“We are just implementing their service into our application and so far it's ticking all the boxes. We did quite a bit of research into the different platforms and Uploadcare seemed like the most complete solution.”
Uploadcare Video CDNAdaptive bitrate streaming for web and mobile
On-demand HLS streaming with H.264 and H.265 up to 4K. Upload videos up to 5 TB, deliver via a global CDN with 99.9% uptime. Built for apps with video, images, and files in one pipeline.
Enterprise‑level security and compliance, proven at scale
The same platform healthcare, finance, and education teams have trusted with sensitive files since 2011. The kind of track record that holds up in a security review.
15 years on the market
White-glove onboarding and dedicated migration support
SOC 2 Type II and HIPAA-configurable workflows
Predictable, operations-based pricing with no credit surprises
99.99% uptime, proven in production
Video uploads and adaptive playback, handled end to end
Integrate on-demand video-handling infrastructure in minutes and enable immediate playback for your users — no stuck uploads or long processing times.
Upload
Quickly integrate uploads for videos up to 5 TB with a plug-and-play widget or API.
Deliver
Enable instant delivery for uploaded video through a global CDN without additional processing.
Cut video bandwidth costs by up to 40% with adaptive bitrate streaming
Save on data transfer costs and storage with intelligent, bandwidth-optimized delivery.
Minimize streaming costs by adapting large videos to viewer bandwidth and device, so costs scale with what’s actually streamed.
Stop maintaining manual encoding pipelines. Choose your ladder from 240p to 2160p in H.264 and H.265, and Uploadcare transcodes the renditions you pick.
Save on storage. A single master file produces every rendition, cached at the edge instead of storing them as separate copies.
Playback that adapts to every viewer
Eliminate frustrating buffering and quality degradation with instant, uninterrupted video playback adapted to the user network and device.
Maximize customer reach with videos accessible on any device and at any internet speed.
Release content faster — videos are playable immediately after upload.
Increase viewership and reduce bounce rates with consistently high-quality video content.
One platform for video, image, and document delivery
Enable your end-users to upload and consume different types of content, from pictures to video reviews.
Eliminate the cost and complexity of juggling multiple tools to handle different types of files.
Leverage consistent APIs and interfaces across file types for easy integration, automation, and service stability.
See why thousands of companies choose Uploadcare
All-in-one platform for on-demand video uploads and streaming
Adaptive bitrate streaming
Reduce data transfer costs on videos up to 5 TB. HLS delivers H.264 or H.265 at 240p to 4K, matched to each viewer’s bandwidth and device.
Easy-to-use video player
Add our web component for HLS playback with quality selection built in, or stream to the player you already use.
Asynchronous video processing
Save on encoding operations for low-traffic videos via standalone REST API processing: Change size, quality, and format (MP4, OGG, WEBM).
Support for popular upload sources
Upload from a wide range of sources, including local storage, camera, Google Photos, Dropbox, and OneDrive.
Resumable uploads up to 5TB
Upload videos up to 5TB, with resumable uploads that recover dropped sessions. Includes images and documents of any type.
File validation
Granularly control which users can upload files and how long that access is available with signature tokens.
Block malicious files
Uploadcare automatically filters infected files using ClamAV, an open-source antivirus engine.
Secure uploads
Generate signature tokens server-side to restrict upload access to your project, with configurable expiration via a UNIX timestamp.
Webhooks and storage
Wire up custom logic with the API and webhooks. Use our storage, or bring your own.
Quickstart: Stream your first video with adaptive bitrate
1. Get your API key
Create a free account, set up a project, and copy your API keys from the dashboard. No credit card required.
2. Upload your videos
If your videos are already hosted on Uploadcare, continue to step 3. Otherwise, integrate the File Uploader into your application using one of our SDKs, or call the Upload API directly.
3. Deliver with adaptive streaming
Integrate the uc-video web component, or use any HLS-compatible video player, and reference your video by its UUID. Uploadcare handles transcoding, adaptive bitrate switching, and global CDN delivery automatically.
Built for media-rich workflows in high-volume industries
Education, real estate, e-commerce, and more. Same video pipeline, configured for each.
E-learning and online education
Course videos, lecture recordings, and student submissions sit on one pipeline alongside slide decks and course thumbnails. Adaptive playback for every student device and network.
Real estate listings and property media platforms
Drone footage, photographer uploads, and mobile agent captures sit on one pipeline alongside listing photos and floor plans. Global delivery and signed URLs for restricted listings.
