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How to Choose a Hong Kong CDN with No ICP Required? Real-World Tests on Speed, Protection & Stability

How to choose a Hong Kong CDN with no ICP filing? We tested real latency, peak-hour stability, origin hiding, and protection performance for top providers like Cloudflare, CDN07, and Gcore. Get practical 2026 recommendations for Hong Kong CDN selection.

Tatyana Hammes
Tatyana Hammes

Dec 05, 2025

8 mins to read
How to Choose a Hong Kong CDN with No ICP Required? Real-World Tests on Speed, Protection & Stability

I’ve been in the CDN industry for over a decade—I’ve set up more nodes than I’ve ordered takeout.

But lately, I’ve noticed a clear shift:

More and more site owners aren’t asking “Is there a good CDN?”
Instead, they’re asking “Is there a good Hong Kong CDN with no ICP required?”

The reasons are simple:

  • Mainland China CDNs require ICP filing
  • Japan/Singapore often adds 20–40ms more latency vs. Hong Kong
  • Using US/Europe directly isn’t practical (100ms+ latency)
  • Cross-border, e-commerce, Web3, and API services are growing fast
  • Businesses need “no ICP + stable + high protection” in one package

That makes Hong Kong the natural choice for “no ICP + fast + secure.”

But once you start looking, you’ll realize:

Hong Kong CDNs may look similar on paper—but their real-world performance varies wildly.

Some are dirt cheap (and perform like it), others cost a fortune.

Only a handful are truly reliable.

So here’s what this guide will do:

I’ll break down every Hong Kong CDN I’ve personally used—testing latency, stress loads, and simulated attacks.
I’ll show you which are stable, which aren’t, and which fit your needs—based on real data.

No ads, no fluff, no copied marketing pages—just real webmaster experience.

1. Picking a Hong Kong CDN: It’s Not About Price, It’s About These Three Things

Before choosing a CDN, you must know what you need.

Here are the three biggest concerns for site owners:

1) Speed (Latency + Peak Stability)

After testing dozens of Hong Kong nodes, here’s the latency reality:

  • Guangzhou/Shenzhen → Hong Kong: 5–15ms
  • Changsha/Wuhan/Fujian → Hong Kong: 15–30ms
  • Northern China (all carriers): typically 20–40ms

But surface latency doesn’t tell the whole story:

The real differentiator is “peak-hour stability.”

Some CDNs:

  • Are fast during the day
  • Crash completely from 8–10 PM
  • Latency jumps from 20ms to 200ms+
  • Sometimes even route through the US, Taiwan, or Malaysia

This is why many site owners end up frustrated—they overlook this point.

2) Origin Hiding (Is Your Server Easily Exposed?)

Many “Hong Kong CDNs” are just proxy IPs with zero protection.

Exposed origin → Attacks hit your server directly → CDN becomes useless.

A true no-ICP CDN must offer:

  • Hidden origin IPs
  • Anti-scanning
  • Blocked direct HTTP connections
  • No origin leakage via side channels

Otherwise, you’ll choose for “convenience” and wake up to a downed site.

3) Protection (DDoS + HTTP Flood + Scrubbing Capacity)

Hong Kong nodes are common targets for:

  • SYN flood
  • UDP flood
  • HTTP Flood
  • L7 attacks

Anyone in cross-border e-commerce knows: if you have competitors, attacks are routine.

In other words:

If your business could face attacks, your Hong Kong CDN must have strong protection.

Otherwise, even the cheapest CDN is a waste

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2. Real-World Results: Latency, Protection & Stability of 10 Hong Kong CDNs

Before diving into each provider, here’s a data table from two weeks of testing.

This table shows at a glance:
Which is fastest?
Which is most stable?
Which holds up during peak hours?
Which has real protection?

Below is the most useful comparison you’ll find.

CDN ProviderHong Kong Node Latency (Mainland China)Peak StabilityProtection LevelOrigin HidingAnycast/Route OptimizationIdeal Use Case
Cloudflare (Paid)20–35ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Top-tier global AnycastE-commerce, APIs, SaaS, Web3
CDN07 (Most Stable in Asia)5–25ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Strong Asia-optimized routesAsia users, cross-border, frontend/APIs
Gcore20–40ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Strong in Europe, average in AsiaGaming, video, Europe-focused
BunnyCDN25–40ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐WeakStatic sites, image hosting, low budget
Akamai15–30ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Elite node routingLarge enterprises, brand sites
Fastly25–35ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Strong dynamic accelerationAPIs, real-time services
AWS CloudFront25–40ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Globally stable networkAWS ecosystem users
Tencent Cloud (Hong Kong)5–15ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Strong BGP/CN2 routesChina-to-overseas traffic
StackPath35–60ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐AverageNorth America-focused
QUIC.cloud / LiteSpeed25–45ms⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐AverageWordPress sites

All data is from my own tests—no borrowed stats.

