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Databases · head to head

Cloudinary vs OpsLevel

Cloudinary logo

Cloudinary

Databases

Image and video API for developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Visit CloudinaryFull review
OpsLevel logo

OpsLevel

Developer Tools

Internal developer portal that scores service ownership and production readiness

From
On request
Free plan
No
Visit OpsLevelFull review

The short version

  • Cloudinary starts at $99/mo; OpsLevel prices on request.
  • Where Cloudinary falls short: free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account.
  • Prices and features on this page were last checked on 13 November 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudinary and OpsLevel actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudinary and OpsLevel differ
AttributeCloudinaryOpsLevel
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFreemiumQuote
Free tierYesNo
CategoryDatabasesDeveloper Tools

Identical on both: platforms (Web).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cloudinary

Nothing recorded that OpsLevel does not also cover.

Only in OpsLevel

  • Service catalogue
  • Scorecards and rubric
  • Checks
  • Campaigns
  • Self-service actions
  • Slack and Teams integration
  • Catalogue auto-enrichment
  • Deployment on request

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 OpsLevel
  • Generating AI-powered image captions and alternative text at scalenot OpsLevel
  • Transcoding and optimizing video with automatic subtitle generationnot OpsLevel
  • Building workflow automation for content teams without codingnot OpsLevel

OpsLevel

  • A platform team that needs to prove every production service has a named owner and an on-call rota before an auditnot Cloudinary
  • Driving a fleet-wide migration such as a runtime upgrade across 400 services with a deadline and visible progressnot Cloudinary
  • Giving developers a paved road to create a new service from a template without waiting on the platform teamnot Cloudinary
  • An organisation where an incident took an hour to route because nobody could identify the owning teamnot 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)

OpsLevel

  • OpsLevel does not publish prices at all, not even a starting figure, so you cannot size a budget or compare against Backstage's zero licence cost without entering a sales cycle
  • The Standard plan caps at 50 users, which is below the size at which service ownership becomes a real problem, so most genuine buyers land on Enterprise and its unpublished pricing
  • Scores are only as honest as the metadata teams maintain; where ownership records go stale the rubric produces confident numbers about a catalogue that no longer reflects reality, and leadership acts on them
  • It reports on quality rather than producing it, so it can generate friction between platform teams who set the rubric and product teams who see it as a scoreboard imposed on them without extra headcount to fix the findings
  • As a hosted product it needs read access to source control, cloud accounts and observability tooling, which is a meaningful vendor review in regulated environments; on-premises exists but only on the Enterprise tier

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

OpsLevel

On request
  • StandardOn request
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited catalogued components
    • Scorecards, campaigns and the global rubric
  • EnterpriseOn request
    • Unlimited users
    • Custom integrations
    • Customisable dashboards

Which should you pick?

Choose Cloudinary if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cloudinary review

Choose OpsLevel if

  • You need service catalogue.
  • You also want scorecards and rubric.
OpsLevel review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudinary or OpsLevel better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudinary starts at Free and OpsLevel at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or OpsLevel?
Cloudinary has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Cloudinary and On request for OpsLevel.
Does Cloudinary or OpsLevel run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Cloudinary for free?
Yes. Cloudinary has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. OpsLevel starts at On request.
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 OpsLevel is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudinary do that OpsLevel cannot?
OpsLevel covers Service catalogue, Scorecards and rubric, Checks, Campaigns.

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
OpsLevel: How much does OpsLevel cost?

It does not publish pricing. Billing is per developer using the portal, with volume discounts, and a quote requires a sales conversation.

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
OpsLevel: How does it compare with Backstage?

Backstage has no licence fee but you staff a team to build and run it. OpsLevel is hosted with checks, campaigns and scorecards out of the box, and you pay per developer instead.

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
OpsLevel: Does it require writing catalogue YAML by hand?

No. It auto-discovers and enriches entries from connected systems, though teams still curate ownership and metadata.

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
OpsLevel: Can it run on premises?

Yes, but only on the Enterprise plan.

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