Urlbox vs ScreenshotAPI for Website Screenshots: Features and Pricing

For a small or variable workload, ScreenshotAPI has the lower-cost entry point in the published plans reviewed: 200 screenshots per month free, then $19/month for 5,000 screenshots, plus non-expiring credit packs. Urlbox starts at $19/month for 2,000 renders and documents a wider range of output formats and higher-tier enterprise options. Choose based on required formats and capture controls, expected monthly volume, overage behavior, privacy, and service terms. This is a comparison of published information, not an independent performance test.

If you want a third option to evaluate first, ScreenshotNeo puts clean captures first, bills only clean shots, and has a $5 paid plan for 3,000 shots.

1. Pricing at a glance

Service and plan	Published price	Included volume	Terms to check
ScreenshotAPI Free	$0	200/month	No card required; image/PDF outputs and multiple capture controls listed.
ScreenshotAPI Starter	$19/month	5,000/month	Overage listed at $0.006 per screenshot.
ScreenshotAPI Growth	$49/month	25,000/month	Overage listed at $0.004 per screenshot; signed URLs and priority support.
ScreenshotAPI Scale	$149/month	100,000/month	Overage listed at $0.003 per screenshot.
ScreenshotAPI credit packs	$9 / $29 / $99 / $299	1,000 / 5,000 / 25,000 / 100,000 credits	Credits do not expire; one credit equals one screenshot.
Urlbox Lo-Fi	$19/month	Up to 2,000 renders	Low-quality screenshots of third-party sites are limited to thumbnails; basic support.
Urlbox Hi-Fi	$49/month	Up to 5,000 renders	Standard support; listed as suitable for most use cases.
Urlbox Ultra	$99/month	Up to 15,000 renders	Priority support; broader capture access.
Urlbox Business	$498/month	$495 base, then $3 per 1,000 renders	Increased limits, SLAs, security, and dedicated support.
Urlbox Enterprise	From $3,000/month	Custom limits	Dedicated rendering clusters and custom terms.

These are provider-published prices checked on 2026-10-03; pricing and feature access can change. Urlbox says prices exclude VAT at the prevailing rate. ScreenshotAPI subscription allowances reset each billing period, paid plans permit overages, and cached responses do not count against the monthly allowance. Urlbox says failed renders are not charged, cached render-link screenshots are stored for 30 days, and cached requests do not count against quota. Confirm current details on the ScreenshotAPI pricing page and Urlbox pricing page.

2. Feature differences that can decide the choice

ScreenshotAPI publishes a comparison matrix for the two products. Its format and feature entries are vendor claims from a provider that sells one of the compared services, rather than independent test results. Use the matrix to shortlist requirements, then confirm implementation-critical details with each vendor.

Output formats

The vendor comparison lists common screenshot formats and PDF for both services. It also lists AVIF, SVG, and video capture (MP4, with the comparison FAQ also mentioning WEBM) for Urlbox and marks those unavailable for ScreenshotAPI. Urlbox’s product page describes generating images, video, PDFs, and structured data. If your pipeline requires a specific format, verify the exact supported format and plan before designing around it.

Capture controls

The comparison lists full-page capture, custom viewport, dark mode, wait controls, CSS-selector waits, custom delay, ad blocking, cookie-banner blocking, retina capture, stealth mode, signed URLs, and webhooks for both. Names can conceal differences in accepted parameters, limits, and plan access. Test the exact page types and settings your product needs.

Usage, privacy, support, and service terms

Bursty or low-volume use: ScreenshotAPI’s no-cost monthly quota and non-expiring credit packs may fit irregular demand. Its monthly subscriptions have quotas and published overage rates.
Higher-volume or contractual needs: Urlbox’s Business and Enterprise plans emphasize SLAs, security, dedicated support, and dedicated rendering clusters. Its pricing page lists uptime SLAs of 99.95% for Business and 99.99% for Enterprise. These are published service terms, not measured availability.
Privacy: Urlbox lists stealth request privacy on higher plans. Review the vendors’ current security and data handling terms for your requirements.
Support: Plan pages list support levels, but the research did not independently compare support outcomes.

