Compare screenshot APIs
Urlbox is one of the most capable tools for capturing difficult, real-world websites. HTML/CSS to Image is built for making your own images, with templates, a visual editor, and no per-minute limits.
50 free images each month · No credit card required
Trusted by teams at:
| Capability | HTML/CSS to Image | Urlbox |
|---|---|---|
| Render controls | ||
| Request rate limits | No per-minute limits | 30–1,000 requests/min by plan |
| Hosted image URLs | Expire after 30 days by default | |
| PDF rendering | Paid plans | |
| Overages | Optional: $10/1,000, or $50/10,000 on Scale | Automatic volume-tier upgrades |
| MCP server | Hosted, OAuth | Self-run, with API credentials |
| Native SDKs | Several languages | Several languages |
| No-code integrations | Zapier, Make, n8n, Pipedream | Zapier, n8n, Pipedream |
| Organizations and teams | No seat fees | Team members start on Business |
| Cookie-banner blocking | ||
| Extra features |
|
|
Urlbox has been around for over a decade, and it's a mature, capable API. Both render HTML/CSS and URLs with full-page and element screenshots, timing controls, cookie-banner blocking, PDFs, and signed image URLs, and both save storage and proxy settings so you don't send credentials with every request.
Urlbox accepts HTML, so you can render your own designs. The design and the variable substitution stay in your application, though: Render Links can carry small HTML payloads, and anything larger needs a POST from your server.
HTML/CSS to Image keeps the design on our side. Build it in the visual editor or save it as HTML/CSS, then send the title, price, or photo that changes. A signed template URL creates each variation on request, straight from og:image or an email.
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.
Urlbox
Send HTML to the REST API or include it in a Render Link. Larger payloads should use POST.
Design construction and variable substitution live in your application in the documented workflow.
Urlbox's REST API doesn't cache or deduplicate, so two identical requests are two renders. Its Render Links do cache, for 30 days by default.
HTML/CSS to Image reuses images before they're rendered again. Matching HTML/CSS requests return the existing image for 30 days on Free and Basic and up to 365 on Scale, and resizing, cropping, or changing the format of an existing image doesn't cost a credit.
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.
Urlbox
Render Links cache captures for 30 days by default, with configurable TTL and free cached views.
REST API requests always generate fresh renders and aren't deduplicated. Default hosted renders expire after 30 days. Use your own storage for lasting files.
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.
Urlbox
Request dimensions, thumbnail sizing, cropping, and output format as render options.
REST requests create fresh renders. Render Links reuse cached results.
HTML/CSS to Image has no per-minute or concurrency limits on creating and rendering images. Send requests in parallel without waiting for a plan-based allowance to reset.
Urlbox's Hi-Fi plan allows 60 requests per minute. Even in the best case, assuming your site loads in one second, 1,000 images take about 17 minutes just to start the requests. Ultra raises the allowance to 250 requests per minute.
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.
Urlbox
Request limits per minute: 30 on Lo-Fi, 60 on Hi-Fi, 250 on Ultra, and 1,000 on Business. Enterprise has no limit listed.
Exceeding the allowance returns HTTP 429 with a Retry-After header.
HTML/CSS to Image includes separate scoped API keys for each app and teams without seat fees, managed from the dashboard, the REST API, Terraform, or Pulumi. On Urlbox, multiple API keys start on Ultra at $99/month, and team members start on Business.
Storage works differently too. Urlbox organizes settings by project, with one S3-compatible configuration each. HTML/CSS to Image uses named destinations you can share across images and templates, with IAM role access for Amazon S3.
HTML/CSS to Image
Create separate API keys with scoped permissions for each application or environment.
Manage API keys through the dashboard, REST API, or infrastructure as code with Terraform and Pulumi. Each organization supports up to 100 keys, including disabled keys.
Urlbox
Multiple API keys start on Ultra, at $99/month.
Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi don't include multiple keys. Each project has its own credentials and settings.
Urlbox is built for hard-to-capture sites. Stealth mode and automatic retries on Ultra help with pages that block automated browsers. It also records scrolling video, extracts HTML, Markdown, and metadata, offers GPU rendering in beta, and calls a webhook when a render finishes.
If your job is capturing third-party websites reliably, those tools matter, and HTML/CSS to Image doesn't have them.
Plans and pricing
HTML/CSS to Image has a monthly image allowance and optional overages at a set price. A few advanced features, such as jumbo images and longer rendering delays, use extra credits.
Urlbox's pricing has more moving parts: feature tiers, automatic volume-tier upgrades, and credit usage that depends on rendering time, file size, GPU, and other options. The headline render allowance isn't always the number of images you'll get.
$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.
$19/month for 2,000 renders on Lo-Fi.
Positioned for websites you own and third-party thumbnails. Offers a seven-day trial rather than an ongoing free API plan.
HCTI has a lower paid starting price and an ongoing free plan.
$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.
$99/month for 15,000 renders on Ultra.
Includes a 250-request-per-minute allowance and advanced website-capture options. Hi-Fi starts at $49 for 5,000 renders.
Compare the included volume and features as well as the subscription price.
USD, monthly billing, before tax. These are published plan prices with their included allowances, not equal-volume cost estimates. Image reuse, advanced options, and extra usage change the final bill.
For capturing hard third-party websites, often yes: Urlbox has stealth mode, automatic retries, scrolling video, and completion webhooks. For generating your own images, like social cards or Open Graph images, HTML/CSS to Image is the better fit, with templates, a visual editor, no per-minute limits, and a lower starting price.
Urlbox starts at $19/month for 2,000 renders on Lo-Fi. Hi-Fi is $49 for 5,000 and Ultra is $99 for 15,000. HTML/CSS to Image starts at $14/month for 1,000 images and $69 for 10,000, and it has an ongoing free plan with 50 images a month. Urlbox offers a seven-day trial instead.
Yes. Urlbox allows 30 requests a minute on Lo-Fi, 60 on Hi-Fi, 250 on Ultra, and 1,000 on Business. HTML/CSS to Image has no per-minute or concurrency limits on creating and rendering images.
Urlbox's Render Links cache captures for 30 days by default. REST API requests are never cached or deduplicated, so identical requests are separate renders. HTML/CSS to Image deduplicates matching HTML/CSS creation requests, with URL screenshot deduplication available as an option. Resized or reformatted versions of an existing image don't use new credits.
HTML/CSS to Image can route captures through your own proxy, but it doesn't have stealth or automatic-retry features. For sites that actively block automated browsers, Urlbox is better suited.
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
Both 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 vsScreenshotAPI.net covers a lot of website capture at low prices: HTML input, PDFs, scrolling video, scraping, and scheduled jobs. HTML/CSS to Image focuses on designing, reusing, and safely embedding your images.
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 vsPlaywright is excellent for testing and automating websites. HTML/CSS to Image is for the images your product serves, with templates, hosting, and no browser workers to run.
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