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How Transcodely compares

Transcodely next to Mux, Cloudflare Stream and Bunny Stream, with Coconut as a transcode-only reference. Where the free-encoding hosts win real workloads, we say so.

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No card needed · 30-second test encodes free · pay per output minute after

Which one of us you should buy

Four products, four different jobs. Here is the short version, including the three we would send you to instead.

Transcodely vs Mux

A polished video API with a generous free tier.

Choose Mux if

  • you need viewer-side quality analytics or live streaming — Mux Data and RTMP/SRT ingest, neither of which we offer
  • a free tier that covers real usage matters more than codec control

Where they win: Hobby and low-traffic apps: free basic encoding plus 100k free delivered minutes a month can mean a near-zero bill.

The full comparison

Transcodely vs Cloudflare Stream

Dead-simple hosting with free encoding on Cloudflare’s network.

Choose Cloudflare Stream if

  • your stack already lives on Cloudflare and H.264 is enough
  • per-minute pricing for stored and delivered video suits your traffic shape, and never holding the files yourself is fine

Where they win: The simplest possible "just host my videos" flow with zero encoding cost.

The full comparison

Transcodely vs Bunny Stream

Rock-bottom per-GB hosting with free H.264 encoding.

Choose Bunny Stream if

  • you want rock-bottom cost per gigabyte on plain H.264 hosting, with encoding thrown in free
  • you do not need codec choice, your own bucket, or your own DRM keys

Where they win: Plain H.264 up to 1080p: free encoding plus ~$0.01/GB delivery is about as cheap as hosting gets.

The full comparison

Choose Transcodely if any of these is true

  • the encoded files have to land in your bucket, at paths you choose
  • you need HEVC, AV1 or VP9, or an ABR ladder you designed yourself
  • playback has to be gated — signed, expiring URLs, or Widevine, FairPlay and PlayReady with your own keys
  • you want every combination run through a real encode and the result published, gaps included, rather than asserted on a spec sheet
  • the whole encode path has to stay in the EU, with a subprocessor list your data protection officer can read

Do not choose us if you need

  • live streaming — there is no RTMP ingest and no low-latency pipeline, and we are not building one
  • viewer-side analytics — we count plays per video per day, not rebuffer rates or per-viewer sessions
  • auto-ABR ladder generation — per-title tunes the ladder you declared, but picking the rungs for you is refused at job creation with the error code parameter_unsupported
  • HDR-to-SDR tone-mapping — accepted at the field level and priced, but the mode itself is refused at job creation with the error code parameter_unsupported (worker#172); HDR passthrough and force are unaffected
  • the cheapest delivery on the market — Bunny is cheaper at plain H.264 hosting, and we buy our CDN from them

The cost calculator

One workload, five bills. Pick a scenario or enter your own numbers — the cheapest option is named honestly, whoever it is.

Scenario

A growing library on the universal codec with real delivery.

Currency

What does your workload need? Price is only half the question — vendors that can’t run it are ruled out below.

Bunny Stream is cheapest here — $110.00/mo. That is on price alone. Capability needs — AV1, DRM, bring-your-own storage, 4K — can rule a vendor out entirely; add what your workload needs above to see who can actually run it.
  • Bunny Stream Cheapest
    $110.00/mo
    1.0×
  • Transcodely
    $178.20/mo
    1.6×
  • Mux
    $220.15/mo
    2.0×
  • Cloudflare Stream
    $351.53/mo
    3.2×
  • Coconut transcode only
    $90.00/mo
Line-item breakdown & pricing sources

Bunny Stream

Encoding
$0.00
Storage
$10.00
Delivery
$100.00
  • H.264 up to 1080p encodes free
  • HEVC/AV1, VP9 & >1080p need premium encoding (extra $/min)
  • ≈$0.01/GB storage & delivery (EU/NA rate; other regions higher)
  • DRM (MediaCage) is an enterprise add-on
Pricing source

Transcodely

Encoding
$48.60
Storage
$21.60
Delivery
$108.00
  • Full codec, profile, CRF & ladder control
  • Encoding billed per rendition (3-rung ladder)
  • Storage & egress metered per GB — no per-request fees
  • Each job gets an encoding machine to itself while it runs; starting one carries a flat processing fee (€0.05–€0.50 by size class) added to every job an encoder picks up — negligible at monthly volumes like these
  • Failed jobs bill nothing at all; a canceled job bills the processing fee plus whatever outputs finished first
Pricing source

Mux

Encoding
$0.00
Storage
$47.08
Delivery
$173.07
  • Basic-quality encoding is free (fixed ladder, no codec choice)
  • First 100k delivered minutes/month are free (3,662 GB here)
  • Per minute of video: $0.0010/delivered, $0.0030/stored·mo at this resolution
  • Cold-storage discount up to 60% after 30d inactivity (not modelled)
Pricing source

Cloudflare Stream

Encoding
$0.00
Storage
$78.47
Delivery
$273.07
  • Free encoding — but a fixed ladder, no codec/profile choice
  • Billed per minute of video, not per GB
  • High-bitrate content is cheap here; low-bitrate is relatively pricey
Pricing source

Coconut

Encoding
$90.00
Storage
—
Delivery
—
  • Transcode only — no hosting, storage or CDN
  • $0.015 per output minute (3 renditions here)
  • Bring your own storage + CDN (added cost, not shown)
Pricing source

How this is calculated

Ladder 480p · 720p · 1080p (3 renditions). Cloudflare and Mux free tiers are per minute of video, converted at an assumed 5.0 Mbps delivered (1080p (Full HD) / H.264 / AVC) — so Mux’s free allowance is ≈ 3,662 GB here. Capability filtering comes from our verified feature matrix; DRM add-ons ($100/mo Mux, $99/mo Bunny Enterprise) are the vendors’ own list prices (per-license fees excluded). Transcodely bills in EUR; converted at €1 = $1.08 (as of July 2026). Competitor list prices verified July 2026; negotiated/committed volume discounts are not modelled. Estimates, not quotes — every meter bills on actual bytes.

The best comparison is your own footage

Pay only for what you use — no monthly fee. The first-party cost calculator prints the full Transcodely rate card.

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No card needed · 30-second test encodes free · pay per output minute after