Sources for the published comparison include the ScreenshotAPI Urlbox comparison (last updated 2026-06-29), Urlbox product page, and each vendor’s pricing page. The comparison page reports its Urlbox figures as verified on 2026-06-29; the pricing snapshot here uses the official Urlbox page checked 2026-10-03.

3. Which API is cheaper for your workload?

There is no single winner at every volume. ScreenshotAPI’s free quota helps a small project start without a subscription. At the first paid tier, both list $19/month, but ScreenshotAPI includes 5,000 monthly screenshots while Urlbox Lo-Fi lists up to 2,000 renders and has a thumbnail limitation for low-quality screenshots of third-party sites. At larger volumes, compare the full tier and terms your workload qualifies for; do not compare only the sticker price.

Estimate monthly usage

Start with:

monthly captures = unique URLs × captures per URL per month

Then adjust the estimate for retries, cache hits, peak concurrency, output type, and any render multipliers. For example, a 2,000-URL monitoring list captured daily starts at 60,000 capture attempts per 30-day month before retries or cache effects. That calculation is a planning example, not a vendor benchmark or a prediction of billable renders.

For ScreenshotAPI, include the published overage rate if a subscription can exceed quota; consider credits if demand is uneven and confirm how credits interact with your account.
For Urlbox, account for plan limits and its note that long renders, large files, archive storage, and GPU acceleration can consume additional renders.
For both, account for cached requests according to the vendor’s current quota rules.
Include VAT, support requirements, security review, contract terms, and whether a plan’s quality or output limitations fit your use case.

4. Selection guide

Choose or shortlist	When it may fit	Verify before committing
ScreenshotNeo	When clean screenshots, billing only for clean captures, an MCP server, or a low paid entry plan matters. The $5 Starter plan includes 3,000 shots.	Confirm the API options and account limits for your workflow in the documentation.
ScreenshotAPI	When a free monthly allowance or non-expiring credit packs suit a small, test, or bursty workload.	Required output format, overage behavior, cache rules, and exact parameter support.
Urlbox	When you need a format such as AVIF, SVG, or video capture according to its published product materials, or want its published enterprise plan structure.	Exact format and plan access, render counting, privacy terms, and contractual service level.

The feature claims above come from vendor materials. The research did not include API testing, a security review, or a performance benchmark, so it cannot establish which service is faster, more accurate, or more reliable.

5. Can you migrate from Urlbox to ScreenshotAPI?

Both services use REST-style requests, but migration is not guaranteed to be a drop-in endpoint swap. ScreenshotAPI’s comparison page maps common concepts such as URL, width, height, format/type, full-page, dark mode, wait conditions, and delay, while showing different endpoint and authentication conventions. No migration was performed for this guide; treat the mapping as a starting point.

Inventory every parameter and output your current integration uses, including headers, authentication, callbacks, and signed URLs.
Map common capture settings using the vendor’s migration comparison; record anything that has no direct equivalent.
Send representative pages through both integrations and compare output dimensions, format, timing behavior, waits, failures, and billing headers or usage records.
Test cache behavior, retries, rate limits, and webhook verification separately from normal synchronous captures.
Run a limited parallel period, reconcile quality and cost, then switch traffic only after your acceptance checks pass.

6. Calling ScreenshotNeo

ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server from Yorker Media. A GET request takes a URL and returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Its documented options include full-page capture, element selection, viewport and device presets, dark mode, retina scale, PDF settings, custom CSS and JavaScript, waits, request blocking, custom headers and cookies, geolocation, caching, signed links, async jobs, bulk capture, and more. See the API documentation for parameter details.

cURL

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" \
  -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com \
  -o shot.webp

Python

import requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
    params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
    timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js

const q = new URLSearchParams({
  access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
  url: 'https://stripe.com'
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Screenshot request failed: ${res.status}`);
const bytes = new Uint8Array(await res.arrayBuffer());
await import('node:fs/promises').then(fs => fs.writeFile('shot.webp', bytes));

cURL with options

For example, request a full-page WebP capture with a custom viewport and dark mode. Check the documentation for exact accepted values and additional options.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" \
  -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com \
  -d format=webp \
  -d full_page=true \
  -d width=1440 \
  -d height=900 \
  -d dark_mode=true \
  -o page.webp

Keep the access key on the server and avoid placing it in public client-side code. For public page embeds, use signed links rather than exposing a private key; consult the docs for supported signing and expiration settings.

