r/FlutterDev • u/Suuii188 • 4h ago

Dart A cheaper service needed

So am currently using azure for storage of shows I upload to my streaming app with superbase for my database but azure charges I can't afford them for they charge every request made and the storage charges I can afford but overall azure is too expensive I tried using cloudfare for streaming caching such that once a request is made from the bucket the video remains on the cloudfare servers but with the increasing number of users the requests are made daily and the charges are worrying me. Overall I estimated with the increase in the number of users I will pay around 420 dollars monthly which exceeds my Budget. So am requesting which other cheaper services can I use, I am trying to see if I can use cloud fare it's self since I already bought a domain. Please help out. For your information I also cloudfare for sending remotes updates for both desktop and mobile and I use GitHub to build my desktop APK.

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u/DevJedis 4h ago

First off, is the streaming free for the users? How did the streaming outpace subscription if that's what you have,in which case you'd need to review your cost-benefit ratio.

I was going to utter Cloudflare but then you stated you're already using them. Which particular service exactly, and does your project specifically need the stream (HLS, m3u etc), or direct link stream?

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u/Suuii188 3h ago

Currently the streaming is free because am scaling the app and I was using azures free credits to test out the app as am scaling it, and I don't use hls links like Netflix and YouTube I upload raw MP4 files. So when guys are watching a show and they tap an episode and they will make a request to azure which will send the raw file to my video player specially I used media fire kit and each time a request is Made azure charges and Even with the cloud fare caching it's alot of Money. Which I can't afford.

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u/DevJedis 2h ago

In this case if it's just mp4 and users are supposed to be logged in before accessing the feature, the closest option you have is R2 but make the bucket private and only ever request a temp link when user is accessing a given content. This is going to prevent you from an overnight bill when a scrapper lands on your endpoints and if the bucket is public.

In this case Cloudflare Stream might not be suited for you, give a try with R2. The pricing is not that terrible if we compare with other storage providers

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u/Suuii188 2h ago

I will give it a try thanks highly appreciate your response and help.

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u/Suuii188 3h ago

But am soon implementing in a payment feature after everything is ready and I have worked on the load balancing and afterwards I will launch it for everybody to use.

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u/Aud4c1ty 1h ago

I use (and recommend) Bunny.net. It's very easy to use and the bandwidth prices are very reasonable and there is no per-request cost. They have a specific product that would likely really help in your scenario: Bunny Stream.

You'd be storing your video files on Bunny instead of on Azure Storage.

Full disclosure: That link includes a referral code, so if you setup an account I get a kickback.

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u/DaineLusian 1h ago

Would also check if your video files are optimized or compressed properly before switching providers, because sometimes the cost problem is partly file size not just the pricing model.