What is the video seconds metric?

What are video seconds?

A video second is counted when the bytes corresponding to a single second of a specific video are delivered to the client’s web page or application. If video bytes are sent but not received (and loaded) on the client side they are not counted as video seconds.

This metric is an alternative to counting the bandwidth delivered for videos. Thus, if your account uses video seconds, then your bandwidth metric is not impacted at all by those video deliveries.

Why is Cloudinary making this change?

Video seconds provide a more predictable and simplified pricing. We're using it to align with your success. When you deliver videos with Cloudinary, you create more engaging moments with your customers.

What is the benefit to me/my business?

With this update, you'll gain access to our latest format support and more advanced optimization algorithms (e.g., support for AV1 in your f_auto deliveries) to support your engaging experiences with even faster load times.

You'll now also be able to forecast video seconds for easier-to-understand and easier-to-predict pricing usage.

How are video second credits calculated?

One unit is equal to 100,000 minutes of optimized video delivery at 720p resolution. Delivery of video in other resolutions consumes more or less units based on the following ratios:

Thus, for example, if delivering only 1080p videos one unit is equal to 80,000 minutes.

Will this change make me reach my account limits faster? / Will I have to upgrade my account due to this change?

You may consume your credits slightly faster or slower, but will not likely need a plan change.

Are all delivered video formats/containers counted as video seconds?

All derived video files, regardless of their format, count as video seconds. However, original videos - videos delivered as they're uploaded - are charged by video bandwidth delivered (as they have been until now).

Can I just keep my current plan?

We aim to be transparent about our pricing, and this is a change that's being gradually rolled out to everyone as it aligns better with the value you receive from Cloudinary.

Soon, all existing and new customers will use the video seconds metric. Accordingly, we're not switching accounts back to using the bandwidth metric for videos.

Will there be additional modifications to pricing?

As part of our commitment to enhancing our product and delivering maximum value, we continuously refine our pricing structure to align with our value proposition and improve its simplicity and predictability. Any forthcoming changes will adhere to these principles and will be communicated well in advance, as demonstrated in this instance.