What is Cloudinary?
Cloudinary manages images and video in the cloud, offers upload, transformation and AI optimization, global CDN delivery, APIs and SDKs, DAM tools, free and paid tiers.
Cloudinary
What it is
Cloudinary is a media pipeline you plug into your app: store images and video, transform them on the fly via URL parameters, and deliver through a global CDN. It ships SDKs for popular frameworks and throws in a digital asset manager so teams can keep assets (mostly) wrangled.
Why it matters
It automates the grunt work: responsive sizing, format switching to WebP/AVIF, compression, subtitles and transcoding for video, plus AI tricks like smart cropping, background removal, and auto-tagging. Translation: faster pages, fewer bespoke microservices, and less bike-shedding over image variants.
Where it shines—and cracks
Developer ergonomics are strong, and the CDN is dependable. But pricing tracks bandwidth and transformations, so surprises happen at scale. The URL-based logic is powerful—and a form of lock-in. The dashboard can feel sprawling if you only need basics.
Who should use it
Teams with media-heavy apps that value speed and reliability over DIY control. If you need bare-bones storage or tight, predictable costs, look elsewhere.
What features and use cases does Cloudinary offer?
- Cloud-based image and video storage with REST APIs and client SDKs
- On-the-fly transformations via URL (resize, crop, format conversion, overlays, watermarks)
- Automatic optimization and responsive delivery (compression, DPR/size variants, WebP/AVIF) over a global CDN
- AI-assisted media processing (auto-tagging, background removal, face-aware/smart cropping)
- Digital Asset Management features (metadata, versioning, search, roles/permissions)
- Secure upload and delivery (signed URLs, access control, moderation)
- Integrations and widgets for web/mobile frameworks, CMS, and e-commerce platforms, with usage analytics
Prices
| Plan | Product | Price | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Programmable Media | free | Credit-based usage for image/video storage, transformations, and CDN delivery; limited monthly credits suitable for development/testing. |
| Plus | Programmable Media | $99/month | Self-serve plan with more monthly credits for production workloads; email support. |
| Advanced | Programmable Media | $249/month | Higher credit allotment and features for growing teams; enhanced support. |
| Enterprise | Programmable Media | Custom pricing | Tailored credits, enterprise features (e.g., SSO), premium support, and SLA via contract. |
| Assets (DAM) | Digital Asset Management | Custom pricing | Cloudinary Assets DAM with workflows, roles/permissions, and collaboration; priced by seats/usage via quote. |
Prices may vary by region. We do not guarantee the accuracy of prices. For current information see: https://cloudinary.com
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