Cloudinary vs Cloudflare Images
Default scenario: At 50K unique source images / month, 500K transformations / month, 2,000 GB image bandwidth / month: Cloudinary (over self-serve plan limits · contact sales), Cloudflare Images $2,460/yr.
The services may differ in features, performance, support and the work you need to do yourself. Read the notes and test what matters to your setup.
Your selected usage
50K unique source images / month, 500K transformations / month, 2,000 GB image bandwidth / month
- Cloudinary: Over self-serve plan limits · contact sales
- Cloudflare Images: $2,460/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | Cloudinary | Cloudflare Images |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing site2K unique source images / month, 50K transformations / month, 200 GB image bandwidth / month | $2,988/yrAdvanced · $0 source images + $0 transforms + $0 bandwidth | $270/yrTransform remote images · $0 source images + $23 transforms + $0 bandwidth |
| E-commerce catalog50K unique source images / month, 500K transformations / month, 2,000 GB image bandwidth / month | —Over self-serve plan limits · contact sales | $2,460/yrHosted in Cloudflare Images · $0 source images + $0 transforms + $200 bandwidth |
| UGC marketplace1M unique source images / month, 5M transformations / month, 20,000 GB image bandwidth / month | —Over self-serve plan limits · contact sales | $24,600/yrHosted in Cloudflare Images · $45 source images + $0 transforms + $2,000 bandwidth |
Vendors define “source image” and “transformation” differently (monthly vs stored, cached vs not). See each vendor’s notes. Try your own numbers against all image processing providers.
Side by side
| Cloudinary | Cloudflare Images | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Image and video management platform with URL-based transformations, storage, DAM and CDN delivery, billed in monthly credits. | Image resizing and optimization on Cloudflare's network, billed per unique transformation, or per stored and delivered image if hosted. |
| Headquarters | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Parent jurisdiction | 🇺🇸 United States | 🇺🇸 United States |
| EU self-serve plan | No / not documented | No / not documented |
| GDPR DPA | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | subscription | payg |
| Free tier | 25 credits/month (e.g. 25k transformations or 25 GB bandwidth), no credit card | 5,000 unique transformations/month on remote images (hard limit on the Free plan, no storage) |
| Open source | No | No |
| Source last checked | 2026-10-06 | 2026-10-06 |
| Pricing evidence | Modeled rates | Modeled rates |
Which should you choose?
Cloudflare Images has the lower estimated bill wherever both list a self-serve price, from 5K unique source images / month, 50K transformations / month, 200 GB image bandwidth / month to 10K unique source images / month, 100K transformations / month, 400 GB image bandwidth / month. From about 25K unique source images / month, 250K transformations / month, 1,000 GB image bandwidth / month, Cloudinary is over its self-serve plan limits.
Choose Cloudinary if…
Our data shows no advantage on price, residency, jurisdiction or licensing. Compare features in the notes below.
Choose Cloudflare Images if…
- it has the lower estimated bill at Marketing site usage
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
Cloudinary pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Shared storage, transformation and bandwidth credits; assumes 1 MB per original image. Stored originals accumulate over time.
| Plan | Base fee / month |
|---|---|
| Free | $0 |
| Plus | $99 |
| Advanced | $249 |
Credit-based. Free 25 credits/month, Plus $99/month ($89 billed yearly) for 225 credits, Advanced $249/month ($224 yearly) for 600 credits; Enterprise is custom. One credit = 1,000 transformations OR 1 GB managed storage OR 1 GB image bandwidth (2 GB video bandwidth on paid plans). Self-serve plans have no metered overage: above the credit allowance you are asked to upgrade or move to Enterprise, so the plans are modelled as hard caps. Credits are one shared pool; the calculator checks the sum of storage, transformations and image bandwidth (e.g. 200 GB + 50k transformations = 250 credits, above Plus's 225). Source images are stored in Cloudinary, so they use storage credits for as long as they are kept (cumulative, not per month). source_k limits assume ~1 MB per original (1,000 images = 1 GB = 1 credit). There is no per-image fee. EEA data residency is available to Enterprise customers only (cloudinary.com/trust). The DPA applies to all subscription customers.
Cloudinary plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Cloudflare Images pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Converts delivery requests to bandwidth assuming 100 KB per delivered image. Cached deliveries still count.
| Plan | Base fee / month | 1k source images | 1k transformations | Bandwidth / GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transform remote images | $0 | $0 | $0.5 | $0 |
| Hosted in Cloudflare Images | $5 | $0.05 | $0 | $0.1 |
Two ways to use it, modelled as two plans. (1) Transforming images that stay in your own storage: first 5,000 unique transformations/month included, then $0.50 per 1,000. A unique transformation is one image plus one parameter set, counted once per calendar month, and there is no per-source or bandwidth charge. (2) Images uploaded to Cloudflare Images: $5 per 100,000 images STORED per month (bought in $5 blocks) plus $1 per 100,000 images DELIVERED. Variants and resizing via the delivery URL are billed as deliveries, not transformations. Stored images are a running total, not new uploads per month; here source_k is treated as the stored count. Deliveries count every browser request, cached or not, and are not a calculator input, so per_gb converts them assuming ~100 KB per delivered image (10,000 images/GB = $0.10/GB). There is no bandwidth fee on either path. EU data localization (Data Localization Suite) is an Enterprise add-on, so eu_data_residency is false. Customer DPA at cloudflare.com/cloudflare-customer-dpa.
Cloudflare Images plan limits, full rates and cheaper alternatives · official pricing page
Frequently asked questions
Is Cloudinary cheaper than Cloudflare Images?
Cloudflare Images has the lower estimated bill wherever both list a self-serve price, from 5K unique source images / month, 50K transformations / month, 200 GB image bandwidth / month to 10K unique source images / month, 100K transformations / month, 400 GB image bandwidth / month. From about 25K unique source images / month, 250K transformations / month, 1,000 GB image bandwidth / month, Cloudinary is over its self-serve plan limits. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do Cloudinary and Cloudflare Images offer EU data residency?
Neither documents EU data residency on a self-serve plan.
Do Cloudinary and Cloudflare Images have a free tier or trial?
Cloudinary: 25 credits/month (e.g. 25k transformations or 25 GB bandwidth), no credit card. Cloudflare Images: 5,000 unique transformations/month on remote images (hard limit on the Free plan, no storage).
Where are Cloudinary and Cloudflare Images based?
Cloudinary is headquartered in the United States. Cloudflare Images is headquartered in the United States.