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Uploadcare vs Cloudinary(2026)

Uploadcare is better for teams that need pre-built upload ui (drop-in widget). Cloudinary is the stronger choice if best image transformation api. Uploadcare is freemium (from $29/month) and Cloudinary is freemium (from $89/month).

Full feature breakdown, pricing details, and pros & cons below.

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Uploadcare logo

Uploadcare

freemium

Uploadcare is a file upload and CDN platform with a pre-built upload widget, image transformations, and smart file delivery.

Starting at $29/month

Visit Uploadcare
Cloudinary logo

Cloudinary

freemium

Cloudinary is a cloud-based media management platform with on-the-fly image/video transformation, optimization, and CDN delivery.

Starting at $89/month

Visit Cloudinary

How Do Uploadcare and Cloudinary Compare on Features?

FeatureUploadcareCloudinary
Pricing modelfreemiumfreemium
Starting price$29/month$89/month
Upload widget UI
CDN delivery
Image transformations
Virus scanning
File groups
Webhooks
On-the-fly transformations
Auto-format & quality
Video transcoding
AI image tagging
SDKs for all frameworks

Uploadcare Pros and Cons vs Cloudinary

U

Uploadcare

+Pre-built upload UI (drop-in widget)
+Good image transformation API
+Virus scanning
+Simple pricing
More expensive than R2 for pure storage
Less flexible than Cloudinary
Smaller community
C

Cloudinary

+Best image transformation API
+Auto-optimization (WebP/AVIF)
+Generous free tier
+Excellent SDKs
Expensive at scale
Transformation credits can be confusing
Over-engineered for simple storage

Should You Use Uploadcare or Cloudinary?

Choose Uploadcare if…

  • Pre-built upload UI (drop-in widget)
  • Good image transformation API
  • Virus scanning

Choose Cloudinary if…

  • Best image transformation API
  • Auto-optimization (WebP/AVIF)
  • Generous free tier

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