Fabric vs Cloudinary

Last updated October 2026

Fabric and Cloudinary operate in entirely different layers of the stack. Cloudinary is a programmable media platform: an API, a CDN, and a DAM built for developers who need to transform, optimise, and deliver images and video at scale. Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer for people and teams, with AI search, notes, documents, annotations, tasks, and publishing. This page covers what each one does.

Comparison table

What is Cloudinary

Cloudinary is a cloud-based media management platform built for developers. At its core is an API that handles image and video upload, transformation, optimisation, and delivery through a global CDN. Developers embed Cloudinary URLs in their applications and control transformations through URL parameters: resize an image, convert a video format, add a watermark, crop to a face, all by changing the URL.

The platform also includes a DAM (digital asset management) component where non-technical users can upload, organise, and search media assets. AI auto-tagging adds metadata to images automatically. The CDN delivers optimised media to end users with format selection based on browser support (serving WebP or AVIF where supported, for example).

Pricing uses a credit system. The free tier includes 25 credits per month. Plus costs $89/mo for 225 credits, Advanced $224/mo for 600 credits, and Enterprise pricing is custom. Credits are consumed by storage, transformations, and bandwidth, which makes cost prediction dependent on usage patterns.

What is Fabric

Fabric is a personal cloud and context layer that brings files, notes, documents, bookmarks, links, web clips, emails, and media into one searchable workspace. Where Cloudinary is infrastructure for delivering media to end users through an API, Fabric is the workspace where people do their thinking and organising.

Fabric's AI search finds content by meaning across every file type: the exact page in a PDF, the right slide in a deck, a moment in a video through automatic transcription, or an image by colour. The cloud drive streams files with zero disk space from any device. Notes and documents include real-time collaborative editing. Annotations pin feedback to exact spots on images, documents, slides, and video frames. The AI assistant uses four model families and can act across 30+ connected apps with user approval.

Pricing starts at $8/mo billed yearly, with a free tier that includes limited storage and AI.

Infrastructure vs workspace

This is the fundamental difference. Cloudinary is infrastructure. It sits behind your website or application, serving optimised images and video to your end users. The people who set it up are developers. The primary interface is an API. The value is in the pipeline: upload, transform, optimise, deliver, cache.

Fabric is a workspace for people. You see your files, search through them, annotate them, write notes, manage tasks, and collaborate with your team. The primary interface is a visual application available on web, desktop, mobile, and as a browser extension. The value is in understanding and working with your content.

These products occupy different layers. A company might use Cloudinary to serve product images on its e-commerce site and Fabric as the workspace where the marketing team organises campaigns, reviews creative assets, and plans content.

Search

Cloudinary's search uses metadata, tags, and AI auto-tagging. The AI can automatically identify objects, scenes, and colours in images and assign tags. Search queries match these tags and metadata fields. It is effective within the media library but does not extend to documents, notes, or content outside Cloudinary.

Fabric's AI search is semantic, meaning it finds content by meaning rather than tags. You describe what you are looking for in natural language and the AI understands the intent. It searches inside PDFs, slides, documents, video transcripts, and images. Colour search finds assets by palette. Visual search finds images by visual similarity. Cross-platform search extends to Google Drive, Figma, Notion, and other connected services.

Media transformation

Cloudinary's core strength is programmatic media transformation. Through URL parameters, developers can resize, crop, rotate, add overlays, convert formats, apply filters, and optimise quality on the fly. An image uploaded once can be served in thousands of variations without pre-rendering. This is critical for responsive web design, e-commerce product images, and applications that need dynamic media.

Fabric does not provide programmatic media transformation. It stores and displays your files as they are. If your need is automated image resizing for a website, Fabric is not built for that. If your need is organising, searching, and collaborating on the source assets before they reach the transformation pipeline, Fabric provides that workspace.

DAM

Both products have a digital asset management component, but the audience differs.

Cloudinary's DAM is a complement to its API. Non-technical users can upload, tag, and organise assets through a web console. The assets in the DAM are typically the source files that the API transforms and delivers. Integrations with CMS platforms (WordPress, Contentful, Shopify) let content editors browse and insert media directly.

Fabric's workspace handles every file type alongside notes, documents, and tasks. Annotations pin feedback to any content. Publishing shares content with link analytics. The focus is on the people working with the assets rather than the infrastructure delivering them.

Pricing model

Cloudinary's credit-based pricing ties cost to usage: storage, transformations, and bandwidth all consume credits. This makes the price proportional to traffic and processing. For high-traffic sites, costs can scale quickly. For low-traffic use, the free tier is generous.

Fabric's pricing is per user at $8/mo billed yearly or $10/mo monthly, with a free tier. Costs are predictable and not tied to traffic or transformation volume.

How to choose

Cloudinary is the right choice for developers who need a programmable media pipeline: upload, transform, optimise, and deliver images and video through an API and CDN. If your product or website serves media to end users and you need dynamic transformations at scale, Cloudinary provides the infrastructure.

Fabric is the right choice for people and teams who need a workspace for organising, searching, and collaborating on content. If you need AI search across everything by meaning, annotations on any content type, notes and documents, and an AI assistant that understands your library, Fabric provides that. For creative and marketing teams working with media assets before they reach a delivery pipeline, Fabric is where the thinking and reviewing happen.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cloudinary a DAM?

Cloudinary includes a DAM, but its primary function is a programmable media API and CDN. The DAM is a management layer on top of the transformation and delivery infrastructure. Fabric is a workspace-first product with AI search, annotations, and collaboration.

Can Fabric transform images through an API?

No. Fabric does not provide programmatic image or video transformation. It stores, searches, annotates, and helps you work with your content. For on-the-fly media transformation, Cloudinary is purpose-built.

Does Cloudinary have notes or documents?

No. Cloudinary is a media platform. It does not include a notes editor, document creation, tasks, or a general workspace. Fabric includes notes and documents with real-time collaboration.

How does Cloudinary's pricing work?

Cloudinary uses a credit system where credits are consumed by storage, transformations, and bandwidth. Free tier: 25 credits/mo. Plus: $89/mo for 225 credits. Advanced: $224/mo for 600 credits. Costs scale with usage.

Does Fabric have AI search?

Yes. Fabric's AI search finds content by meaning across all file types, including inside PDFs, slides, video, and audio. No manual tagging required.

Can I use Cloudinary for internal team collaboration?

Cloudinary's DAM supports team access to media assets, but it does not have annotations, comments, real-time chat, or project collaboration features. Fabric provides annotations, threaded comments, and real-time chat on any content.

Does Cloudinary serve video?

Yes. Cloudinary handles video upload, transformation, optimisation, and delivery through its CDN, including adaptive streaming. Fabric stores and transcribes video but is not a video CDN.

Which is better for a marketing team?

Fabric is better for the marketing team's day-to-day work: organising assets, writing briefs, reviewing content, searching across projects. Cloudinary is better for the engineering team delivering those assets to the website or app.

Can I use both together?

Yes. Fabric works as the workspace where creative and marketing teams manage their content, while Cloudinary delivers the finished assets to end users through its API and CDN.

Is Fabric free?

Fabric does have a free tier with limited storage and AI. Paid plans start at $8/mo billed yearly.

See also

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