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Databases · head to head

Cloudinary vs Presto

Cloudinary logo

Cloudinary

Databases

Image and video API for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Presto logo

Presto

Databases

The Meta-lineage distributed SQL query engine, distinct from the Trino fork

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cloudinary free plan includes only 25 monthly credits and is limited to 3 users and 1 account; Presto the original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cloudinary and Presto actually diverge.

Attributes where Cloudinary and Presto differ
AttributeCloudinaryPresto
Pricing modelfreemiumOpen source, no licence fee
PlatformsWebLinux, Docker, Kubernetes

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Databases).

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 Presto does not also cover.

Only in Presto

  • Federated querying
  • In-memory execution
  • Open table format support
  • Presto C++ workers
  • ANSI SQL
  • Pluggable connectors

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

Presto

  • An existing PrestoDB estate that needs continued upgrades rather than a migration to Trinonot Cloudinary
  • A team buying IBM watsonx.data, where Presto is the underlying query enginenot Cloudinary
  • Joining a Hive or Iceberg lake to an operational PostgreSQL database in one query without an ETL stepnot Cloudinary
  • Very large scale interactive SQL where the Meta-tested branch is a specific requirementnot 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)

Presto

  • The original creators and most of the active contributor base left for Trino in 2020, so Presto has the smaller community, fewer connectors and slower feature delivery of the two branches.
  • Documentation, tutorials and Stack Overflow answers for the two projects are frequently mixed up, and a solution written for Trino often does not apply, which costs real debugging time.
  • It is a query engine with no storage of its own, so query performance is dictated by your file layout, partitioning and statistics, and a badly organised lake makes Presto look slow.
  • Memory-bound execution means a single large join can fail the whole query rather than spilling gracefully, and tuning cluster memory settings is a persistent operational chore.
  • Commercial support has consolidated into IBM since the Ahana acquisition, so the independent vendor market that once existed around Presto is largely gone.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cloudinary

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

Presto

Free
  • PrestoFree
    • Apache 2.0 licence
    • Presto Foundation governance under the Linux Foundation
    • No node or query limits

Which should you pick?

Choose Cloudinary if

  • You want to start without paying.
Cloudinary review

Choose Presto if

  • You need federated querying.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
  • You also want in-memory execution.
Presto review

Questions people ask

Is Cloudinary or Presto better?
Neither clearly leads. Cloudinary starts at Free and Presto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cloudinary or Presto?
Cloudinary starts at Free and Presto at Free.
Does Cloudinary or Presto run on more platforms?
Cloudinary runs on Web. Presto runs on Linux, Docker, Kubernetes.
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 Presto is typically brought in for.
What can Cloudinary do that Presto cannot?
Presto covers Federated querying, In-memory execution, Open table format support, Presto C++ workers.

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
Presto: Is this Presto or Trino?

This is PrestoDB, the branch that stayed at Facebook and moved to the Linux Foundation. Trino is the 2020 fork by the original creators.

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
Presto: Which should I choose for a new project?

Trino, in most cases. It has the larger community, more connectors and more commercial options.

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
Presto: Who maintains Presto now?

Principally Meta, Uber and IBM, which acquired the Presto vendor Ahana in 2023.

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
Presto: Is it still actively released?

Yes, releases continue on a regular cadence under the Presto Foundation.

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