Quick answer
Cloudinary - Cloudinary wins for most builders who want a broader free media stack, while Uploadcare wins if your main constraint is a strict operations cap and you need clearer file-size limits.
How the free tiers compare
Cloudinary’s free tier is more of a media platform starter kit. It gives you upload APIs, transformations, video transcoding, delivery through a CDN, remote fetch, backup, and revision tracking, with 3 users and 25 monthly credits. That makes it better for builders testing a full image and video workflow, but the limit is expressed in credits, so capacity is less intuitive. Uploadcare’s free tier is narrower but easier to reason about: 1,000 operations per month, 5 GB of traffic, 1 GB of storage, and a 500 MB max file size. It is more obviously constrained, and it requires a card once you move up to paid plans. After free, Cloudinary’s first paid step is a bigger jump in included credits, while Uploadcare’s paid plans start with more explicit usage allowances and file-size ceilings.
Cloudinary vs Uploadcare free tier, side by side
| CloudinaryFTV 60 | UploadcareFTV 30 | |
|---|---|---|
| Free usersUploadcare free plan does not list team-member count in the provided data. | 3 users per account | Not stated in free tier |
| Free account count | 1 account | Not stated |
| Free usage limitDifferent units, so these are not directly comparable. | 25 monthly credits | 1,000 operations per month |
| Free storageCloudinary also has a separate free DAM plan in the input. | 25 GB on the DAM free plan | 1 GB |
| Free traffic / deliveryOnly Uploadcare gives a concrete traffic allowance here. | CDN delivery included | 5 GB traffic per month |
| Max file sizeCloudinary free data does not provide a max file size. | Not stated | 500 MB |
After you outgrow the free tier
Cloudinary’s first paid step is Plus at $99/month, with pricing presented as flat tiers and a credit allowance that increases to 225 monthly credits. Uploadcare starts at Pro for $66/month and then Business at $166/month, also flat-priced, but with much clearer included usage numbers like 100,000 or 250,000 operations and explicit file-size caps. For a small team, Uploadcare is cheaper at entry; Cloudinary costs more but bundles a broader media toolset. No usage-based or per-unit rates were provided, so there are no reliable usage extrapolations beyond the included tier limits.
When to pick each one
Pick Cloudinary when…
- You need image and video APIs in one place and want to test the full workflow, not just upload and storage.
- You want built-in remote fetch, auto-backup, revision tracking, and CDN delivery on the free tier.
- You are experimenting with video transcoding or adaptive streaming before committing to paid usage.
- You want 3 users on the free account and do not need a clearly metered operations model.
Pick Uploadcare when…
- You want a simple cap you can plan around, like 1,000 operations per month and 500 MB max file size.
- You need a free tier with explicit storage and traffic limits for a small file-handling app.
- Your uploads are constrained by file size and you want to know the ceiling up front.
- You are likely to move to a paid plan soon and prefer a clearer step-up to 100,000 included operations on Pro.
Bottom line
For the most common builder use case, Cloudinary is the better free-tier pick if you want an all-in-one media workflow and can live with credit-based limits. Uploadcare is the better pick if you want a simpler free plan with explicit caps on operations, traffic, storage, and file size. If you expect to outgrow free quickly, Uploadcare’s entry paid tier is cheaper, but Cloudinary gives you more media features before you pay.
Read the full listings: Cloudinary and Uploadcare. Scores use the FTV methodology at /ftv. Browse more head-to-heads on /compare, or see the top-ranked free tiers on /top.