CloudSmith Pricing in 2026: The Complete Cost Breakdown

CloudSmith has emerged as a newer player in the artifact repository space, positioning itself as a cloud-native alternative to legacy tools like JFrog Artifactory and Sonatype Nexus. But how does their pricing actually work?

With $40+ million in VC funding and a growing feature set, CloudSmith is worth evaluating. The question is whether their pricing model fits your budget and workflow. In this guide, we’ll break down exactly what you’ll pay, how costs scale, and where CloudSmith fits (or doesn’t) in your DevOps stack.

CloudSmith Pricing Tiers at a Glance

CloudSmith offers three main pricing tiers, plus free options for open-source projects and limited private use:

Paid Plans

Free Options

What is CloudSmith Pricing Based On?

CloudSmith uses a usage-based pricing model with two primary metrics:

1. Artifact Data (Storage)

This is the total size of packages stored in your repositories. Storage is measured at your “high watermark” - the maximum amount stored during a billing period. Deleting artifacts mid-cycle doesn’t reduce your bill for that month.

2. Package Delivery (Bandwidth)

Every successful download counts toward your bandwidth quota. This includes:

• CI/CD pipeline pulls
• Developer workstation downloads
• Partial downloads (counted by bytes transferred)

Good news: Uploads are free. Pushing artifacts to CloudSmith doesn’t count against your package delivery quota.

On-Demand Overages

Here’s where CloudSmith’s pricing gets interesting - and potentially expensive.

If you exceed your plan’s included storage or delivery limits, you pay on-demand overage fees at $1.50 per GB for both storage and delivery. This rate applies to the Pro plan.

The Core (free) plan has hard limits with no overage option - if you exceed 500 MB storage or 1 GB delivery, you’ll need to upgrade to Pro or delete data.

Understanding the Limits

Let’s break down what each plan actually includes:

Core Plan - Free

• 500 MB artifact storage (hard limit)
• 1 GB package delivery (hard limit)
• Private repositories
• Support for 28+ package formats
• No overage option - must upgrade when limits are reached

The Core plan is suitable for individual developers experimenting with CloudSmith, but the tight limits make it impractical for any real development work. A single Docker image can exceed the entire storage allocation.

Pro Plan - $149/month

• 5 GB artifact storage
• 25 GB package delivery
• $1.50/GB overage for both storage and delivery
• Basic access logs
• Private repositories
• Support for 28+ package formats

The Pro plan is CloudSmith’s entry-level paid tier. While 5 GB of storage seems modest, the real concern is the overage model. Teams with active CI/CD pipelines can easily exceed 25 GB of monthly delivery, and at $1.50/GB, those overages add up fast.

Example overage calculation: If you use 50 GB of delivery in a month, you’d pay:

• Base: $149
• Delivery overage: (50 - 25) x $1.50 = $37.50
• Total: $186.50

Ultra and Enterprise Plans - Custom Pricing

• Custom storage quotas
• Custom bandwidth quotas
• SOC 2 compliance
• RBAC (Role-Based Access Control)
• Global edge caching and distribution
• SLA guarantees
• Annual invoicing option

For teams that need enterprise features or want to avoid per-GB overages, CloudSmith offers custom Ultra and Enterprise plans. These require a sales conversation, and pricing varies based on usage commitments. Expect pricing to start in the hundreds to thousands per month depending on your requirements.

Real-World Cost Example

Let’s calculate what a typical development team would actually pay:

Team Profile:

• 10 developers
• 50 builds per day
• 150 MB average artifacts downloaded per build
• 80 GB stored artifacts

Monthly Usage Calculation:

Storage:     80 GB
Transfer:    50 builds x 150 MB x 30 days = 225 GB

On CloudSmith Pro ($149/month base):

Included Storage:     5 GB
Your Storage:         80 GB
Storage Overage:      75 GB x $1.50 = $112.50

Included Delivery:    25 GB
Your Delivery:        225 GB
Delivery Overage:     200 GB x $1.50 = $300.00

Base Price:           $149.00
Storage Overage:      $112.50
Delivery Overage:     $300.00
─────────────────────────────
Total Monthly Cost:   $561.50

That’s $561.50/month for a team with moderate usage - nearly 4x the base price due to overages.

