Immich vs Cloudinary

Immich9.2Visit Cloudinary8.6Visit

Higher score Immich #2 in Image Hosting 9.2/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 4 features Visit Immich

vs

Cloudinary #7 in Image Hosting 8.6/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 4 of 4 features Visit Cloudinary

• Immich fits best

  Self-hosters wanting a private photo library

• Cloudinary fits best

  Enterprises needing media APIs and CDN delivery

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Side by side

Feature	Immich 9.2/10 Visit ↗	Cloudinary 8.6/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.2	8.6
Ranking	#2 in Image Hosting	#7 in Image Hosting
Best for	Self-hosters wanting a private photo library	Enterprises needing media APIs and CDN delivery
Pricing model	Free	Free plan + paid
Starting price	Free plan	$89/mo
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Self-hosted, Mobile	Cloud
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Features Immich 0/4 · Cloudinary 4/4
API access	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Private sharing	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Custom domain	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Image transformations	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Storage limit	Not checked yet	225 GB
Bandwidth limit	Not checked yet	225 GB
Max file size	Not checked yet	20 MB
Our review
Pros	Automatic mobile backup with original-file retention Facial recognition, contextual search, and duplicate detection Sharing, API access, and broad self-hosted platform coverage	Upload APIs, folders, search, tags, and categories organize media Dynamic transformations optimize size, format, cropping, and quality CDN delivery, backups, access controls, and custom domains support publishing
Cons	Requires users to deploy and operate their own server infrastructure Storage capacity depends on the operator's infrastructure Desktop access is centered on the web interface	The Free plan is limited to 3 users and 25 monthly credits Plus costs $89 per month when billed annually Custom domains and authentication options start on the Advanced plan
Our verdict	Immich is an open-source, self-hosted application for managing personal photos and videos. It provides a web interface and official Android and iOS apps for uploading, browsing, organizing, searching, and sharing media. Automatic mobile… Read the review →	Cloudinary is a cloud platform for uploading, storing, organizing, transforming, optimizing, and delivering images and video. It is designed for developers, digital teams, and organizations managing visual assets across websites and mobile… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• Immich — where it wins

  • Automatic mobile backup with original-file retention
  • Facial recognition, contextual search, and duplicate detection
  • Sharing, API access, and broad self-hosted platform coverage

  Where it doesn't

  • Requires users to deploy and operate their own server infrastructure
  • Storage capacity depends on the operator's infrastructure
  • Desktop access is centered on the web interface

• Cloudinary — where it wins

  • Upload APIs, folders, search, tags, and categories organize media
  • Dynamic transformations optimize size, format, cropping, and quality
  • CDN delivery, backups, access controls, and custom domains support publishing

  Where it doesn't

  • The Free plan is limited to 3 users and 25 monthly credits
  • Plus costs $89 per month when billed annually
  • Custom domains and authentication options start on the Advanced plan

• Immich9.2/10 · Free plan

  A capable open-source photo library for people who want to manage their own infrastructure.

  Visit ImmichFull verdict →
• Cloudinary8.6/10 · Free plan

  A strong choice for enterprises that need media APIs, transformations, and CDN delivery.

  Visit CloudinaryFull verdict →