7. Or skip the browser setup

ScreenshotNeo accepts consent banners like a visitor and removes 60+ known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each step can be turned off. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and the response indicates the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000, and every feature is on every plan.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" \
  -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY \
  --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com \
  -o shot.webp

Read the ScreenshotNeo API docs, then sign up free for 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.

8. Reliability, performance, and troubleshooting

The available research establishes published features, prices, and plan terms. It does not contain independent latency, throughput, or reliability measurements for Urlbox or ScreenshotAPI. For a production decision, run a workload representative of your pages and measure the outcomes that matter: completion rate, render duration, image correctness, cache behavior, and billable usage.

Common comparison and integration issues

Symptom	Likely cause	What to do
Budget forecast is lower than the invoice	Retries, overages, render multipliers, or tax were omitted.	Model attempts as well as successful outputs; include each vendor’s quota and render-counting terms, overage, and VAT.
Migration output differs	Similar parameter names can have different defaults or semantics.	Compare the actual response format, dimensions, wait behavior, full-page handling, and errors on representative URLs.
Capture is blank or incomplete	The page may need more time, a selector wait, or a different viewport; access controls can also block rendering.	Use the provider’s documented wait settings, check the URL from the renderer’s perspective, and distinguish page behavior from API failure.
Cached response surprises usage accounting	Each vendor has its own cache and quota rules.	Check the current pricing terms and inspect usage records for the request; do not assume the two services count cache hits identically.
Required format is unavailable on selected plan	Format support or quality may be plan-gated.	Confirm the exact format and plan entitlement in writing before building format-dependent processing.
Peak workload queues or fails	Concurrency and rate limits may constrain bursts.	Check each vendor’s current limits, pace requests, use documented asynchronous jobs where available, and add bounded retries for transient errors.

Performance and reliability checklist

Benchmark the same URL set, viewport, wait rules, output format, and capture frequency.
Include pages with consent banners, dynamic content, long loads, and large images.
Track median and tail latency alongside success rate and visual correctness.
Exercise retry behavior without creating uncontrolled duplicate usage.
Test cache hits and misses separately, and verify webhook handling if using asynchronous delivery.
Read SLA and support commitments as contract terms; provider-published targets are not independent measurements.

9. FAQ

Is ScreenshotAPI cheaper than Urlbox?

At the entry paid price both list $19/month, but ScreenshotAPI includes 5,000 monthly screenshots versus Urlbox Lo-Fi’s up to 2,000 renders. ScreenshotAPI also lists 200 monthly free screenshots and non-expiring credit packs. Confirm current limits and whether Urlbox Lo-Fi’s thumbnail restriction fits your use.

Does Urlbox have features ScreenshotAPI does not?

The ScreenshotAPI comparison lists AVIF, SVG, and video capture for Urlbox but not ScreenshotAPI. Treat that as a vendor comparison claim and verify current format and plan support with Urlbox.

Which is better for high-volume screenshot capture?

The answer depends on the workload and required service terms. Compare expected billable volume, overages, render counting, concurrency, output needs, support, and contract requirements. This research does not establish a speed or reliability winner.

Can I use a credit pack for a seasonal workload?

ScreenshotAPI says its credit packs do not expire, which can suit bursty demand. Check the current terms for how credits are consumed alongside any subscription.

Does Urlbox’s SLA mean it is independently measured as more reliable?

No. Its pricing page publishes SLA terms for Business and Enterprise; those are provider commitments, not independent comparative availability measurements.