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Cloudinary pros and cons

Vendor: Cloudinary
4.2 out of 5
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Pros & Cons summary

Cloudinary offers automation, efficient media handling, and a user-friendly API for seamless image uploads and quick URL retrievals. Its asset management excels in organization. While it provides clear documentation and a free plan, non-technical users might struggle initially, and the console can be overwhelming. The first paid plan is pricey, and error handling needs improvement. Enhancements are needed for API robustness, affecting its cost-effectiveness compared to competitors.

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Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Cloudinary efficiently automates asset optimization and media-specific tasks like re-encoding uploads.
The platform's integration is seamless and provides easy-to-use APIs for media management and storage.
Cloudinary supports ease of implementation and quick API integration, beneficial for both new and experienced developers.
The asset management capabilities, including tagging and categorizing images and videos, enhance media organization and management.
Cloudinary's automation features support advanced functionality, such as generating captions for images using AI.

CONS

Cloudinary's first paid plan is quite expensive, around one hundred dollars, which is more expensive than competitors like Dropbox.
The AI can't edit images; adding a module to generate images could be beneficial.
There are issues with how Cloudinary handles errors, as it throws its own errors without preserving the stack trace, complicating debugging.
The platform's API features need enhancement.
Cloudinary should support the hosting of very large video files, similar to platforms like YouTube, to improve its standing in the video upload space.
 

Cloudinary Pros review quotes

CollinsOmondi - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 17, 2024
The most valuable features of the solution revolve around image storage.
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Teri Eyenike - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 31, 2024
As a developer, I find Cloudinary valuable because it provides many opportunities for building applications. For example, I recently created an AI application that can read images and automatically generate captions, which helps in describing images or videos without manual input. Cloudinary's APIs support this functionality and enhance my development process. One of the most beneficial features of Cloudinary is its asset management capabilities. I can tag and categorize images and videos based on their content, such as tagging videos where a person is wearing glasses. This helps in organizing and managing media effectively. I have experimented with Cloudinary's automation capabilities, but I am still learning and haven't fully explored its potential. Currently, I want to use Cloudinary to improve user engagement with my videos, such as tracking who is viewing and interacting with my media. This is a feature I plan to explore more in the future.
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Roman Novosad - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2024
The automation tools were used most often. They are quite convenient and cover our requirements.
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Cloudinary
April 2025
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Jurgen Geitner - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 14, 2024
I have not seen any bugs or breakdowns. The tool's performance when the site loads up is good.
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Josue BYIRINGIRO - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 18, 2024
I like the tool best because it's straightforward and doesn't have too many complicated options like AWS. The dashboard is clear - you create a directory, get credentials, and then use those in your Node.js or Java application to access resources. With AWS, you have to consider many things, like bucket policies and user permissions. It doesn't have these complications. Everything on Cloudinary is clearer than other platforms I've seen. It is very easy to use. It's easier than the AWS platforms I've seen. Even general developers can use it, while AWS needs more experience.
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Roman Cinis - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 8, 2024
Unlike Firebase Storage, Cloudinary handles media-specific tasks like re-encoding uploads. For example, when users upload a video from an Apple device, it's often encoded in a proprietary Apple codec.
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Chukwu Innocent - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 18, 2024
One of the best features of the platform is that we have a generous free tire that I can use for some of my projects without worrying about the platform's cost.
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Edd Michira - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 21, 2024
I like its ease of implementation. I can easily call the API into my platform and use it to upload images from the machine to the server.
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reviewer2518332 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2024
The tool's support team is very prompt.
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Prince Onukwili - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2024
Cloudinary provides a free plan for developers wanting to get started or explore its capabilities.
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Show 6 more reviews (out of 16)
 

Cloudinary Cons review quotes

CollinsOmondi - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 17, 2024
The AI can't edit the image. If Cloudinary can add a way or a module that can generate the image, then you won't need to upload images to it.
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Teri Eyenike - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 31, 2024
I haven't really thought about what improvements I’d like to see in Cloudinary recently. One thing that comes to mind is the capability for hosting very large video files, similar to platforms like YouTube. Cloudinary is not as widely known for video uploads as other platforms, and it would be great if it had a larger user base for this purpose. Apart from marketing and video uploading, I haven't identified specific features or functionalities that need improvement. It’s been a while since I actively used Cloudinary, and I’m just starting to get back into it. Once I’m more familiar with it again, I’ll have a better idea of any gaps or areas for enhancement. I’ll need to think more about this and might provide feedback later.
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Roman Novosad - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 17, 2024
There are some things the product can improve in its UI.
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Buyer's Guide
Cloudinary
April 2025
Free Report: Cloudinary Reviews and More
Learn what your peers think about Cloudinary. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2025.
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Jurgen Geitner - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 14, 2024
When you open the product's management console, it can just be a little bit overwhelming at first until you figure it out.
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Josue BYIRINGIRO - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 18, 2024
I think Cloudinary has room for improvement, depending on the project you're working on. Changes might not be needed if your project fits what Cloudinary already offers. But if your project needs some changes, you can make them.
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Roman Cinis - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 8, 2024
The main issue with the package is how it handles errors. It swallows errors and throws its own, but without preserving the stack trace, making debugging nearly impossible.
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Chukwu Innocent - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 18, 2024
I believe there is some scope for improvement in areas like the dashboard, specifically the user dashboard and the browser where you can navigate the platform.
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Edd Michira - PeerSpot reviewer
Jun 21, 2024
For non-technical users, the initial setup could be made easier.
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reviewer2518332 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2024
The high price of the tool is an area of concern where improvements are required.
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Prince Onukwili - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 25, 2024
It blocked our account, prevented us from uploading files, and showed a message about file adjustments.
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Show 5 more reviews (out of 15)

Product Categories

Product Categories
Digital Asset Management

Product Categories

Product Categories
Digital Asset Management
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