China Mainstream CDN Comparison: Upyun vs Qiniu Cloud vs Alibaba Cloud vs Tencent Cloud

Overview

Using cdn acceleration for websites in China has become standard. But when facing the four mainstream providers—Upyun, Qiniu Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, and Tencent Cloud—many webmasters don't know how to choose. This article provides a horizontal comparison across five dimensions: price, free quota, acceleration performance, ease of use, and SSL support, to help you find the most suitable one.

One-Sentence Conclusion (If You Don't Have Time to Read the Full Article)

• Personal blog / low-traffic website: Upyun Alliance (10GB free traffic + 10GB storage per month) is the most cost-effective
• Developers / tech blogs: Qiniu Cloud (10GB free traffic + intuitive mirror storage) is the fastest to get started with
• Corporate sites / e-commerce sites: Alibaba Cloud CDN (most nodes, best stability) but relatively expensive
• Games / live streaming / large file downloads: Tencent Cloud CDN (ample bandwidth reserves, strong burst resistance)
• Overseas website acceleration for access from China: Upyun or Cloudflare Partner (with China node support)

I. Comparison of Core Parameters of the Four CDNs

Note: Prices refer to official public quotes as of May 2026. Actual prices are subject to each vendor's official website.

II. In-Depth Analysis of Each Provider's Pros and Cons

1. Upyun – The King of Cost-Effectiveness for Individual Webmasters

Core advantages:

• "Upyun Alliance" program: Provides 10GB free traffic + 10GB storage per month (requires keeping a logo at the bottom of your website), which is almost permanently free for personal blogs.
• China nodes cover mainstream carriers and are well optimized for small files such as images, CSS, and JS.
• The hybrid CDN product can connect to multiple cloud vendors simultaneously, providing disaster recovery capability.
• 

Points to note:

• Relatively few overseas nodes; not recommended for foreign trade sites to use alone.
• Console features are slightly simpler than those of big vendors, but sufficient.

Suitable scenarios: Personal blogs, startup teams, cost-sensitive projects.

New user registration: https://www.upyun.com/ 

2. Qiniu Cloud – Developer-Friendly, Fastest to Get Started

Core advantages:

• 10GB free traffic (no logo required, given directly).
• The "Mirror Storage" feature is very convenient: just enter the origin domain, and the CDN automatically pulls and caches resources with almost zero configuration.
• Powerful image processing API (cropping, compression, watermarking, format conversion, etc.), the earliest and most mature in China.

Points to note:

• Test domains are only valid for 30 days; formal use requires binding your own filed domain.
• Overseas acceleration nodes require additional activation and configuration.

Suitable scenarios: Developers, tech communities, image/file-focused applications.

New user registration: https://www.qiniu.com/

3. Alibaba Cloud CDN – Largest Scale, Best Stability

Core advantages:

• The most China nodes (2800+), widest coverage, and stability widely recognized as first-tier.
• Seamless integration with other Alibaba Cloud products (ECS, OSS, WAF) for one-stop management.
• Provides advanced features such as multi-layer caching, page optimization, and intelligent compression.

Points to note:

• No ongoing free quota; after the 20GB given to new users is used up, you pay as you go.
• Relatively high price, with many billing items (traffic, requests, dynamic acceleration, etc.) that require careful setup.

Suitable scenarios: Corporate websites, e-commerce promotions, scenarios with high availability requirements.

Discounted purchase (Cloud Ambassador): Alibaba Cloud CDN Official Page (commission can be obtained through Cloud Ambassador links)

4. Tencent Cloud CDN – Ample Bandwidth Resources, Strong Burst Resistance

Core advantages:

• Backed by Tencent's massive bandwidth reserves, it maintains high stability during traffic bursts (such as promotions or popular content).
• Deeply optimized for video, gaming, and large file download scenarios.
• The console is simple and easy to understand, and provides real-time traffic/bandwidth monitoring.

Points to note:

• Also no long-term free quota; after the 20GB for new users expires, payment is required.
• Some advanced security features (such as Referer whitelist and IP blacklist) need to be implemented in the EdgeOne product, which has a slight learning curve.

Suitable scenarios: Video websites, game downloads, online education, large file distribution.

Discounted purchase (Cloud Ambassador): Tencent Cloud CDN Official Page

III. How to Choose? Recommendations by Usage Scenario

Scenario 1: Personal Blog / Tech Blog (Monthly Traffic < 50GB)

• First choice: Upyun – After joining the alliance, 10GB free traffic, then 0.29 CNY/GB, extremely low cost.
• Alternative: Qiniu Cloud – Also 10GB free, with the simplest mirror storage configuration.

Scenario 2: Corporate Official Website / Brand Website (Monthly Traffic 100GB–1TB)

• First choice: Alibaba Cloud CDN – Stable and reliable, fast after-sales response, suitable for businesses with high availability requirements.
• Alternative: Tencent Cloud CDN – Has bonuses when used with Tencent's ecosystem.

Scenario 3: Overseas Users Accessing Chinese Websites

• First choice: Upyun + Cloudflare combination – Use Upyun for China and Cloudflare free version for overseas.
• Alternative: Alibaba Cloud CDN (Global Acceleration) – But the price is higher.

Scenario 4: Object Storage + CDN Combination

• Alibaba Cloud OSS + CDN: Standard combination with the most complete features.
• Qiniu Cloud Kodo + CDN: Cheaper, especially suitable for image/file storage.
• Upyun USS + CDN: After joining the alliance, 10GB of storage and traffic can be used for free.

IV. Common CDN Configuration Questions

Q: Does a China CDN require ICP filing?
Yes. Currently, mainstream CDNs in China all require the accelerated domain to have passed MIIT ICP filing. Domains without filing can only use overseas CDNs (such as Cloudflare or AWS CloudFront).

Q: Does HTTPS acceleration incur additional costs?
All four providers charge an HTTPS request fee (about 0.05 CNY/10,000 requests). In addition, if you use the free SSL certificate provided by the CDN, there is no extra cost.

Q: Can a CDN completely replace a server?
No. A CDN can only accelerate static files (images, CSS, JS, videos). Dynamic content (PHP, ASP, API interfaces) still needs to be processed by the origin server.

Q: How can I reduce costs?
1. Make full use of free quotas and distribute traffic across multiple CDNs (e.g., Upyun 10GB + Qiniu Cloud 10GB);
2. Set reasonable cache expiration times to reduce back-to-origin requests;
3. Use image compression, WebP format, etc., to reduce file sizes.

Q: Can I use multiple CDNs at the same time?
Yes. This can be achieved through DNS polling (such as Alibaba Cloud + Tencent Cloud) or hybrid CDN providers. However, the configuration is complex, and for ordinary websites, one provider is enough.

V. Summary and Recommendations

Back to the question at the beginning: How should individual webmasters in China choose a CDN?

• Limited budget → Upyun Alliance (10GB free/month)
• Pursuing convenience (almost no configuration threshold) → Qiniu Cloud
• Enterprise-level needs, pursuing ultimate stability → Alibaba Cloud
• Video/games/large files → Tencent Cloud

If you are still not entirely sure, it is recommended to first register with Upyun and Qiniu Cloud and use their free quotas to test for a week each, and see which one performs better in your region (for specific provinces and cities). After all, real user access latency is the only standard.

Registration links:
- Upyun Registration Address (after registering, search for "Upyun Alliance" to apply for 10GB free traffic)
- Qiniu Cloud Registration Address (10GB free traffic upon registration)
- Alibaba Cloud CDN (20GB traffic package for new users)
- Tencent Cloud CDN (20GB traffic package for new users)