Fastly Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Fastly costs $1 to $6 per month as of March 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Fastly offers a free trial plan as of March 2026. The free tier includes 8 features with limits on bandwidth and tls domains. Paid plans start at $50/month (Usage (Pay-As-You-Go)). Pricing verified from 1 sources by CostBench.
Fastly's free offering is a time-limited trial to test the full product.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- $50/month recurring credit applied automatically
- 100 GB free bandwidth per month
- Full site delivery (CDN)
- TLS encryption included
- Instant purge (cache invalidation)
- Real-time analytics and logging
- Edge compute (Compute@Edge)
- API-first configuration
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- $50/month minimum spend
- Pay per GB of bandwidth delivered
- Pay per 10,000 HTTP/HTTPS requests
- Full CDN with instant purge
- Real-time log streaming
- WebSocket support
- No long-term contract required
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| Bandwidth | ~100 GB/month (within $50 credit) | Unlimited/Higher |
| TLS domains | Limited | Unlimited/Higher |
| Support | Community and documentation | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like $50/month minimum spend or Pay per GB of bandwidth delivered
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- One-time credit (does not renew monthly)
- Requires credit card on file
- No guarantee you won't be charged before credit depletes
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Usage (Pay-As-You-Go) Plan Comparison
| Free Tier $0 | Usage (Pay-As-You-Go) $50/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 8 included | 9+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Fastly branding | Your branding |
| Best For | Developers prototyping, low-traffic sites, and testing Fastly's platform before committing | Small to mid-size sites with variable traffic needing premium CDN performance without long-term contracts |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Fastly free?
Yes, Fastly offers a free trial plan with 8 core features included. However, there are limits on bandwidth, tls domains that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Fastly's free plan?
Fastly's free plan includes: $50/month recurring credit applied automatically, 100 GB free bandwidth per month, Full site delivery (CDN), TLS encryption included, Instant purge (cache invalidation), and 3 more features. Key limits include Bandwidth: ~100 GB/month (within $50 credit), TLS domains: Limited, Support: Community and documentation.
03 What's NOT included in Fastly's free plan?
The free plan excludes: $50/month minimum spend, Pay per GB of bandwidth delivered, Pay per 10,000 HTTP/HTTPS requests, Full CDN with instant purge, Real-time log streaming. You'll also have Fastly branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Fastly's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like $50/month minimum spend or Pay per GB of bandwidth delivered, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $50/month.
05 Is Fastly's free plan really free forever?
Fastly's free offering is actually a time-limited trial, not a forever-free plan. After the trial period, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.