RenderShot vs ScreenshotAPI: Simple and Affordable, or Feature-Wide?
RenderShot keeps it lean and cheap for screenshots and PDFs. ScreenshotAPI offers a broader toolbox — video, bulk, scheduling and scraping — at a higher entry price.
Summary
ScreenshotAPI is a feature-rich product: alongside screenshots and PDFs it adds scrolling captures (GIF/MP4/WebM), bulk and scheduled requests, multiple storage integrations and HTML/text scraping, with paid plans starting around $9/month. RenderShot is intentionally simpler — screenshots (PNG/JPEG/WebP) and HTML/URL → PDF — starting at $5/month. Pick based on whether you value breadth or a lean, low-cost core.
Comparison
| Feature | RenderShot | ScreenshotAPI |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest paid plan | $5/mo (1,000) | ~$9/mo (1,000) |
| Free tier | 100/mo | Trial |
| PNG / JPEG / WebP | Yes | Yes |
| HTML / URL → PDF | Yes | Yes |
| Scrolling video (GIF/MP4) | No | Yes |
| Bulk / scheduled requests | No | Yes |
| HTML / text scraping | No | Yes |
| Dark mode | Yes | Not documented |
| SSRF protection | Documented | Not documented |
Prices and features are public list values as of 2026. Verify current details on each provider's site.
Key differences
- Scope. RenderShot does screenshots + PDF well and cheaply; ScreenshotAPI is a wider capture/scraping platform.
- Price. RenderShot starts at $5 vs roughly $9 for ScreenshotAPI.
- Extras. ScreenshotAPI adds video, bulk, scheduling and scraping that RenderShot deliberately doesn't.
- Simplicity. RenderShot's smaller surface is faster to integrate when you just need an image or PDF.
Choose RenderShot if…
- You want the lowest-cost screenshot + PDF API
- You value a small, simple surface
- You don't need video/scraping/bulk
- You want WebP and dark mode out of the box
Choose ScreenshotAPI if…
- You need scrolling video captures
- You need bulk or scheduled jobs
- You also want HTML/text scraping
- Breadth matters more than entry price
RenderShot example
curl -X POST "https://api.rendershot.dev/v1/pdf" \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" -H "content-type: application/json" \
-d '{"url":"https://example.com","format":"A4"}' --output page.pdf
FAQ
- What's the core difference?
- RenderShot is lean and cheap (screenshots + PDF); ScreenshotAPI is broader (video, bulk, scraping) at a higher entry price.
- Which for simple screenshots?
- RenderShot, for the lowest price and fastest integration.
- Do both do HTML → PDF?
- Yes; RenderShot supports URL and raw HTML with headers/footers and page numbers.