E-commerce and D2C brands
Brand hero clips, customer videos, and product photography sit on one pipeline alongside product photos and 360° spins. Mobile-optimized delivery for fast product page loads.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Uploadcare Video CDN?
Uploadcare Video CDN is an on-demand video delivery and adaptive bitrate streaming service. It accepts uploads up to 5 TB from a wide range of sources, transcodes to a customer-configured HLS rendition ladder (up to 4K, with H.264 and H.265 codec choice per rendition), and delivers playback through a global CDN with SOC 2, HIPAA, and GDPR compliance built in.
What video formats and codecs does Uploadcare Video CDN support?
Uploadcare accepts video files in all popular formats. For HLS adaptive bitrate streaming, video is transcoded to H.264 and H.265 on upload. For asynchronous, full-file conversions via the REST API, output containers are MP4, WEBM, or OGG, with options to adjust quality, change dimensions, cut out video fragments, and generate thumbnails. The maximum input file size is 5 TB.
What is the maximum video file size I can upload?
Up to 5 TB per file. Uploads use the TUS resumable protocol, so very large files survive network drops and resume from the last completed chunk. Files can be sent directly from the browser, through the Upload API, or pulled in from end-user cloud accounts like Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Google Photos. Amazon S3 is supported through a native storage integration. Cloudflare R2, Google Cloud Storage, and Azure are supported via webhooks that bridge Uploadcare with your backend.
Does Uploadcare Video CDN support live streaming?
Uploadcare Video CDN is currently optimized for on-demand (VoD) video uploads, transcoding, and HLS delivery for content that is recorded once and played back many times.
Which video players work with Uploadcare Video CDN?
Any HLS-compatible HTML5 player works with Uploadcare Video CDN. Uploadcare ships its own plug-and-play player, but the m3u8 manifest URL also drops cleanly into Video.js, hls.js, Plyr, Shaka Player, and the native <video> tag in Safari and iOS. No proprietary SDK is required.
Is Uploadcare Video CDN HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR compliant?
Yes. Uploadcare is SOC 2 audited, HIPAA-eligible (signed BAAs available on Business and Enterprise plans), and GDPR-compliant. The platform offers 99.9% uptime SLA, encryption in transit and at rest, signed-URL access control, and antivirus scanning on every upload.
How much does Uploadcare Video CDN cost?
Uploadcare Video CDN ships in three tiers: Free ($0/mo, for passion projects and prototypes), Pro ($66/mo, for production apps), and Business ($166/mo, for high-traffic apps and HIPAA workloads).
How does Uploadcare Video CDN compare to Cloudflare Stream, Mux, and Bunny Stream?
Cloudflare Stream, Mux, and Bunny Stream are video-first platforms. They’re the right fit when video is the core of your product, and they offer deeper video-specific tooling like live streaming, low-latency delivery, and DRM.
Uploadcare Video CDN is for teams whose apps handle video alongside images, documents, and other files. Same platform, same APIs, same delivery layer for every media type.
How is the cost of adaptive bitrate streaming calculated?
The cost is based on the resolutions and codecs you choose, and the duration of the video. Each rendition is billed separately. The base rate is 10 operations per 10 seconds, multiplied by a resolution factor (×1 for 240p–576p, ×2 for 720p–1080p, ×4 for 1440p–2160p) and a codec factor (×1 for H.264, ×2 for H.265). The duration is rounded up to the nearest 10 seconds. For example, a 52-second video with three H.264 renditions (360p, 720p, 1080p) requires: 60 + 120 + 120 = 300 operations.
What resolution options are available for videos?
Eight resolution options are available: 240p, 360p, 480p, 576p, 720p, 1080p, 1440p, and 2160p (4K). You also choose between H.264 and H.265 codecs.
The resolution is based on the smaller side of the video.
Videos are never upscaled; if the original video is 900p, the highest resolution will remain 900p.
Selected resolutions larger than the source are skipped.
What happens if my video duration doesn’t align with 10-second intervals?
We round video durations up to the nearest 10-second increment, then bill from that rounded number. So, if your video is 52 seconds, it’s billed as 60 seconds.
Are all resolution options always generated?
No. Only the renditions you select are generated. Selected resolutions that exceed the original video’s resolution are automatically skipped (e.g., a 900p source will not generate 1080p, 1440p, or 2160p renditions). This ensures no unnecessary upscaling.