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AWS vs Cloudinary: Pricing Comparison 2026

Side-by-side pricing comparison of AWS and Cloudinary. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.

Bottom line: Cloudinary starts at $99/mo, making it $1921/mo cheaper than AWS ($2020/mo). Cloudinary offers a free plan.

Last updated: July 6, 2026

Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin
Updated July 6, 2026
Try AWS freeTry Cloudinary freePrice updated 10d agoPrice updated 10d ago

AWS vs Cloudinary: Quick Pricing Facts

FeatureAWSCloudinary
Starting Price$2020/mo$99/mo
Number of Plans44
Free TierNoYes
Pricing Modelusage-basedfreemium
Annual DiscountN/AN/A

Cloudinary is the more affordable option, starting at $99/mo compared to AWS' $2020/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 8 combined pricing plans and 48 features compared.

Cloudinary stands out with a free plan for getting started. AWS uses usage-based pricing while Cloudinary uses freemium pricing, which may affect your total cost at scale.

Review the detailed tier-by-tier comparison above to see exactly which features are included at each price point and find the best fit for your Hosting & Infra needs.

Pricing Plans
AWS
Cloudinary
Cloudinary
Try free
Tier 1
How does AWS pricing work?
Custom pricing
Start with How does AWS pricing work?
FreePopular
$0/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Upload widget, API, and search
  • Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
  • Image and video transformations
  • Video transcoding and adaptive streaming
  • High performance delivery through a CDN
  • Support — forums, tickets, and email
  • Access to free add-ons
  • Upload widget, API, and search
  • Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
  • Image and video transformations
  • Video transcoding and adaptive streaming
  • High performance delivery through a CDN
  • Support — forums, tickets, and email
  • Access to free add-ons
  • Access to MCP servers
Start with Free
Tier 2
How do you pay for AWS?
Custom pricing
Start with How do you pay for AWS?
PlusPopular
$99/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
Start with Plus
Tier 3
Is AWS Private Pricing right for you?
Custom pricing
Start with Is AWS Private Pricing right for you?
AdvancedPopular
$249/monthCheapest
Includes
  • Custom domain (CNAME) support
  • Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate
  • Authentication Options
  • Custom domain (CNAME) support
  • Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate
  • Authentication Options
Start with Advanced
Tier 4
Pricing for AWS products
$2020/monthCheapest
Start with Pricing for AWS products
EnterprisePopular
Custom pricing
Includes
  • Backup to your own S3 bucket
  • Auto-tagging based search
  • Access to free and paid add-ons
  • Expedited support
  • Allowlist/Blocklist asset access
  • Video Bandwidth Boost 2:1
  • Role-based multi-user administration
  • Security and compliance review
  • Multi-CDN and enterprise grade infrastructure
  • Enterprise SLAs and support
  • Designated customer success manager
  • Custom contracts and invoicing
  • User management (SSO, provisioning API)
Start with Enterprise

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AWS

Comprehensive cloud computing platform by Amazon

View all AWS plans

Cloudinary

Cloud-based image and video management platform

View all Cloudinary plans

Which Should You Choose?

Choose AWS if:

  • •You need a comprehensive cloud platform for application deployment, not just media management
  • •AWS S3, CloudFront, and Lambda can handle media storage and delivery natively
  • •Keeping all services on one platform for unified billing and access management

Choose Cloudinary if:

  • •You need managed image and video optimization with on-the-fly transformations via URL
  • •Cloudinary's free tier covers 25 credits/month; paid from $89/month
  • •Automating responsive image delivery without custom Lambda functions and CloudFront configurations

AWS can do what Cloudinary does - store images in S3, transform them with Lambda, and deliver via CloudFront - but it requires significant engineering to set up. Cloudinary is a purpose-built media platform that does this out of the box. Many teams use AWS for application infrastructure and Cloudinary for media management to avoid building and maintaining custom media pipelines. The build-vs-buy decision depends on your engineering bandwidth.

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Frequently Asked Questions: AWS vs Cloudinary

Which is cheaper, AWS or Cloudinary?
As of July 2026, Cloudinary starts at a lower price point. AWS starts at $2020/mo while Cloudinary starts at $99/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.
How many pricing plans does AWS have vs Cloudinary?
AWS offers 4 pricing plans, while Cloudinary offers 4 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.
Does AWS or Cloudinary offer a free plan?
Cloudinary offers a free plan, while AWS does not. If budget is a concern, Cloudinary lets you get started at no cost.
What is the most popular Cloudinary plan?
The Free plan is Cloudinary's most popular tier, priced at Free. Key features include Upload widget, API, and search, Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking, Image and video transformations.
Does AWS or Cloudinary offer custom enterprise pricing?
Yes, both AWS and Cloudinary offer custom enterprise pricing tiers with quote-based pricing. Contact each vendor for a tailored quote.
What pricing models do AWS and Cloudinary use?
AWS uses a usage-based pricing model, while Cloudinary uses freemium pricing. The right model depends on your team size and usage patterns.
How do AWS and Cloudinary compare for Hosting & Infra?
Both AWS and Cloudinary are Hosting & Infra tools. AWS offers 4 plans starting at $2020/mo, while Cloudinary offers 4 plans starting at $99/mo. Review the feature breakdowns above to see which better fits your Hosting & Infra needs.
AI Recommendations

Sources

  1. AWS Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page
  2. Cloudinary Official Pricing- Vendor pricing page

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