Cypress Cloud Screenshot Storage Pricing Explained

Short answer: Cypress Cloud’s reviewed pricing materials do not list a separate fee for screenshot storage. Cypress treats screenshots and videos as artifacts attached to recorded test results, and keeps them for the data-retention period associated with the plan. This does not establish that every account or contract has identical terms: check your organization’s Billing & Usage view and the current Cypress pricing page before budgeting.

How Cypress Cloud screenshot storage is billed

For a recorded run, Cypress Cloud receives run data including test results, screenshots, and videos. The billing model described in the reviewed materials is based on recorded test results and, where applicable, AI usage; those materials do not show a standalone screenshot-storage rate. In other words, storage is associated with the recorded-test service and its retention rules, rather than presented as a per-image line item in the pricing details reviewed here.

Cypress documents that screenshots and videos are attached to their respective test results and kept for the length of the plan’s data-retention period. They can be browsed or shared through the Cloud interface. See the official Cypress test documentation.

What is the cost basis?

A test result is counted when a test runs under cypress run --record with a record key. Cypress counts each invocation of it() as a test; passed and failed tests count, while pending and skipped tests do not. Screenshots are artifacts of those test results, rather than a separately itemized screenshot quantity in the reviewed pricing material. Verify your account’s meter in Billing & Usage, especially if using annual allowances or a contract.

The following listed prices and allowances were checked on October 3, 2026 and can change. They are useful for understanding the pricing structure, not a substitute for your organization’s current billing page.

Plan	Listed allowance	Listed plan price	Additional results shown
Starter / Free	500 results per month	Free	—
Team	120,000 results per year	$799 per year	$5.28 per 1,000 bundled; $6 per 1,000 on-demand
Business	120,000 results per year	$3,199 per year	$4.40 per 1,000 bundled; $5 per 1,000 on-demand
Enterprise	1.8 million results per year	Custom	$4 per 1,000 bundled; custom on-demand pricing

These figures describe test-result allowances and rates, not a per-screenshot storage tariff. See the current pricing page for updated plan details. Cypress’s Cloud FAQ says Starter has 500 results per billing period and 30 days of data retention. Do not assume Starter’s 30-day retention applies to other plans; check the retention shown for your plan.

How to estimate your organization’s cost

Open your Cypress Cloud organization’s Billing & Usage page. Check the plan, billing period and renewal date.
Review recorded result usage by project. Estimate the number of passed and failed tests you record in each period; exclude pending and skipped tests from the result count.
Compare your projected results with the plan’s included allowance and any bundled or on-demand rates shown for your organization.
Read the data-retention period listed for your actual plan. Treat it as the artifact availability window, not as a storage price.
Recheck current terms before committing a budget. Rates, allowances, retention, and contract terms can differ and change.

Archiving a run is not a way to reduce metered usage: Cypress’s FAQ says archived runs still count toward the number of recorded tests. If costs are driven by test-result volume, review which CI runs need Cloud recording and remove redundant test coverage carefully.

What gets uploaded, and what can you control?

When Cypress runs with --record, its documentation says Cloud receives terminal output, test results, test definitions, Cypress configuration (excluding Cypress environment variables), screenshots, videos, and CI- and Git-related environment variables. When Test Replay is enabled, additional information can include the rendered DOM and CSS, Cypress commands and events, network traffic, and browser console logs. Review Cypress’s data and recording FAQ and screenshots and videos guide for current controls.

Failure screenshots: Cypress captures screenshots for test failures during cypress run by default.
Videos: video recording is disabled by default and can be enabled. Cypress documents that videos can be deleted before upload.
Masking: screenshot blackout settings can hide selected page elements. Use them for sensitive content and verify that the selectors match the rendered page.
Capture scope: Cypress provides an option to capture the application viewport rather than the runner interface.
Test Replay: review its separate capture controls if you do not want its additional DOM, network, and console data sent.

These choices affect the artifacts and data sent, but do not turn screenshot storage into a separately priced unit in the reviewed pricing materials. For privacy-sensitive pages, avoid exposing secrets in test fixtures and verify masking and upload settings before recording.

Do screenshots upload on every Cypress run?

No. Cypress Cloud receives recorded-run data when cypress run uses --record with a record key. Cypress remains usable without Cloud: running without --record does not record test results to Cloud. A local failure screenshot may still be useful for debugging, but it is not thereby a Cloud artifact.

# Run tests locally or in CI without sending the run to Cypress Cloud
npx cypress run

# Record a run to Cypress Cloud (configure projectId and provide the record key)
CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY="$CYPRESS_RECORD_KEY" npx cypress run --record

Keep the record key in CI’s secret store rather than committing it to source control. Consult Cypress’s official Cloud setup documentation for project configuration and recording setup.

Retention: how long are screenshots kept?