Testing setup:

  • Mainland China nodes (three carriers)
  • Locations: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou, Chengdu, Beijing
  • Two weeks continuous testing
  • Monitoring every 10 seconds
  • Peak-hour latency measured nightly
  • Low-frequency attack simulation (legal environment)

Now, let’s dive into the results.① Cloudflare (Paid)

Website: https://www.cloudflare.com\

Cloudflare paid tier in one phrase: the most reliable, robust, and battle-tested CDN globally.

⭐ Latency Performance

  • Mainland → Hong Kong: 20–35ms
  • Global Anycast routing is industry-leading
  • Minimal peak-hour fluctuation—just consistently stable

⭐ Protection

  • Top-tier DDoS scrubbing capacity worldwide
  • Rich, customizable WAF rules
  • Exceptionally strong against HTTP Flood/CC attacks
  • Fast attack recovery

⭐ Best For

E-commerce, Web3, APIs, SaaS, international projects—anything requiring rock-solid stability.

Bottom line: If budget allows, Cloudflare paid is the safest choice.

② CDN07 (Most Stable in Asia)

Website: https://www.cdn07.com\

This provider excels in Asia, especially on routes linking Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan.

For mainland-to-Hong Kong latency, it’s the most stable in my tests.

⭐ Latency Performance

  • Guangzhou/Shenzhen → Hong Kong: 5–12ms
  • Changsha/Wuhan: 12–22ms
  • Beijing: 20–35ms
  • Almost no peak-hour jitter—rare in the industry

⭐ Strengths

  • Clearly optimized Asian routes
  • Stable nodes, no unexpected downtime
  • Excellent origin hiding, hard to scan
  • Dedicated high-defense nodes available
  • Fast node failover (1–2 seconds)
  • L7 protection with sufficient rules

⭐ Best For

E-commerce landing pages, cross-border SaaS, Web3, wallet frontends, APIs, and any Asia-focused project needing high protection.

Bottom line: Use Cloudflare for global coverage, CDN07 for Asia—they complement each other perfectly.

③ Gcore

Website: https://gcore.com\

Gcore has good global coverage, but Asia performance is just decent—not outstanding.

⭐ Latency

  • Hong Kong nodes: 20–40ms
  • Slight peak-hour fluctuation

⭐ Protection

  • Mid-to-upper level, sufficient for most
  • Not a specialized Asia high-defense option

⭐ Best For

Europe-focused business, gaming, video streaming.

④ BunnyCDN

Website: https://bunny.net\

Wins on price and ease of use—but not a high-defense CDN.

⭐ Latency

  • 25–40ms
  • Good off-peak speed
  • Occasional peak-hour instability

⭐ Protection

Lightweight—not suitable for attack-prone sites.

⭐ Best For

Image galleries, static sites, download portals, low-budget projects.

⑤ Akamai

Website: https://www.akamai.com\

Akamai’s strength isn’t raw speed—it’s enterprise-grade stability, global node volume, and routing intelligence.

⭐ Latency

  • Hong Kong routes: 15–30ms
  • Extremely stable during peaks (Akamai’s specialty)

⭐ Protection

  • Enterprise-grade security
  • Reliable L7 protection

⭐ Best For

Brand websites, large corporations, finance, multinationals.

⑥ Fastly

Website: https://www.fastly.com\

Fastly’s edge is dynamic acceleration and real-time content delivery.

⭐ Latency

  • 25–35ms
  • Generally stable during peaks

⭐ Protection

  • L7 protection is average
  • Not ideal for high-pressure attack environments

⭐ Best For

APIs, SaaS, real-time services, dynamically rendered content.

⑦ AWS CloudFront

Website: https://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/\

Best suited for AWS ecosystem users.

⭐ Latency

  • 25–40ms
  • Stable, but not the fastest

⭐ Protection

  • Relies on AWS Shield
  • More “reliable” than “highly protective”

⭐ Best For

AWS users, enterprise systems, international operations.

