Side by side

Fastly Image Optimizer vs imgix

Both stand on cdn services. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Fastly Image Optimizer

Free plan APILinuxWeb

Fastly Image Optimizer provides configurable, on-demand image transformations and caching, with a free monthly request allowance. Teams should account for billable requests and the beta status of Compute SDK access.

Visit Fastly Image Optimizer

imgix

Free trial APIWeb

Choose imgix if you need an API-centered pipeline for transforming and delivering images and video, with AI editing and caption features. Look elsewhere if you need a free plan or your video files exceed 30 minutes per video.

Visit imgix

The facts

	Fastly Image Optimizer	imgix
Free plan	Yes	A free trial
Open source	Not published	Not published
Runs on	API, Linux, Web	API, Web
Lowest paid plan	See the plans	Starter: $25 a month
Plans published	8	6
Maker	Not published	imgix
Website	fastly.com	imgix.com
On cdn services	#17 of 35	#21 of 35

Fastly Image Optimizer: what it does well

Transforms images on demand at the edge
Caches optimized images for reuse
Supports WebP, AVIF, JPEG, and PNG
Integrates with existing asset pipelines and CMS platforms
Includes 100,000 image requests per month free

What to know first

Every request, including SDK requests, is billable
Compute SDK access is available through a beta program

imgix: what it does well

More than 150 image transformation options use URL parameters.
Automatic image optimization, responsive resizing, and AVIF support are included.
AI tools handle image enhancement, removal, fills, alt text, and tags.
Video supports adaptive HLS or DASH streaming up to 4K.
Captions can be translated into more than 100 languages.

What to know first

The Starter plan costs $25 a month.
Credit use varies across management, delivery, and transformation work.
Videos are limited to 30 minutes per video.

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