ImageKit

Image/video CDN + DAM

Free tier + paidImages, video & filesimagekit.io

What it is

Media optimization and delivery platform with URL-based transformations, a DAM and video streaming. Bills primarily on delivered bandwidth rather than per transformation. Attaches to an external origin such as S3 or your own server, or stores media itself.

Why it earns a slot

The cheapest credible Cloudinary alternative with a real forever-free tier. Bandwidth-only billing means unlimited transformation variants cost nothing extra — good for responsive srcset where one image spawns eight renditions.

Know before you commit

The free tier grants 20 GB bandwidth but only 3 GB of managed DAM storage, so a large photo archive needs an external origin. Video and AI extensions bill in separate unit pools on top of bandwidth.

Getting started

npm i @imagekit/javascript

Field notes

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Field check

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Pricing snapshot

Free 20 GB bandwidth/mo + 3 GB DAM storage; Lite $9/mo (40 GB, $0.50/GB over); Pro $89/mo (225 GB bandwidth + 225 GB storage, $0.45/GB over)

Snapshots move fast — verify at checkout, and post a field note if it changed.

Drop into your Lovable chat

Evaluate ImageKit (https://imagekit.io) for this project, then use it only if it fits what we are already building.
Context: Image/video CDN + DAM. Media optimization and delivery platform with URL-based transformations, a DAM and video streaming. Bills primarily on delivered bandwidth rather than per transformation. Attaches to an external origin such as S3 or your own server, or stores media itself.
Reviewer notes (general, not written for this codebase): The cheapest credible Cloudinary alternative with a real forever-free tier. Bandwidth-only billing means unlimited transformation variants cost nothing extra — good for responsive srcset where one image spawns eight renditions.
Watch out for: The free tier grants 20 GB bandwidth but only 3 GB of managed DAM storage, so a large photo archive needs an external origin. Video and AI extensions bill in separate unit pools on top of bandwidth.
Pricing: Free 20 GB bandwidth/mo + 3 GB DAM storage; Lite $9/mo (40 GB, $0.50/GB over); Pro $89/mo (225 GB bandwidth + 225 GB storage, $0.45/GB over)
Setup: npm i @imagekit/javascript
Rules: treat the notes above as background only. Do not assume a theme, style, layout or feature that is not already in this project — inspect the existing code first and ask me before changing visual direction.

/api/public/tools/imagekit

Neighbourhood

How ImageKit sits against the rest of the atlas — swaps, companions and the tools builders actually save alongside it.

Instead of thisSharp Uppy AWS S3 + CloudFront Backblaze B2 Cloudflare Images Cloudflare R2 Cloudflare Stream Filestack

Named in the wiringCloudinary Stream

Also in Images, video & files

AWS S3 + CloudFront

aws.amazon.com

Object storage + global CDN

Free tier + paidImages, video & files

S3 Standard $0.023/GB-month (us-east-1), PUT $0.005/1K, GET $0.0004/1K. CloudFront: first 1 TB/mo and 10M requests free, then $0.085/GB NA/EU declining to $0.020/GB. S3 direct-to-internet egress $0.09/GB

Open dossier

Backblaze B2

backblaze.com

Cheap S3-compatible object storage

Free tier + paidImages, video & files

$6.95/TB/month (about $0.0069/GB), first 10 GB free. Egress free up to 3x average monthly storage, then $0.01/GB. Class A/B/C API calls free; Class D $0.004 per 10K

Open dossier

Cloudflare Images

developers.cloudflare.com

Image storage + edge transforms

Free tier + paidImages, video & files

5,000 unique transformations/mo free on every plan including Free. Then $0.50 per 1,000 unique transformations; $5 per 100,000 images stored/mo; $1 per 100,000 images delivered/mo

Open dossier

Cloudflare R2

developers.cloudflare.com

S3-compatible storage, zero egress

Free tier + paidImages, video & files

Free 10 GB-month storage, 1M Class A ops, 10M Class B ops. Then $0.015/GB-month, $4.50/M Class A, $0.36/M Class B. Egress always $0 at any volume

Open dossier