Filtrate vs Cloudinary
One focused API vs a full digital asset management suite
Common objection:
"Cloudinary has a full platform — why choose Filtrate?"
Cloudinary charges $89+/mo and moderation is an add-on. Filtrate covers all three operations — EXIF strip, optimization, and AI moderation — at the same price with no upsell. If you just need optimization, maybe Cloudinary fits. If you need compliance-ready media with moderation built in, Filtrate wins on price and simplicity.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Filtrate | Cloudinary |
|---|---|---|
| EXIF / GPS metadata strip | Partial — transformation pipeline only | |
| WebP / AVIF optimization | Yes — automatic format selection | |
| AI content moderation (GPT-4o) | Add-on (AI Add-on) — not core | |
| Banned-logo detection | No — not offered | |
| Fraud / AI-generated image detection | No — not offered | |
| GPS coordinate stripping | Requires transformation pipeline config | |
| R2/CDN storage included | Yes — Cloudinary CDN | |
| Sub-100ms p95 latency | Variable — depends on plan tier and region | |
| No credit expiration | Credits-based; some plans expire | |
| Per-image flat pricing | Credit bundles; overage risk at scale | |
| Developer sandbox (no card) | Free tier: 25k transforms/mo | |
| Setup in minutes (single call) | Full config; SDK setup; CDN integration |
Pricing comparison
Cost at 100K images / month
Code diff: 3 steps vs 1
Cloudinary — 3 steps required
cloudinary.uploader.upload_stream(...)
fl_preserve_meta: false, f_auto
Filtrate — 1 POST
fetch('https://api.filtrate.polsia.app/v1/process', {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'X-API-Key': 'flt_live_…' },
body: new FormData().append('image', file),
});When to pick Filtrate
- You need EXIF + moderation + WebP in a single call without stitching three services together
- You want transparent per-image pricing with no monthly minimum
- You are a developer building a compliance flow and need it live today, not in a sprint
- You are processing user-generated images on an e-commerce marketplace and need GDPR-safe media
- You want GPT-4o-mini moderation included, not as an add-on
When Cloudinary makes sense
- You already run Cloudinary for asset management and just need moderation bolted on
- You need advanced video processing, animated transformation pipelines, or granular asset versioning
- Your team is larger and needs the full DAM UI for non-technical editors
- You want a single vendor for CDN, image optimization, and basic content tagging in an established org
- You want to use both: run Filtrate first for compliance (EXIF strip + moderation), then push to Cloudinary for delivery/transformation in your DAM
One API. All three operations. No vendor lock-in.
Most tools do one thing well. Filtrate does everything compliance demands in a single call. No stitching together a CDN + moderation service + metadata stripper. One endpoint. One bill. One integration.
Try the API playground
Test against real images. See the verdict in 1–5 seconds. No account required — start with a $5 credit pack.
Also compare: