Cloudflare transforms: 100 MB, 10 min input vs Sume trim's 1800 s

Cloudflare Media Transformations takes input files up to 100 MB and up to 10 minutes long, and produces an output of 1 to 60 seconds. Sume's video trim accepts a source up to 1800 seconds and writes a cut of 0.2 to 900 seconds. The two are meant for different scales of clip, so pick by length first.

Cloudflare's numbers are from its Media Transformations page, read 2026-10-03. Sume's are from video trim and video filter.

The limits side by side

Both services work from a URL and return a new file, but they ask you for different parameters.

Reading the two designs

Cloudflare's design is aimed at short previews cut from a larger library. Its duration range stops at 60 seconds and its start is within the first 10 minutes. Sume's trim keeps the same shape (a start and a length) but allows a much longer cut, and always returns a new MP4 artifact rather than a transformed URL.

Cloudflare states a byte limit for input; the Sume trim page states duration caps only, so check the size of a large source before you build around it.

A trim that stays inside both

If you want a cut that could run on either service, keep the source under 100 MB and 10 minutes, and the cut at 60 seconds or less. In Sume that is a POST to /v1/video-trim with start and duration, after importing the source with POST /v1/media-imports. The job costs $0.02.

Sume's precision: "exact" default re-encodes with libx264 and yuv420p. keyframe is a stream copy where the cut may start a GOP early, so re-base against actual_start_seconds.

• Cloudflare fit: contain, scale-down or cover.
• Cloudflare width and height: 10 to 2000 pixels.
• Sume output width and height: 256 to 2160, exact precision only.

Which one to use

Use Cloudflare's transform when the video already lives in a Cloudflare setup and you need a short preview. Use Sume when you also need audio detach, frames or a pixel filter on the same hosted clip, or when the cut runs past a minute.

Where each tool breaks first

With Cloudflare, a long, high-bitrate source can hit the 100 MB cap before the 10 minute cap. With Sume, the worker checks length separately, and a source over 1800 s fails with source_duration_exceeded. Check both the byte size and the duration of a candidate file.

For a library of long recordings, the common pattern is to cut each one into pieces below the smaller of the two limits, then transform or trim each piece.