Browshot Pricing: How Much Do API Screenshots Cost?
Browshot lists 100 free screenshots a month, then charges credits by browser type. See the published bundles and how to estimate your usage.
Direct answer: Browshot lists 100 free screenshots per month. After that, its pricing page lists premium desktop screenshots at 1 credit each and premium mobile screenshots at 2 credits each. Credit bundles range from $1 for 10 credits to $1,000 for 300,000 credits. Private instances and private servers are quote-based. These figures are from Browshot’s official pricing page, checked 2026-10-03; pricing can change, so confirm the page before purchase.
There is no single flat dollar price per screenshot across all bundles. The cash price per credit varies by bundle, and mobile screenshots use twice the credits listed for desktop screenshots. Your estimate also depends on the instance and whether you save rendered HTML.
1. Browshot’s listed pricing
| Item | Published pricing |
|---|---|
| Free allowance | 100 screenshots per month |
| Premium desktop screenshot | 1 credit per screenshot |
| Premium mobile screenshot | 2 credits per screenshot |
| Private instances and servers | Contact Browshot for pricing |
Browshot’s [Features and Pricing page](https://browshot.com/features) lists these credit bundles (checked 2026-10-03):
| Bundle price | Credits | Credits per dollar |
|---|---|---|
| $1 | 10 | 10 |
| $2 | 60 | 30 |
| $5 | 300 | 60 |
| $10 | 1,000 | 100 |
| $25 | 3,000 | 120 |
| $50 | 8,000 | 160 |
| $100 | 20,000 | 200 |
| $200 | 45,000 | 225 |
| $500 | 125,000 | 250 |
| $1,000 | 300,000 | 300 |
The last column is arithmetic from Browshot’s listed bundle amounts, not a separate Browshot rate. It shows why you should estimate against the bundle you expect to buy instead of treating one credit as having a fixed dollar value.
2. Estimate your monthly credit use
Start by separating premium desktop and mobile screenshots. If you save rendered HTML, include the additional credit documented for that option.
- Count expected premium desktop screenshots for the month.
- Count expected premium mobile screenshots separately.
- Multiply desktop captures by 1 credit and mobile captures by 2 credits.
- Add 1 credit per screenshot for rendered HTML capture, when enabled.
- Subtract any free usage that applies to your intended instance and quota, then compare the remaining credit need with a listed bundle.
desktop_screenshots = 1200
mobile_screenshots = 300
html_saves = 50
estimated_credits = desktop_screenshots + (2 * mobile_screenshots) + html_saves
print(estimated_credits) # 1850
This example estimates 1,850 credits before considering free-instance usage or any account-specific terms. It does not imply that every request is billed identically under every configuration. Browshot’s API documentation says private and shared instances require a positive balance, and the free instance has its own quota.
Choose a bundle without assuming a uniform credit price
Compare the estimated need with Browshot’s available bundles and the balance you want left over. For example, the published $10 bundle contains 1,000 credits, while the $25 bundle contains 3,000. A workload requiring 1,850 credits would exceed the former and fit within the latter, before accounting for eligible free usage, other credit-consuming options, or custom terms.
Browshot’s homepage describes its model as “No costly monthly subscription, pay only for what you need.” Treat that as vendor positioning; the pricing material reviewed lists credit bundles and quote-based private capacity, and does not establish that every deployment has no recurring or custom charges. See [Browshot](https://browshot.com/).
3. Free quota, instances, cache, and optional HTML
The [Browshot API documentation](https://api.browshot.com/api/documentation), which identifies API version 1.31, says that omitting instance_id uses free instance 12 by default. It describes the free quota as 100 screenshots per month. Paid premium instances consume credits; requests to private and shared instances require a positive balance.
- Free instance: useful for a small trial, subject to the documented monthly quota.
- Premium instances: account for the desktop or mobile credit rates shown on the pricing page.
- Private instances or servers: request a quote for the appropriate configuration and pricing.
- Rendered HTML: the API documentation says saving rendered HTML costs 1 credit per screenshot. Add this separately to a premium usage estimate.
- Cache: the API’s documented screenshot cache defaults to 24 hours for the same URL and instance. Setting
cache=0requests a fresh screenshot. Cache behavior matters when estimating how often you need fresh captures; do not assume an unverified billing treatment for every cached request. - Multiple URLs and instances: one call can include up to 10 URLs and 10 instances, or 100 combinations. This is a batching convenience, not a documented discount.
