Hosting & Infra

Cloudinary vs UpCloud: Pricing Comparison 2026

Name: UpCloud
Brand: UpCloud
Availability: OnlineOnly
Rating: 4.5 (350 reviews)

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

Bottom line: UpCloud starts at $3/mo, making it $96/mo cheaper than Cloudinary ($99/mo). Cloudinary offers a free plan.

Last updated: March 16, 2026

Data compiled by Arthur Jacquemin

Updated March 16, 2026

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Cloudinary vs UpCloud: Quick Pricing Facts

Feature	Cloudinary	UpCloud
Starting Price	$99/mo	$3/mo
Number of Plans	4	10
Free Tier	Yes	Yes
Pricing Model	freemium	usage-based
Annual Discount	N/A	N/A

UpCloud is the more affordable option, starting at $3/mo compared to Cloudinary's $99/mo. Both are Hosting & Infra tools with 14 combined pricing plans and 70 features compared.

Both tools offer free plans, making them accessible for teams on a budget. Cloudinary uses freemium pricing while UpCloud 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	UpCloud Try it free
Tier 1	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	Managed Kubernetes Development $0/monthCheapest Includes Up to 30 data plane nodes Start with Managed Kubernetes Development
Tier 2	PlusPopular $99/month 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	Managed Load Balancer Essentials $0/monthCheapest Includes 1 node 1000 sessions per node Start with Managed Load Balancer Essentials
Tier 3	AdvancedPopular $249/month Includes Custom domain (CNAME) support Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate Authentication Options Custom domain (CNAME) support Optional HTTPS SSL Certificate Authentication Options Start with Advanced	NAT and VPN Essentials $0/monthCheapest Includes NAT + VPN 1 VPN tunnel 100 Mbit/s bandwidth Start with NAT and VPN Essentials
Tier 4	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	Developer Plan $3/monthCheapest $0 / year Includes 1 GB Memory 1 CPU 10 GB Storage Start with Developer Plan
Tier 5	—	Managed Databases (1 GB) $8/monthCheapest $1 / year Includes 1 GB Memory 1 CPU 10 GB Storage Start with Managed Databases (1 GB)
Tier 6	—	File Storage (250 GB) $38/monthCheapest $3 / year Includes Managed NFS Shared data access Start with File Storage (250 GB)
Tier 7	—	Managed Object Storage (250 GB) $5/monthCheapest $0 / year Includes Automatic scaling No data transfer fees Start with Managed Object Storage (250 GB)
Tier 8	—	GPU Server (1 x NVIDIA L40S, 8 cores, 64 GB) $747/monthCheapest $62 / year Includes 8 CPU cores 64 GB RAM Start with GPU Server (1 x NVIDIA L40S, 8 cores, 64 GB)
Tier 9	—	High Memory Plans $2490/monthCheapest $208 / year Includes 64 CPU cores 1920 GB Memory Start with High Memory Plans
Tier 10	—	Private Cloud Custom pricing Includes Exclusive infrastructure 99.999% uptime SLA Start with Private Cloud

Swipe to compare plans →

Cloudinary

Cloud-based image and video management platform

View all Cloudinary plans

UpCloud

European cloud hosting with high-performance servers

View all UpCloud plans

Our Pick

UpCloud

UpCloud offers a free plan, starts at $96/mo lower ($3/mo vs $99/mo), offers 10 tiers vs 4.

Based on pricing data only. Review the full comparison below for your specific needs.

Best value: UpCloud

Try UpCloud free

Which Should You Choose?

Choose Cloudinary if:

•You prefer Cloudinary's free tier features—Upload widget, API, and search, Remote fetch, auto-backup, and revision tracking
•You want more features built-in—Cloudinary offers 26 additional features across its plans
•Cloudinary's 4-tier freemium structure gives clearer cost visibility for budget planning

Choose UpCloud if:

•You want lower per-user costs—UpCloud starts at $3/mo, saving $96/mo compared to Cloudinary at $99/mo
•You prefer UpCloud's free tier features—Up to 30 data plane nodes
•You need 10 pricing tiers for flexible team sizing—more options mean less overpaying for features you don't need

Both Cloudinary and UpCloud offer free plans [1], eliminating cost barriers for evaluation. This means you can test both tools thoroughly with your actual workflows before any financial commitment. The free tiers differ in scope: Cloudinary includes 15 features, while UpCloud includes 1 features. Evaluate which free tier matches your evaluation needs before deciding to upgrade. Your best approach is to activate both free trials and evaluate which tool's workflow, integrations, and user experience align better with your team's needs before committing to paid plans.

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Frequently Asked Questions: Cloudinary vs UpCloud

Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or UpCloud?

As of March 2026, UpCloud starts at a lower price point. Cloudinary starts at $99/mo while UpCloud starts at $3/mo. However, the best value depends on the features you need at each tier.

How many pricing plans does Cloudinary have vs UpCloud?

Cloudinary offers 4 pricing plans, while UpCloud offers 10 plans. More plans typically means more flexibility to match your exact needs and budget.

Does Cloudinary or UpCloud offer a free plan?

Yes, both Cloudinary and UpCloud offer free plans. Compare the feature limits of each free tier to see which better fits your use case before upgrading.

Can I save money by paying annually for Cloudinary or UpCloud?

Both Cloudinary and UpCloud offer annual billing options. Check each plan's yearly pricing for potential savings compared to monthly billing.

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 Cloudinary or UpCloud offer custom enterprise pricing?

Yes, both Cloudinary and UpCloud offer custom enterprise pricing tiers with quote-based pricing. Contact each vendor for a tailored quote.

What pricing models do Cloudinary and UpCloud use?

Cloudinary uses a freemium pricing model, while UpCloud uses usage-based pricing. The right model depends on your team size and usage patterns.

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Sources

Cloudinary Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page
UpCloud Official Pricing— Vendor pricing page

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