A curated list of screenshot and website capture APIs for developers.
Need to capture website screenshots programmatically? This list covers APIs, open-source tools, and services for generating screenshots, thumbnails, OG images, and visual testing.
| Service | Free Tier | Pricing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| GrabShot | 25/month | From $9/mo | AI cleanup, OG images, fast. Full-featured REST API. |
| ScreenshotOne | 100/month | From $29/mo | Geo-targeting, blockers, animations. |
| ApiFlash | 100/month | From $7/mo | Chrome-based, simple API. |
| Urlbox | 7-day trial | From $19/mo | Retina, full-page, dark mode. |
| ScreenshotAPI.net | 100/month | From $9/mo | Lazy-load, full-page, webhooks. |
| Screenshotlayer | 100/month | From $10/mo | Part of APILayer. Simple REST API. |
| Browshot | 100 free | From $15/mo | Multiple browsers, mobile emulation. |
| Screenshot Machine | 100/month | From $5/mo | Thumbnails, full-page, PDFs. |
| Microlink | 50/day | From $12/mo | Metadata + screenshots, edge-cached. |
| Stillio | None | From $29/mo | Automated scheduled screenshots. |
| Thum.io | Watermarked | From $20/mo | Real-time rendering, simple URL-based. |
| PagePeeker | Limited | From $9/mo | Thumbnails and previews. |
| SavePage.io | Limited | Free | Desktop and mobile screenshots. |
- Puppeteer - Headless Chrome Node.js API. The foundation most screenshot services are built on.
- Playwright - Cross-browser automation by Microsoft. Supports Chromium, Firefox, WebKit.
- Pageres - Capture screenshots of websites in various resolutions.
- Capture Website - Capture screenshots using Puppeteer. Simple API.
- Manet - Screenshot-as-a-service using SlimerJS or PhantomJS.
- Screenshot API (self-hosted) - Self-hosted URL to PDF/screenshot service.
- Webshot - Easy website screenshots using PhantomJS (legacy).
- Selenium - The classic browser automation framework.
- Cypress - End-to-end testing with built-in screenshot capture.
- Splash - Lightweight browser for web scraping with screenshot support.
Use screenshot APIs to automatically generate Open Graph images from your web pages. Set viewport to 1200x630 and screenshot your page for a perfect preview image.
Compare screenshots over time to catch unintended UI changes. Tools like Percy and Chromatic specialize in this.
Capture periodic screenshots to monitor uptime, content changes, or competitor websites.
Generate thumbnail previews for URL shorteners, bookmarking apps, or social platforms.
Automatically capture screenshots of your app for docs, changelogs, and tutorials.
- How to Generate OG Images with a Screenshot API - Automating social preview images
- Puppeteer Screenshot Guide - Official Puppeteer docs
- Capturing Screenshots with Playwright - Official Playwright docs
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