Advanced CDN Bandwidth Cost Calculator

Calculator Inputs

Large screens use three columns, smaller screens use two, and mobile uses one.

Calculation mode

Choose estimation from request volume or direct traffic entry.

Monthly requests

Used for request pricing and transfer estimation.

Average asset size

Compressed average payload per request.

Direct monthly transfer

Use when you already know delivered monthly traffic.

Cache hit ratio (%)

Higher values reduce origin fill traffic.

Compression savings (%)

Applies only in estimate mode.

Origin shield savings (%)

Reduces duplicate origin pulls on cache misses.

Burst margin (%)

Adds contingency for traffic spikes.

Redundancy overhead (%)

Use for dual-provider or failover overhead.

CDN transfer rate ($/GB)

Base egress rate before regional multiplier.

Origin egress rate ($/GB)

Cost from storage or origin host to edge.

Request fee ($ per 10,000)

Useful for providers charging per request block.

Regional rate multiplier

Example: 1.00 standard, 1.15 mixed, 1.30 global heavy.

Free transfer allowance (GB)

Subtracts included transfer from billable usage.

Free requests

Subtracts included request volume.

Commit discount (%)

Applies to network subtotal only.

Fixed add-on cost ($)

Use for WAF, logs, image optimization, or support plans.

Example Data Table

These sample scenarios help compare different traffic levels, cache efficiency, and blended cost outcomes.

Scenario	Monthly Requests	Avg Asset Size	Cache Hit Ratio	Delivered Traffic	Estimated Monthly Cost
Brochure site	800,000	220 KB	94%	151.18 GB	$10.21
SaaS dashboard	4,000,000	480 KB	91%	1,647.95 GB	$108.37
Media portal	18,000,000	1.10 MB	88%	17,402.34 GB	$1,171.66
Streaming edge	Direct 42 TB	Direct input	96%	43,008.00 GB	$2,709.54

Formula Used

Estimate mode delivered traffic
Delivered GB = Monthly Requests × Asset Size in GB × (1 − Compression Savings)

Direct mode delivered traffic
Delivered GB = Direct Monthly Transfer converted to GB

Traffic with operational overhead
Overhead GB = Delivered GB × (1 + Burst Margin) × (1 + Redundancy Overhead)

Billable CDN transfer
Billable Transfer GB = max(0, Overhead GB − Free Transfer Allowance)

Origin fill traffic
Origin Fill GB = Delivered GB × (1 − Cache Hit Ratio) × (1 − Shield Savings)

Effective CDN transfer rate
Effective Rate = Base CDN Rate × Regional Multiplier

Request pricing
Request Cost = Billable Requests ÷ 10,000 × Request Fee

Total monthly cost
Total Cost = (CDN Transfer Cost + Origin Cost + Request Cost − Commit Discount) + Fixed Add-on Cost

How to Use This Calculator

Choose estimate mode if you know requests and typical file size. Choose direct mode if you already know monthly data transfer.
Enter cache hit ratio, compression savings, and origin shield savings to reflect your caching strategy and edge efficiency.
Set transfer, origin, and request pricing from your provider or negotiated contract.
Add free allowances, regional multiplier, burst margin, and redundancy overhead for a more realistic planning model.
Include any fixed platform add-ons such as WAF, image optimization, security bundles, or premium support.
Click Calculate Cost to view the result above the form, inspect the sensitivity graph, and export the summary as CSV or PDF.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does this calculator estimate?

It estimates monthly CDN spending using delivered traffic, cache efficiency, request fees, origin pull cost, regional pricing adjustments, discounts, and fixed platform add-ons.

2. When should I use estimate mode?

Use estimate mode when you know traffic patterns as requests and average file size. It is helpful during forecasting, proposal planning, or pre-launch budgeting.

3. When is direct mode better?

Direct mode is better when monitoring tools already show monthly bandwidth. It avoids assumptions about asset size and uses known transfer values instead.

4. Why does cache hit ratio matter so much?

A higher cache hit ratio means more content is served from edge locations. That reduces repeated origin fetches and usually lowers total delivery cost.

5. What is the regional multiplier for?

Some providers charge more for certain geographies or global traffic mixes. The multiplier lets you model that premium without changing every rate manually.

6. Does the calculator include request pricing?

Yes. It includes billable requests after subtracting any free allowance. This helps when providers charge separately for request volume and transfer.

7. Should fixed add-on cost include security products?

Yes. You can place WAF bundles, real-time logs, image optimization, support plans, or any recurring charge in the fixed add-on field.

8. Is this result exact for every provider?

No. It is a planning model. Real invoices may vary because of tiered pricing, regional splits, minimum commitments, taxes, and special contract terms.