KeyCDN
- GPT-5.4 mini: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, CDN77, Fastly
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Cloudflare; alternatives Amazon CloudFront, Bunny.net
- Perplexity Sonar: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net
- Grok 4.20: Cloudflare; alternatives Amazon CloudFront, Bunny.net, Gcore, KeyCDN
- Mistral Small: Bunny.net, KeyCDN; alternatives Cloudflare, Google Cloud CDN
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, KeyCDN
- Llama 4 Maverick: Cloudflare Application Services
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, Vercel
- Kimi K2: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, KeyCDN
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Cloudflare; alternatives Amazon CloudFront, Bunny.net, Fastly
- MiniMax M2.5: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, Google Cloud CDN, KeyCDN
- GPT-6 Luna: Cloudflare; alternatives Amazon CloudFront, Bunny.net
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Cloudflare; alternatives Bunny.net, KeyCDN

## Sources the answers cite

70 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 13 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- blog.blazingcdn.com: 50 answers, 92 citations
- fastly.com: 32 answers, 45 citations
- broadbandnow.com: 29 answers, 29 citations
- g2.com: 19 answers, 24 citations
- accio.com: 19 answers, 23 citations
- ioriver.io: 17 answers, 25 citations
- affmaven.com: 17 answers, 17 citations
- wpforms.com: 17 answers, 17 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://broadbandnow.com/guides/CDN-Providers (29 answers)
- https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/top-cdn-providers-2025-an-expert-guide-to-types-technologies-and-performance (20 answers)
- https://affmaven.com/cdn-providers (17 answers)
- https://blog.blazingcdn.com/en-us/top-cdn-providers-2025-an-expert-guide-to-types-technologies-and-performance-0 (17 answers)
- https://wpforms.com/best-cdn-providers (17 answers)
- https://accio.com/biz-cheap/inexpensive-cdn (16 answers)
- https://cloudflare.com/plans (15 answers)
- https://inmotionhosting.com/blog/top-cdn-providers (14 answers)
- https://atlantic.net/cloud-platform/best-cdn-providers-for-performance-security (13 answers)
- https://toxigon.com/best-cdn-providers-for-small-businesses (13 answers)

## Warned against

- Fastly: 17 of 40 labels negative. "Powerful but criticized for steep learning curves, complex configuration, and high costs that make it risky or overkill for SMBs" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Amazon CloudFront: 17 of 51 labels negative. "Labeled as criticized for SMBs due to intricate pricing (pay-per-use can surprise with bills) and a steeper setup curve" (Grok 4.20, negative prompt)
- Akamai: 15 of 20 labels negative. "enterprise-tier providers like Akamai, Google Cloud CDN, Azure CDN, and Fastly are considered risky for small businesses due to their complexity, steep learning curve, and potential for "bill shock"" (Llama 4 Maverick, negative prompt)
- Google Cloud CDN: 8 of 14 labels negative. "Avoid these until your traffic justifies the cost and complexity: Google Cloud CDN - Designed for large-scale enterprise operations" (MiniMax M2.5, negative prompt)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 11 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Cloudflare at 83%.

- Cloudflare: 90% to 83%, −7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 1 of 43, unchanged.
- Bunny.net: 4% to 11%, +7. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 2 of 43, unchanged.
- KeyCDN: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 6 → 3 of 43.
- Fastly: 2% to 0%, −2. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 5 → 10 of 43.
- Amazon CloudFront: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 6 of 43.
- Google Cloud CDN: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 24 → 41 of 43.
- Akamai: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 28 → 43 of 43.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/it/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, October 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/it.