Cloudinary vs Heroku: Pricing Comparison 2026
Side-by-side pricing comparison of Cloudinary and Heroku. See all plans, features, and costs at a glance.
Bottom line: Heroku starts at $5/mo, making it $94/mo cheaper than Cloudinary ($99/mo). Cloudinary offers a free plan.
Last updated: March 16, 2026
Cloudinary vs Heroku: Quick Pricing Facts
| Feature | Cloudinary | Heroku |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $99/mo | $5/mo |
| Number of Plans | 4 | 4 |
| Free Tier | Yes | No |
| Pricing Model | freemium | usage-based |
| Annual Discount | N/A | N/A |
Heroku is the more affordable option, starting at $5/mo compared to Cloudinary's $99/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 8 combined pricing plans and 62 features compared. At comparable tiers, the monthly price difference is $25.
Cloudinary stands out with a free plan for getting started. Cloudinary uses freemium pricing while Heroku uses usage-based 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 |  Cloudinary Try it free |  Heroku Try it free |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | FreePopular $0/monthCheapest Includes
| |
| Tier 2 | PlusPopular $99/month Includes
| |
| Tier 3 | AdvancedPopular $249/month Includes
| Standard 1xPopular $25/monthCheapest Includes
|
| Tier 4 | EnterprisePopular Custom pricing Includes
| Performance M $250/monthCheapest Includes
|
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Cloudinary
Cloudinary offers a free plan.
Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.
Best value: Cloudinary
Try Cloudinary freeWhich Should You Choose?
Choose Cloudinary if:
- •You need a free plan with Upload widget, API, and search, Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking—Cloudinary offers no-cost access with no credit card required
- •You want more features built-in—Cloudinary offers 34 additional features across its plans
- •Your team needs custom enterprise pricing—Cloudinary offers negotiated terms for large deployments
Choose Heroku if:
- •You want lower per-user costs—Heroku starts at $5/mo, saving $94/mo compared to Cloudinary at $99/mo
- •Heroku's 4-tier usage-based structure gives clearer cost visibility for budget planning
- •Heroku's feature bundling aligns with how Hosting & Infra teams actually work day-to-day
Cloudinary offers a free plan [1], eliminating the cost barrier for evaluation, while Heroku requires paid subscription from the start. This gives Cloudinary a significant advantage for teams with budget constraints or extended trial periods. Once you outgrow Cloudinary's free tier, upgrading to a paid plan at approximately Free provides substantial additional functionality. Compare this pricing path against Heroku's tiering starting at $5/mo to assess total cost of ownership over 12 months. Cloudinary's 4 tiers provide flexibility at different budgets, while Heroku's 4 tiers structure may force you into higher-cost plans than necessary for your use case. If evaluation cost matters to your decision, Cloudinary is the obvious starting point with zero financial commitment. Use the free tier to validate core functionality before committing to paid plans from either tool.
Frequently Asked Questions: Cloudinary vs Heroku
Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or Heroku?
How many pricing plans does Cloudinary have vs Heroku?
Does Cloudinary or Heroku offer a free plan?
What is the most popular Cloudinary plan?
What is the most popular Heroku plan?
Does Cloudinary or Heroku offer custom enterprise pricing?
What pricing models do Cloudinary and Heroku use?
Sources
- Cloudinary Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
- Heroku Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
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