Artifacts follow the data-retention period for the plan. The official Cloud FAQ specifies 30 days for Starter; the reviewed sources do not provide a complete retention table for every tier. Retention can affect whether an old failure screenshot remains available to investigate, but it is separate from any conclusion about a storage surcharge. Look at the retention value in your own Billing & Usage page rather than extrapolating Starter’s period to Team, Business, or Enterprise.

Performance, reliability, and cost planning

Budget on tests, not image file counts. The documented meter is recorded test results. Estimate recorded passed and failed tests per billing period, then inspect the actual plan allowance and any additional-result pricing.
Choose which runs to record. Cypress says Cloud is optional. Record the CI runs where the debugging and history are useful; local runs can omit --record.
Reduce redundant coverage thoughtfully. Cypress’s FAQ recommends removing obsolete or redundant tests and selecting an appropriate test level. Preserve important coverage while avoiding repeated end-to-end checks of the same behavior.
Watch per-project usage. Billing & Usage provides project-level usage, which helps identify the suites contributing most to the organization’s total.
Account for retention operationally. If you need to investigate older runs, confirm how long artifacts remain on the plan and whether your organization needs a separate retention or evidence process.
Check what is uploaded. Disabling video, masking sensitive elements, or changing Test Replay capture can reduce what is sent and stored; verify each setting against your debugging and privacy needs.

The reviewed documentation does not give a storage-size quota, upload-speed benchmark, or universal retention period for every tier. Do not derive those values from the result allowance. Use your organization’s current billing view and Cypress documentation for account-specific planning.

Troubleshooting screenshot storage and billing questions

Symptom	Likely cause	What to check or do
A screenshot is missing from Cloud	The run may not have been recorded, the test may not have produced a failure screenshot, or screenshot upload may have been disabled.	Confirm the CI command includes `--record` and uses the correct project and record key. Check screenshot capture settings and the test result details.
An older artifact is no longer available	The plan’s retention period may have elapsed.	Check the retention displayed in Billing & Usage. Starter is documented as 30 days; do not infer another tier’s retention from that figure.
The bill or usage counter seems higher than the number of screenshots	Billing is based on test results, not simply the number of image files; each passed or failed recorded test counts.	Inspect result usage by project and compare recorded test counts with the billing period. Pending and skipped tests do not count under the FAQ’s definition.
Usage remains after archiving a run	Archiving hides a run from normal listing and analytics but does not remove its recorded tests from usage.	Use the run archive for organization, not as a billing adjustment. Review future recording volume instead.
A screenshot contains sensitive data	Blackout selectors may be missing, or the sensitive element may render differently in CI.	Configure screenshot blackout selectors and inspect a representative capture. Also review fixture data and whether Test Replay is enabled.
CI tests run, but no new Cloud results appear after reaching a limit	Cypress documents that tests continue, but parallelization can be disabled and new results hidden after the result limit is reached.	Check Billing & Usage and the current period boundary; adjust the plan or wait for the next usage cycle as appropriate.

ScreenshotNeo as an alternative for standalone website captures

Cypress Cloud is for artifacts from Cypress test runs. If the task is to capture a website on demand rather than retain a test-run artifact, ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server for developers. One GET request can return a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets can be removed before capture; each cleanup step can be disabled. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server offers screenshot and PDF tools for AI agents.

For an on-demand website capture, use this cURL request; replace the target URL and API key. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for options and configuration.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" \
  -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com \
  -o shot.webp

Or skip the browser setup

Use the same endpoint from Python or Node.js if those fit your workflow:

# Python
import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

// Node.js 18+
const q = new URLSearchParams({
  access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
  url: 'https://stripe.com',
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
const image = Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer());
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', image));

Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot.
Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed.
An MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots.
1,000 screenshots a month are free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.

FAQ

Does Cypress Cloud charge for screenshot storage?

The reviewed official pricing materials do not list a separate screenshot-storage fee. Confirm your contract and Billing & Usage page for account-specific terms.

Are screenshots billed one by one?

The documented usage meter is recorded test results, counting passed and failed tests. It is not described as a per-screenshot charge.

Does deleting or archiving an old run lower usage?

No. Cypress says archiving a run does not change the number of tests counted as usage. Check current account controls and terms for artifact deletion needs.

Does Starter retention mean all plans keep screenshots for 30 days?

No. The cited 30-day period applies to Starter. Consult the retention period shown for your plan.

Can I run Cypress without storing artifacts in Cypress Cloud?

Yes. Cypress runs without Cloud recording when you omit the --record flag.

Sources and date note

Plan prices and allowances above were checked October 3, 2026 and may change. Primary references: Cypress pricing, Cypress Cloud FAQ, Cypress screenshots and videos guide, and Cypress screenshot artifact documentation. For your organization’s exact retention and usage, refer to its Cypress Cloud Billing & Usage page.