Bytescale
File storage platform with on-the-fly image, video, and audio transformation APIs and a global CDN.
- Credit window
- 14 days
- Card required
- No
Bytescale scores 2.7/10 for free value in Storage. The main constraint: 14-day free trial (no credit card) with access to plan tiers up to 50 GB built-in storage, 50 GB download bandwidth/month, 100K uploads, and media-transformation CPU hours; no perpetual free plan.
Free value score
2.7 / 10Show the math
Key metrics
What you get
100+ real-time media transformations (WebP/AVIF, HLS/ABR video, audio transcoding) served via a global 700+ location CDN with permanent caching
Bring your own storage — AWS S3, Cloudflare R2, Azure, Google Storage, or DigitalOcean Spaces — with no extra charge or cap on the external bucket size
Drop-in upload widget plus SDK-free REST APIs for uploads, file management, folders, metadata/tags, antivirus scanning, and archive extraction
No credit card required to start the 14-day trial; switch between Basic/Plus/Advanced tiers freely during the trial
Gotchas
- 14-day trial
The free offering is a 14-day free trial, not a perpetual free plan. After 14 days you must subscribe to a paid plan (Basic $7/mo, Plus $35/mo, or Advanced $195/mo) to keep using the service.
- 50 GB built-in storage
Up to 50 GB of Bytescale built-in storage on the Plus tier during the trial (Basic tier is 10 GB). External storage you bring (S3, R2, etc.) is not counted or capped.
- 50 GB download bandwidth/mo
Total monthly download (egress) traffic across all files is capped at 50 GB on the Plus tier (10 GB on Basic). Once 100% consumed, the API and CDN return HTTP 400 errors until the next cycle.
- 100K upload requests/mo
Number of file uploads per month is capped (100K on Plus, 20K on Basic). Upload/ingress bandwidth itself is unmetered.
- CPU hours for transformations
Media transformations are metered in CPU hours (5 CPU hrs/mo on Plus, 1 on Basic). Roughly 1 CPU hour = 6,000 image optimizations, 360 video thumbnails, or 40 minutes of converted video — video/audio work exhausts the quota fast.
- Lower trial limits
Bytescale states that some trial-plan limits (notably CPU/processing allocation) may be lower than the equivalent paid plan, so trial quotas can differ from the published pricing-page numbers.
- Max upload size
Maximum single file upload size is tier-dependent: 500 MB (Basic), 5 GB (Plus), 100 GB (Advanced).
- Enterprise-only features
Pay-As-You-Go billing, Single Sign-On (SSO), custom domains (CNAME), and dedicated support are available only on Enterprise plans, not on the trial or standard paid tiers.
- Files deleted on cancellation
If you cancel your account (including letting the trial lapse without subscribing), your files are deleted from Bytescale's servers; you must export them via the API/dashboard beforehand.
Sources
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"No credit card required. ✓ Try free for 14 days. No hidden fees."
https://www.bytescale.com/ -
"Plus $35/month ... 50GB Storage ... 50GB Download Bandwidth ... 100K Upload Requests ... 5x CPU Hours ... Start Free Trial"
https://www.bytescale.com/pricing -
"There are no daily limits. The only limits are your plan's monthly limits."
https://www.bytescale.com/pricing -
"Bytescale is an unfunded company [that has not raised] any funding rounds yet. It streamlines file uploading, file processing, content optimization, and content [delivery]."
https://tracxn.com/d/companies/bytescale/__-oSZv1vZ-n3rXp1Zy8YhX-tc0Itgad-u6oO3nOi2x-E