On CloudRepo Team ($399/month):

Included Storage:     250 GB (you use 80 GB) ✓
Data Transfer:        Unmetered ✓
─────────────────────────────
Total Monthly Cost:   $399.00

With CloudRepo, your CI/CD pipelines can pull artifacts as aggressively as needed without watching the meter. The same usage that costs $561.50/month on CloudSmith costs $399/month on CloudRepo - a savings of $162.50/month or $1,950/year.

When CloudSmith Makes Sense

To be fair, CloudSmith is a capable platform with genuine strengths:

• Cloud-native architecture - Built for modern DevOps workflows, not adapted from on-premise roots
• 28+ package formats - Broad support including npm, Maven, Docker, Python, NuGet, and more
• Global CDN included - All plans include edge distribution for faster downloads
• Open source friendly - Generous free tier for OSS projects with 50 GB storage
• Active development - Regular feature releases and responsive product team

CloudSmith works well if you:

• Need multi-format support across diverse tech stacks
• Prioritize cloud-native tooling over legacy systems
• Have predictable, low usage that fits within Pro plan limits
• Maintain open-source projects that qualify for free hosting
• Are willing to negotiate custom pricing for larger usage

The Predictable Alternative

For teams that primarily need Maven repositories, Python, or Docker repositories without usage-based complexity, there’s a simpler approach.

CloudRepo offers flat-rate, predictable pricing with no bandwidth metering:

The Key Differences

With CloudRepo:

• No egress fees - Download as much as your CI/CD pipelines need
• No bandwidth metering - Transfer isn’t tracked or charged
• No overage surprises - Your bill is the same every month
• Human support included - No extra contracts for assistance
• Bootstrapped company - Aligned with customers, not VC growth targets

CloudSmith is VC-funded ($40M+) and optimized for growth metrics. CloudRepo is bootstrapped and founder-led, focused on sustainable value for customers.

Cost Comparison

Let’s compare costs for the scenario above (80 GB storage, 225 GB monthly bandwidth):

But here’s where it gets more interesting. What happens when usage grows?

Scaling Scenario: 200 GB storage, 800 GB bandwidth

At scale, the difference becomes stark. CloudSmith Pro with overages would cost $1,460.50/month for this usage level - nearly 4x the CloudRepo Team price.

With CloudRepo, your CI/CD can pull artifacts aggressively without impacting costs. With CloudSmith, every additional GB of bandwidth adds $1.50 to your bill.

Questions to Ask Before Committing

If you’re evaluating CloudSmith, get clarity on these points:

1. “What’s included in the Ultra or Enterprise tier for our usage level?” - Custom pricing means you need a specific quote

2. “How does bandwidth scale during release periods?” - Major releases often spike download activity significantly, and at $1.50/GB, that adds up

3. “What’s the contract term and cancellation policy?” - Understand lock-in before committing

4. “Are there discounts for annual commitments?” - CloudSmith may offer custom annual plans that reduce costs

5. “Can we get predictable pricing without per-GB overages?” - Understand what usage commitment is required for flat-rate custom pricing

The Bottom Line

CloudSmith offers a modern, capable artifact management platform. Their free Core and Open Source tiers are genuinely useful for individuals and OSS projects with modest needs.

However, the usage-based model creates budget uncertainty for growing teams:

• $1.50/GB overages add up quickly with active CI/CD pipelines
• Low included limits - Pro only includes 5 GB storage and 25 GB delivery
• Growing teams inevitably face significant overage charges or must negotiate custom pricing

For teams that value predictable costs and want to optimize CI/CD without watching the bandwidth meter, flat-rate alternatives may be a better fit.

The best artifact repository is one you can use without restrictions. When downloads cost $1.50/GB, teams inevitably start rationing pulls - which undermines the entire purpose of having a repository manager.

Want to see what predictable pricing looks like? Compare CloudRepo plans or start a free trial to test with your actual workflows. No credit card required, no bandwidth meters running.