diff --git a/.changeset/fix-cloudflare-static-image-service.md b/.changeset/fix-cloudflare-static-image-service.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..709f3baeb0b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-cloudflare-static-image-service.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@astrojs/cloudflare': patch
+---
+
+Fixes the default `imageService` for static output mode. Previously, the default `cloudflare-binding` image service generated `/_image?href=...` runtime URLs that returned 404 when deployed, since there is no server runtime to handle image transformation requests in static mode. The default now automatically uses `compile` for static output, which generates optimized image files at build time.
diff --git a/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/index.ts b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/index.ts
index 44c3f57f3d02..00cb83345257 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import { astroFrontmatterScanPlugin } from './esbuild-plugin-astro-frontmatter.j
 import { getParts } from './utils/generate-routes-json.js';
 import {
 	type ImageServiceConfig,
+	type ImageServiceMode,
 	normalizeImageServiceConfig,
 	setImageConfig,
 } from './utils/image-config.js';
@@ -128,8 +129,9 @@ export default function createIntegration({
 	let _routes: IntegrationResolvedRoute[];
 	let cfPluginConfig: PluginConfig;
 
-	const { buildService, runtimeService } = normalizeImageServiceConfig(imageService);
-	const needsImagesBinding = runtimeService === 'cloudflare-binding';
+	let buildService: ImageServiceMode;
+	let runtimeService: ImageServiceMode;
+	let needsImagesBinding: boolean;
 
 	return {
 		name: '@astrojs/cloudflare',
@@ -139,6 +141,15 @@ export default function createIntegration({
 					throw new Error('`workerd` does not run on Stackblitz.');
 				}
 
+				// Resolve image service config with output mode awareness.
+				// For static output, defaults to `compile` since there is no server
+				// runtime to handle `/_image` requests at deploy time.
+				({ buildService, runtimeService } = normalizeImageServiceConfig(
+					imageService,
+					config.output,
+				));
+				needsImagesBinding = runtimeService === 'cloudflare-binding';
+
 				let session = config.session;
 				const isCompile = buildService === 'compile';
 
@@ -380,7 +391,7 @@ export default function createIntegration({
 							cfPrismPlugin(),
 						],
 					},
-					image: setImageConfig(imageService, config.image, command, logger),
+					image: setImageConfig(imageService, config.image, command, logger, config.output),
 				});
 
 				if (cloudflareOptions.configPath) {
diff --git a/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/utils/image-config.ts b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/utils/image-config.ts
index 473bd6993718..6eaaa81b6e90 100644
--- a/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/utils/image-config.ts
+++ b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/src/utils/image-config.ts
@@ -16,12 +16,18 @@ export type ImageServiceConfig =
 	  };
 
 /** Normalize string | compound config into separate build/runtime modes. */
-export function normalizeImageServiceConfig(config: ImageServiceConfig | undefined): {
+export function normalizeImageServiceConfig(
+	config: ImageServiceConfig | undefined,
+	output?: 'static' | 'server',
+): {
 	buildService: ImageServiceMode;
 	runtimeService: ImageServiceMode;
 } {
 	if (!config || typeof config === 'string') {
-		const mode = config ?? 'cloudflare-binding';
+		// For static output, default to `compile` since there is no server runtime
+		// to handle `/_image` requests. For server output, default to `cloudflare-binding`
+		// which uses the Cloudflare Images binding for runtime transforms.
+		const mode = config ?? (output === 'static' ? 'compile' : 'cloudflare-binding');
 		// `compile` is build-only; at runtime, serve pre-compiled static assets
 		return {
 			buildService: mode,
@@ -53,8 +59,9 @@ export function setImageConfig(
 	config: AstroConfig['image'],
 	command: HookParameters<'astro:config:setup'>['command'],
 	logger: AstroIntegrationLogger,
+	output?: 'static' | 'server',
 ) {
-	const { buildService, runtimeService } = normalizeImageServiceConfig(service);
+	const { buildService, runtimeService } = normalizeImageServiceConfig(service, output);
 
 	switch (buildService) {
 		case 'passthrough':
diff --git a/packages/integrations/cloudflare/test/units/image-config.test.ts b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/test/units/image-config.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..5829df844f1f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/integrations/cloudflare/test/units/image-config.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+import assert from 'node:assert/strict';
+import { describe, it } from 'node:test';
+import { normalizeImageServiceConfig } from '../../dist/utils/image-config.js';
+
+describe('normalizeImageServiceConfig', () => {
+	it('defaults to compile for static output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig(undefined, 'static');
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'compile');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'passthrough');
+	});
+
+	it('defaults to cloudflare-binding for server output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig(undefined, 'server');
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+	});
+
+	it('defaults to cloudflare-binding when output is not specified', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig(undefined, undefined);
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+	});
+
+	it('respects explicit cloudflare-binding even with static output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig('cloudflare-binding', 'static');
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+	});
+
+	it('respects explicit compile with server output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig('compile', 'server');
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'compile');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'passthrough');
+	});
+
+	it('respects explicit passthrough regardless of output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig('passthrough', 'static');
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'passthrough');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'passthrough');
+	});
+
+	it('handles compound config regardless of output', () => {
+		const result = normalizeImageServiceConfig(
+			{ build: 'compile', runtime: 'cloudflare-binding' },
+			'static',
+		);
+		assert.equal(result.buildService, 'compile');
+		assert.equal(result.runtimeService, 'cloudflare-binding');
+	});
+});