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Databases · head to head

Cloudinary vs Harness

Cloudinary logo

Cloudinary

Databases

Image and video API for developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CloudinaryFull review
Harness logo

Harness

Developer Tools

Software delivery platform across CI, CD, security testing and cost management

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit HarnessFull review

The short version

  • Harness is free; Cloudinary starts at $99/mo.
  • Where Cloudinary falls short: free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account.
  • Where Harness falls short: essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudinary and Harness actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudinary and Harness differ
AttributeCloudinaryHarness
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (Freemium), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web).

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cloudinary

  • Automating image transformations and delivery across multiple devicesnot Harness
  • Generating AI-powered image captions and alternative text at scalenot Harness
  • Transcoding and optimizing video with automatic subtitle generationnot Harness
  • Building workflow automation for content teams without codingnot Harness

Harness

  • Deploying apps to AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud with rollbacksnot Cloudinary
  • Integrating security scanners throughout build pipelines before productionnot Cloudinary
  • Automating cloud cost reduction and tracking unit-level expensesnot Cloudinary
  • Enabling developers to provision infrastructure without operations bottlenecksnot Cloudinary
  • Assessing deployment frequency and lead time productivity metricsnot Cloudinary

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cloudinary

  • Free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account
  • Enterprise plan pricing is custom; rates not published
  • Monthly billing is more expensive than annual; yearly plan is $89/month for Plus ($224/month for Advanced)

Harness

  • Essentials and Enterprise pricing requires sales contact; no published rates
  • DevOps Essentials has no on-premises deployment option
  • Internal Developer Portal requires minimum 20 developer licenses
  • Pipeline execution history retention 6 months (Essentials) vs 25 months as add-on (Enterprise)

Pricing, plan by plan

Cloudinary

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Upload widget
    • API
    • Search
  • Plus$99/mo
    • All Free features
    • S3 bucket backup
    • Auto-tagging search
  • Advanced$249/mo
    • All Plus features
    • Custom domain (CNAME)
    • Optional HTTPS SSL
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Multi-CDN infrastructure
    • Enterprise SLAs
    • Designated success manager

Harness

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Starter platform for software delivery lifecycle
    • Open source options available (Harness Open Source, Litmus Chaos)
  • EssentialsOn request
    • Growing organizations with small to mid-size teams
    • Packaged DevOps Essentials bundle
    • Continuous software delivery capabilities
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Large-scale organizations
    • Pick any modules based on needs
    • Advanced features

Which should you pick?

Choose Cloudinary if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cloudinary review

Choose Harness if

  • You want to start without paying.
Harness review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudinary or Harness better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudinary starts at Free and Harness at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or Harness?
Cloudinary starts at Free and Harness at Free.
Does Cloudinary or Harness run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Cloudinary for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Cloudinary best used for?
Cloudinary is most often used for automating image transformations and delivery across multiple devices, generating ai-powered image captions and alternative text at scale, transcoding and optimizing video with automatic subtitle generation, building workflow automation for content teams without coding. Of those, automating image transformations and delivery across multiple devices and generating ai-powered image captions and alternative text at scale are not what Harness is typically brought in for.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cloudinary: What are included in Cloudinary's free plan?

Cloudinary's free plan includes upload widget, API access, search, remote fetch, auto-backup, revision tracking, image and video transformations, video transcoding, and CDN delivery. The free plan includes 25 monthly credits, 3 users, and 1 account with community support.

Source
Harness: Is there a free Harness plan?

Yes, Harness offers a free plan for individual developers and small teams with open source options including Harness Open Source and Litmus Chaos.

Source
Cloudinary: How does Cloudinary's credit system work?

Cloudinary credits measure usage: one credit equals 1,000 transformations, or 1 GB managed storage, or 1 GB image bandwidth, or 2 GB video bandwidth. The free plan grants 25 credits per month, Plus plan 225 monthly credits, and Advanced plan 600 monthly credits.

Source
Harness: What are Harness's paid pricing tiers?

Harness offers Essentials for growing teams and Enterprise for large-scale organizations. Both require contacting sales for custom pricing. Pricing is based on modules and features selected.

Source
Cloudinary: What is the difference between Cloudinary Plus and Advanced plans?

Plus plan costs $99/month (or $89/month annually) and includes S3 backup, auto-tagging, and expedited support for up to 3 users across 2 accounts with 225 credits. Advanced is $249/month ($224/month annually), adds custom domain (CNAME) and SSL options for 5 users across 3 accounts with 600 credits.

Source
Harness: Can Harness be deployed on-premises?

Enterprise plans include self-managed platform deployment option. DevOps Essentials bundle does not offer on-premises deployment.

Source
Cloudinary: Does Cloudinary offer annual billing discounts?

Yes. Cloudinary's annual billing provides discounts: Plus plan is $89/month when billed yearly (versus $99/month monthly), and Advanced plan is $224/month when billed yearly (versus $249/month monthly).

Source
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