Vercel Image Optimization vs Cloudflare Images
Default scenario: At 50K unique source images / month, 500K transformations / month, 2,000 GB image bandwidth / month, estimated bills are $2,460/yr for Cloudflare Images and $2,880/yr for Vercel Image Optimization. That’s a $420 difference before accounting for different features or operating costs.
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
- Vercel Image Optimization: $2,880/yr estimated
- Cloudflare Images: $2,460/yr estimated
Estimated costs at different usage levels
| Usage | Vercel Image Optimization | Cloudflare Images |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing site2K unique source images / month, 50K transformations / month, 200 GB image bandwidth / month | $300/yrPro · $0 source images + $5.00 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 | $2,880/yrPro · $0 source images + $50 transforms + $170 bandwidth | $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 | $45,000/yrPro · $0 source images + $500 transforms + $3,230 bandwidth | $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
| Vercel Image Optimization | Cloudflare Images | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Built-in image resizing and format conversion for apps on Vercel (e.g. next/image), billed per transformation plus cache and data transfer. | 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 | Hobby (non-commercial only) includes 5K transformations, 300K cache reads, 100K cache writes/month | 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?
Which one is cheaper changes more than once as usage grows, because of plan tiers and free allowances. Check the table at your usage.
Choose Vercel Image Optimization 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, E-commerce catalog and UGC marketplace usage
Based on estimated list-price bills and the facts above. Features, performance and support aren’t scored.
Vercel Image Optimization pricing
Published rates converted using workload assumptions. Read the notes. Cache-write cost assumes 100 KB output images. Cache behavior, sizes and regional rates change cost.
| Plan | Base fee / month | 1k transformations | Bandwidth / GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pro | $20 | $0.1 | $0.17 |
Pro is $20/month per seat, with a $20 monthly usage credit not modelled here. Since February 2025, transformations are billed per cache MISS or STALE at $0.05 per 1,000 (US iad1; up to $0.0812 in other regions). Cache writes cost $4.00 per million 8 KB units (on every miss) and global cache reads $0.40 per million. per_1k_transformations adds ~$0.05 of cache writes, assuming ~100 KB output (13 units). Delivery is Fast Data Transfer: 1 TB/month included on Pro, then $0.15/GB in iad1. per_gb also adds CDN requests ($2 per million, ~$0.02/GB at ~100 KB per image). No per-source-image fee today. The legacy model (still on some pre-Feb-2025 Enterprise contracts) charged $5 per 1,000 unique source images after 5,000 included on Pro. Hobby is excluded because it is restricted to non-commercial use. DPA at vercel.com/legal/dpa. Image Optimization runs on the global CDN with no self-serve EU-only option.
Vercel Image Optimization 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 Vercel Image Optimization cheaper than Cloudflare Images?
Which one is cheaper changes more than once as usage grows, because of plan tiers and free allowances. Check the table at your usage. At 50K unique source images / month, 500K transformations / month, 2,000 GB image bandwidth / month, the estimates are $2,880/yr for Vercel Image Optimization and $2,460/yr for Cloudflare Images. Estimates use list prices and leave out features, support and operating costs.
Do Vercel Image Optimization and Cloudflare Images offer EU data residency?
Neither documents EU data residency on a self-serve plan.
Do Vercel Image Optimization and Cloudflare Images have a free tier or trial?
Vercel Image Optimization: Hobby (non-commercial only) includes 5K transformations, 300K cache reads, 100K cache writes/month. Cloudflare Images: 5,000 unique transformations/month on remote images (hard limit on the Free plan, no storage).
Where are Vercel Image Optimization and Cloudflare Images based?
Vercel Image Optimization is headquartered in the United States. Cloudflare Images is headquartered in the United States.