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Cloudsmith review

Updated September 28, 2026 · DeployCue Editorial Team · Facts checked September 26, 2026

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Our verdict

Cloudsmith fits teams that want the control plane handled for them at no cost and are content to pay only for the nodes they run. The trade-off sits in node price, which starts at $149, well above the figures listed for Salad and Red Hat OpenShift.

Key facts

Best for
Teams that want a managed control plane at no cost and pay only for the nodes they run.
Free control plane
Yes↗
Node price from
$149↗
Locations
600↗
Legal entity
Cloudsmith Ltd↗
Headquarters
United Kingdom↗
Support channels
Email, Help-centre↗
Official website
cloudsmith.com

Facts checked September 26, 2026, 3 sources

Apps and profiles

Elsewhere
LinkedInXgithub.comyoutube.comfacebook.com

Pros and cons

Pros

  • A free control plane is listed as yes, so a cluster carries no management charge before a node joins it.
  • The same operator, Cloudsmith Ltd, runs the control plane and the nodes, so the free part and the paid part come from a single vendor.
  • The operator lists 600 locations, so a cluster can sit in a broad spread of regions rather than a single market.
  • Support runs on email and help centre, giving a help centre alongside email for teams that want written answers first.

Cons

  • Node price from $149 sits well above $0.015 at Salad and $0.076 at Red Hat OpenShift.
  • Support runs on email and help centre only, so no live chat or listed phone line is there for a production incident.
  • A free control plane does not soften the bill, because node price still starts at $149 for the first node.
Cloudsmith

Ready to try Cloudsmith?

Scored 9.1 / 10 by DeployCue.

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Who it suits

  • Teams that want the control plane managed at no cost and then pay per node.
  • Developers who would rather not operate and maintain a control plane themselves.
  • Readers weighing an included control plane against a lower node floor at Salad or Red Hat OpenShift.

Who should look elsewhere

  • Teams on a tight node budget, since $149 sits far above $0.015 at Salad.
  • Buyers who need live chat or phone support, because support runs on email and help centre.
  • Readers comparing only control plane price, since a free control plane is yes at Cloudsmith and no at SberCloud.

Pricing

Cloudsmith charges nothing for the control plane. A free control plane is listed as yes, so there is no management fee standing between you and a running cluster. The only listed charge is for compute, and Cloudsmith node price from $149 is where that starts. The entry decision therefore comes down to a single thing, which nodes you add and how many you keep. It is worth separating the shape of the offer from the size of the number. Control plane administration is included, so the bill tracks node count rather than cluster management. A reader shopping on control plane price alone will find the Cloudsmith entry fee hard to argue with, because that line sits at nothing. The node side is where the comparison tightens. Cloudsmith node price from $149 sits well above Salad, which lists node price from $0.015, and above Red Hat OpenShift, which lists $0.076. A team running many nodes and judging on unit cost is comparing like against like across those options. A team running few nodes, or one that would rather not touch a control plane at all, puts more weight on the included management work. The same figures apply after the first month of use. The listed offer pairs a free control plane with Cloudsmith node price from $149, and no separate renewal rate is published alongside it, so budgeting rests on the node line throughout the life of a cluster.

Who runs it

Cloudsmith is run by Cloudsmith Ltd, headquartered in the United Kingdom. A single named company sits behind both halves of the bill, the control plane included at no charge and the nodes priced from $149, which keeps the relationship with the party that actually runs the cluster. Support runs on email and help centre. That is email and a help centre, so routine questions can be answered from documentation while anything deeper goes in by email. A team that expects a live chat thread or a spoken line during a production incident should weigh that against the listed channels before committing. Teams content to file a ticket and read the documentation will find the pairing workable. The company profile is short and specific. Cloudsmith Ltd in GB sells a managed control plane alongside metered nodes, which suits buyers who prefer a named contracting party over an anonymous resold offer. Buyers who need commercial detail beyond the contact details can take that up with Cloudsmith Ltd directly.

How Cloudsmith compares

Frequently asked questions

Does Cloudsmith charge for the control plane?+

A free control plane is listed as yes, so there is no management charge for running the Kubernetes control plane itself. Cost begins with compute, where Cloudsmith node price from $149 applies once nodes join the cluster. A team budgeting a small cluster can run the control side at no cost.

How much do nodes cost on Cloudsmith?+

Cloudsmith node price from $149 is the published starting figure. Salad lists node price from $0.015 and Red Hat OpenShift lists $0.076, so the gap on the node side is wide. Choose Cloudsmith for the included control plane rather than for unit node cost.

Is a free control plane common among the providers compared here?+

Cloudsmith lists a free control plane as yes, while SberCloud lists one as no. Among the Kubernetes providers on this page a free control plane is the more common side of the split, so Cloudsmith sits in the larger group. That makes it a reason to look rather than a differentiator on its own.

Who operates Cloudsmith and where is it based?+

The operator is Cloudsmith Ltd, headquartered in the United Kingdom. The same company runs the control plane and the nodes, so a contract and any support thread stay with a single party from cluster creation through node billing. Buyers who want a named counterparty rather than a marketplace reseller get that here.

How does support work on Cloudsmith?+

Support runs on email and help centre, meaning email and a help centre. Routine questions can be answered from the documentation and anything deeper goes in by email. No live chat or phone channel is listed, so teams that want immediate spoken help during an incident should weigh that before they commit.

How wide is the Cloudsmith footprint?+

The operator lists 600 locations, a broad spread for a managed Kubernetes service. A cluster can be placed near users in several regions rather than pinned to a single market, which matters most for latency sensitive workloads and for teams with data placement preferences. Region choice is a genuine strength here.

What is the total entry cost for a small cluster?+

The control plane is free, so the entry cost is the node charge alone: Cloudsmith node price from $149. The control plane line adds nothing to the first bill. Teams that only need a handful of nodes can start from a low floor, while heavier clusters pay more per node than they would at Salad.

Sources

  • cloudsmith.com checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Locations

    “We auto-scale, and serve packages from 600 points of presence worldwide.”

  • cloudsmith.com/company/contact-us checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Headquarters, Legal entity, Support channels

    “Cloudsmith Ltd Scottish Provident Building 7 Donegall Square West Belfast BT1 6JH, UK”

  • cloudsmith.com/pricing checked September 26, 2026

    Backs: Free control plane, Node price from

    “Core Starting at $0/month”

Compiled from 3 source pages, checked September 26, 2026. We did not open an account.

Not confirmed yet: Control plane price.

Cloudsmith

Cloudsmith

Teams that want a managed control plane at no cost and pay only for the nodes they run.

9.1/10See alternatives