Compare screenshot APIs
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.
50 free images each month · No credit card required
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| Capability | HTML/CSS to Image | URL2PNG |
|---|---|---|
| Render controls | ||
| Request rate limits | No per-minute limits | 10–35 dedicated workers by plan |
| Hosted image URLs | Fastly CDN, 30-day default cache | |
| Overages | Optional: $10/1,000, or $50/10,000 on Scale | $6 per 1,000 |
| Native SDKs | Several languages | Code examples and linked libraries |
| Extra features |
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Both capture webpages through signed URLs you generate on your server, so your secret never reaches the browser. Both control the viewport, capture full pages, wait for your content to be ready, and serve the result from a CDN without charging for every view. URL2PNG has been doing this since at least 2011.
URL2PNG needs a page to capture. For a custom social card or product graphic, that means building and hosting a page for each design, then pointing URL2PNG at it.
HTML/CSS to Image renders the HTML/CSS you send, or a saved template with new values. Build the template in the visual editor or in code, then put a signed template URL in an email or og:image, and each variation is created the first time it's requested.
HTML/CSS to Image
Save reusable HTML/CSS templates and send variable values when creating images. Use the visual template editor when you want to design without writing the layout in code.
Template and media allowances vary by plan.
URL2PNG
Capture a hosted webpage through a signed screenshot URL. Custom CSS can be injected from a URL.
The documented workflow uses your own page and design logic.
URL2PNG caches each capture for 30 days by default, and cached views don't count against your allowance. A new width or a fresh capture does.
HTML/CSS to Image keeps each image at its hosted URL and serves resized, cropped, or reformatted versions without new credits. Matching HTML/CSS requests also return the existing image, for 30 days on Free and Basic and up to 365 on Scale.
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.
URL2PNG
Fastly CDN delivery is included. Cached views don't count against your screenshot allowance.
The default cache lifetime is 30 days and is configurable with ttl. Fresh captures count as renders.
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.
URL2PNG
Set thumbnail width when requesting a screenshot.
Distinct capture requests count as separate renders unless cached.
HTML/CSS to Image has no concurrency caps or per-minute limits on creating and rendering images. URL2PNG's plans allocate 10, 15, or 35 dedicated workers, with custom capacity on Enterprise.
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.
URL2PNG
Plans list 10, 15, or 35 dedicated workers, plus custom Enterprise capacity.
The published plans don't specify a per-minute request allowance.
For plain screenshots of pages that already exist, URL2PNG is simpler and cheaper. There's nothing to design and no template to maintain: sign a URL, get a screenshot. In both pricing examples below, it costs less than HTML/CSS to Image.
Plans and pricing
URL2PNG costs less for these plain captures. HTML/CSS to Image adds design tools, direct HTML/CSS rendering, and reusable images with resizing and format changes included.
$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.
$59 for the month: $29 + $30 for 5,000 additional screenshots.
Bootstrapped includes 5,000 screenshots, with overages at $6 per 1,000.
URL2PNG costs less for this workload.
$119 for the month: $69 + $50 for 5,000 additional images.
Calculated using the 10,000-image Basic plan with overages enabled, keeping the selected plan fixed.
$89 for the month: $29 + $60 for 10,000 additional screenshots.
Calculated on the same Bootstrapped plan.
URL2PNG's lower overage price widens the difference.
USD, monthly billing, before tax. These examples use distinct standard images with no cache reuse: HCTI's 10,000-image Basic plan and URL2PNG's 5,000-screenshot Bootstrapped plan, with overages. Plans stay fixed in the second example. URL2PNG bills overages in blocks of 1,000, rounded down. Image variants and deduplication can change your actual usage.
Yes, for plain screenshots. URL2PNG's Bootstrapped plan is $29 for 5,000 screenshots plus $6 per 1,000 after that, so 10,000 captures cost $59 versus $69 on HTML/CSS to Image. If you reuse images in several sizes or formats, the gap narrows, because HTML/CSS to Image doesn't charge for those variants.
URL2PNG's documented workflow captures a hosted webpage from its URL, with optional CSS injected from another URL. To render HTML/CSS you send directly, or a saved template with new values, use HTML/CSS to Image.
No template editor or saved-template API is documented. HTML/CSS to Image includes a visual editor and saved templates, with signed URLs that generate each variation on request.
HTML/CSS to Image. Design the card once, then generate each variation from a signed template URL in og:image, or render HTML/CSS directly. The images are hosted, and resized or reformatted versions don't use 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
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.
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Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsPuppeteer gives you the browser itself, along with the job of running it. HTML/CSS to Image gives you the image: HTML/CSS rendering, URL screenshots, templates, and hosting, with no browser fleet to operate.
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Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsPlacid is strong at customer-facing editing, with an embeddable editor and built-in QR codes and barcodes. HTML/CSS to Image pairs a freeform template editor with direct HTML/CSS rendering and URL screenshots.
Read the comparison HTML/CSS to Image vsTemplated.io leans on Canva imports, AI-drafted layouts, and a white-label editor. HTML/CSS to Image gives you a freeform editor plus direct HTML/CSS rendering and URL screenshots, without per-minute limits.
Read the comparisonStart creating for free
Render HTML/CSS, capture webpages, or generate images from reusable templates.
No credit card required