4. Private capacity and throughput
Browshot lists private instances and private servers as contact-for-pricing options. Its pricing page says private servers can handle up to 10,000 screenshot requests per hour per server (checked 2026-10-03). Treat that as Browshot’s stated capacity, not a guarantee for your particular pages, configuration, or workload. Ask Browshot for a quote and confirm the capacity assumptions that matter to your use case.
5. Code and request setup
The available Browshot materials establish the pricing model and API documentation, but the pricing information here does not provide a specific endpoint, authentication example, or complete request schema. Use Browshot’s [API documentation](https://api.browshot.com/api/documentation) for the current runnable request syntax rather than relying on guessed parameters. The calculation below is runnable locally and helps plan credit demand before you wire in API calls.
from math import ceil
# Replace these estimates with your expected monthly request counts.
desktop = 1200
mobile = 300
html_saves = 50
credits_needed = desktop + 2 * mobile + html_saves
bundles = [
(1, 10), (2, 60), (5, 300), (10, 1000), (25, 3000),
(50, 8000), (100, 20000), (200, 45000),
(500, 125000), (1000, 300000),
]
fits = [(price, credits) for price, credits in bundles if credits >= credits_needed]
print(f"Estimated credits: {credits_needed}")
if fits:
price, credits = fits[0]
print(f"Smallest listed bundle that covers the estimate: ${price} for {credits:,} credits")
else:
print("Estimate exceeds the largest listed bundle; contact Browshot about capacity and pricing.")
This simple estimate uses the listed bundle amounts and the documented per-capture credit inputs. It does not model account-specific balances, eligible free usage, cache billing, or private-instance quotes.
6. Troubleshooting a pricing estimate
| Problem | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Your estimate is lower than actual credit use | Mobile captures or rendered HTML were omitted. | Count device types separately and add the documented 1-credit HTML save charge where applicable. |
| You assumed the free allowance applied to every request | The API documentation associates the default free instance with instance 12; paid, shared, and private instances have different balance requirements. | Check which instance each request uses and whether it consumes premium credits. |
| The same URL appears to return an older screenshot | The documented cache defaults to 24 hours for the same URL and instance. | Review cache settings; use cache=0 when a fresh screenshot is required. |
| A bundle’s cost per screenshot seems inconsistent | Credit bundles provide different credits per dollar, and mobile uses twice the desktop credits. | Calculate using the selected bundle and your desktop/mobile mix, not a universal credit price. |
| A bulk request is assumed to reduce the bill | Batching supports up to 10 URLs and 10 instances per call, but the cited documentation does not claim a batch discount. | Use batching for convenience; estimate credits per screenshot and instance. |
| You need a high request rate or dedicated setup | Private capacity is quote-based. | Ask Browshot about private instance/server pricing and verify the stated capacity for your workload. |
7. Performance, reliability, and cost planning
- Forecast by workload mix: desktop and mobile have different listed credit costs. Track them as separate line items.
- Include optional capture data: rendered HTML adds 1 credit per screenshot according to the API documentation.
- Use cache deliberately: the default 24-hour cache may suit repeated captures where freshness is not required. Set
cache=0when you need a fresh result, and validate billing implications with Browshot rather than assuming how cached requests are charged. - Batch for request management: the documented multi-URL and multi-instance call can simplify dispatch, but do not count it as a price reduction.
- Plan capacity separately from credits: a credit estimate does not establish throughput, and private server capacity is a separate quote-based decision.
- Recheck prices before committing: Browshot pricing is volatile. The figures in this article were checked 2026-10-03.
8. ScreenshotNeo: an alternative to try first
If you are comparing screenshot APIs, try [ScreenshotNeo](https://screenshotneo.com) first: it returns clean screenshots, bills only clean shots, and its paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots. The one-call API accepts a URL and returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. See the [ScreenshotNeo API documentation](https://screenshotneo.com/docs/).
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp
import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot. Bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed, and response headers report the page verdict and billing status. An MCP server lets AI agents use screenshot tools. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up free and get 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.
9. FAQ
Does Browshot have a free tier?
Its pricing page lists 100 free screenshots per month. The API documentation says the default free instance is instance 12 when instance_id is omitted.
Does a mobile screenshot cost the same as desktop?
No. Browshot’s pricing page lists 2 credits for premium mobile and 1 credit for premium desktop captures.
Is one Browshot credit always worth the same amount?
No. The listed bundles have different credit-to-dollar ratios, so calculate against the bundle you plan to purchase.
How much do private Browshot servers cost?
The pricing page says to contact Browshot for pricing. It does not list a public price for private instances or servers.
Does batching reduce the price?
The documentation describes up to 100 URL-and-instance combinations in one call as supported batching; it does not state that batching discounts credit use.
