Compare screenshot APIs
Screenshot Machine is a no-frills, inexpensive way to screenshot existing webpages, with a free plan and a separate PDF API. HTML/CSS to Image also renders your own HTML/CSS and adds templates and image reuse.
50 free images each month · No credit card required
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| Capability | HTML/CSS to Image | Screenshot Machine |
|---|---|---|
| Render controls | ||
| Hosted image URLs | 14-day cache, hot-linking allowed | |
| PDF rendering | Paid plans | Separate PDF API |
| Overages | Optional: $10/1,000, or $50/10,000 on Scale | €0.002–0.004 each on paid plans |
| Native SDKs | Several languages | Node.js and PHP packages, code samples |
| Cookie-banner blocking | Manual click and hide selectors | |
| Extra features |
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Both capture webpages from a URL, with controls for size, full-page capture, delays, and element selection, and both let you put a screenshot URL straight into an image tag with optional signing. Neither charges twice for the same capture: Screenshot Machine serves cached screenshots for 14 days without billing them, and HTML/CSS to Image reuses existing images.
Screenshot Machine's API requires a URL, so everything it captures has to be a live page first. For a product graphic or a social card, that means building and hosting a page for each design.
HTML/CSS to Image renders the HTML/CSS you send, a URL, or a saved template with new values. With the template editor and signed template URLs, you can generate each variation without hosting a page at all.
HTML/CSS to Image
Render HTML/CSS or URLs with viewport, scale, selector, timing, font, and other controls. Convenience options include google_fonts and a ScreenshotReady() signal for your page's JavaScript.
The same options apply whether you send HTML/CSS or a URL.
Screenshot Machine
Capture a webpage from its URL, with dimensions, device, delay, zoom, crop, element selection, cookies, and user agent options.
The API requires a hosted webpage URL.
Screenshot Machine only bills fresh screenshots, and it keeps cached ones for 14 days. A different size or crop counts as a different capture.
HTML/CSS to Image keeps each image at its hosted URL, and serves resized, cropped, or reformatted versions without new credits.
Caching and delivery
HTML/CSS to Image
Hosting and CDN delivery are included. Application-level caching keeps an existing image URL reusable, even after a CDN cache miss, without consuming another image credit.
Paid plans keep images while your account is active. Custom-storage-only images use your own delivery.
Screenshot Machine
Cached screenshots are kept for 14 days and aren't billed again. cacheLimit adjusts how long a cached screenshot is used.
Only fresh screenshots count against your allowance.
Image variants
HTML/CSS to Image
Re-render, resize, crop, or change formats using the same image URL, without spending more credits.
Changing the source HTML or creation parameters creates a new image.
Screenshot Machine
Set dimensions, zoom, crop, and format as capture options.
A distinct combination of capture options counts as a fresh screenshot unless cached.
Screenshot Machine doesn't publish rate or concurrency limits, so check with them before you send a large job. HTML/CSS to Image has no per-minute or concurrency limits on creating and rendering images, and paid plans accept batches of 25 to 100.
HTML/CSS to Image
Send image creation and rendering requests in parallel, with no concurrency caps or per-second or per-minute rate limits.
Image credits and plan limits still apply.
Screenshot Machine
Rate and concurrency limits aren't published.
For plain screenshots, it's hard to beat on price. Basic is €9/month for 2,500 screenshots and Pro is €59 for 20,000, with extras billed in blocks of 1,000, rounded down. There's a free plan with 100 screenshots a month, a separate website-to-PDF API with paper and print options, and an SLA on Pro and Enterprise that pays out in bonus screenshots.
Plans and pricing
Screenshot Machine is cheaper for plain captures, and it's priced in euros. HTML/CSS to Image adds HTML/CSS rendering, templates, and image reuse.
$14/month for 1,000 images on Basic.
Includes templates, the visual editor, and hosted image delivery. A free plan includes 50 images per month.
€9/month for 2,500 screenshots on Basic.
The free Starter plan includes 100 screenshots a month, with no credit card required.
Screenshot Machine includes more screenshots for less, in euros.
$69/month for 10,000 images on Basic.
Optional overages cost $10 per 1,000 images. Includes templates, hosted image delivery, storage destinations, and bring-your-own proxies at this volume.
€37 for the month: €9 + €28 for extra screenshots on Basic.
Extras cost €0.004 each and are billed in blocks of 1,000, rounded down, so 7,500 extra screenshots bill as 7,000. Pro costs €59 for 20,000.
Screenshot Machine costs less for plain captures at this volume.
HTML/CSS to Image prices are in USD, and Screenshot Machine prices are in EUR. EU VAT may apply for non-business customers. Monthly billing, distinct screenshots, and no cache reuse. Screenshot Machine bills extras in blocks of 1,000, rounded down.
Yes, for plain screenshots. Screenshot Machine's Basic plan is €9/month for 2,500 screenshots, and 10,000 captures come to about €37 with overages, versus $69 on HTML/CSS to Image. Screenshot Machine prices are in euros, and EU VAT may apply.
No. Its API requires a URL, so the page has to be hosted first. HTML/CSS to Image renders HTML/CSS you send directly, as well as URLs and saved templates.
Screenshot Machine doesn't publish rate or concurrency limits. HTML/CSS to Image has no per-minute or concurrency limits on creating and rendering images.
HTML/CSS to Image, if you're making images rather than capturing existing pages. It renders HTML/CSS or saved templates, hosts the result, and serves resized or reformatted versions without new credits.
See the output for yourself
Paste some HTML/CSS, screenshot a URL, or fill in a template. The demo below calls the real API, and you don't need an account.
Preparing the live playground
Loading it just before you reach this section keeps the initial page fast.
Keep comparing
URL2PNG does one thing well: screenshots of pages you already host, through a signed URL. HTML/CSS to Image adds a visual editor, templates, and resizing or format changes that don't cost another credit.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsBoth APIs turn HTML and webpages into images. HTML/CSS to Image is built for images you design, host, and reuse, with no per-minute limits. ScreenshotOne goes deeper on capturing other people's websites.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsApiFlash is an inexpensive screenshot API for existing pages, with strong capture controls and no overages. HTML/CSS to Image also renders your own HTML/CSS, creates PDFs, and adds templates and signed URLs.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsCloudflare Browser Run gives your Workers app a managed browser. HTML/CSS to Image gives you the rest of the image pipeline too: templates, signed URLs, hosting, and reuse.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsBannerbear automates template-based graphics, animation, and video. HTML/CSS to Image does templates too, and also renders your own HTML/CSS and screenshots URLs, starting at $14/month.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsVercel OG draws Open Graph images from JSX using flexbox and a subset of CSS. HTML/CSS to Image renders your complete HTML/CSS, with templates, hosting, and URL screenshots built in.
Read the comparisonStart creating for free
Render HTML/CSS, capture webpages, or generate images from reusable templates.
No credit card required