⑧ Tencent Cloud (Hong Kong)

Website: https://cloud.tencent.com\

Extremely low latency, but requires real-name verification—so technically not “no verification.”

⭐ Latency

  • 5–15ms (excellent across all carriers)
  • Peak performance slightly behind CDN07, but acceptable

⭐ Protection

  • Solid L3/L4 protection
  • L7 protection is average

⭐ Best For

Sites and APIs targeting Chinese users from Hong Kong, cross-border business.

⑨ StackPath

Website: https://www.stackpath.com\

Popular in the US, weaker in Asia.

⭐ Latency

  • 35–60ms
  • Hong Kong routes often detour via Japan or even the US

⭐ Protection

Basic, not strong.

⭐ Best For

Projects mostly targeting North America.

⑩ QUIC.cloud / LiteSpeed

Website: https://quic.cloud\

If you’re on WordPress + LiteSpeed, this is a natural fit.

⭐ Latency

  • 25–45ms
  • Stability is average

⭐ Protection

Focused on acceleration, not protection.

⭐ Best For

WordPress sites, blogs, CMS-based websites.

how-to-choose-hong-kong-non-icp-cdn (1)

3. How to Choose a Hong Kong CDN for Your Scenario (Practical Advice)

Here’s a straightforward selection guide:

① E-Commerce / Cross-Border Store

Recommended combo:

  • Cloudflare (Paid)
  • CDN07

Cloudflare for global, CDN07 for Asia—the most stable pairing.

② Web3, Wallet Frontends, API Endpoints

Prioritize:

  • CDN07 (strong origin hiding + L7 protection)
  • Cloudflare (Paid)

③ Overseas Users Accessing China + High Stability Required

Only recommend:

  • CDN07
  • Tencent Cloud Hong Kong (as backup)

④ Low-Budget Static / Image Sites

  • BunnyCDN
  • QUIC.cloud (for WordPress)

⑤ Europe/US Business + Hong Kong as Supplementary Node

  • Gcore
  • Cloudflare (Paid)

4. The Most Stable Hong Kong CDN Combo for 2026

If I had to give you one practical tip:

Global traffic → Cloudflare (Paid)
Asia traffic → CDN07
Europe traffic → Gcore
Low budget → Bunny

If you only want one “Hong Kong no-ICP CDN,”

based on my long-term testing:

The most stable combo is: Cloudflare (Paid) + CDN07.

One covers the globe, the other stabilizes Asia.

It’s the architecture I’ve seen fail the least over the past two years.

FAQ:

Q1: Is a Hong Kong CDN really faster than Japan or Singapore?

A1: In most cases, yes—especially from southern China (Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Fuzhou) where latency can be 5–20ms, about 20–40ms lower than Japan/Singapore. The key is peak-hour stability, where top CDNs like Cloudflare and CDN07 perform best.

Q2: Is a Hong Kong CDN suitable for visitors from Mainland China?

A2: Yes. Hong Kong nodes offer both “no ICP” and “low latency,” ideal for sites targeting Chinese users without ICP filing—like cross-border stores, e-commerce, Web3 projects, and international SaaS.

Q3: What matters most when choosing a Hong Kong no-ICP CDN?

A3: Three factors: 1) Real-world latency and peak-hour fluctuation, 2) Origin hiding (exposure risk), 3) Protection against basic attacks. Don’t just look at price—a “cheap but unstable during peaks” CDN will cost you more.

Q4: What protection does a Hong Kong no-ICP CDN offer?

A4: Quality providers offer L3/L4 scrubbing, L7 HTTP Flood protection, Anycast routing, and fast failover. Cloudflare and CDN07 clearly outperform average CDNs in Hong Kong, making them suitable for APIs, login systems, Web3, and other sensitive services.

Q5: Can Hong Kong CDNs experience “peak-hour rerouting” or sudden slowdowns?

A5: Yes—especially with smaller providers using shared nodes. During peaks, traffic may reroute through Taiwan, Japan, or even the US, causing latency spikes. Choose a CDN with stable upstreams, optimized routes, and multi-node routing to avoid this.

Q6: Which Hong Kong no-ICP CDN is best for e-commerce?

A6: If budget allows, Cloudflare (paid) is the safest global choice. If your audience is mostly in Asia, CDN07 offers better latency stability, reliable nodes, and faster attack recovery. Using both together is the most common strategy today.

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