Best Screenshot APIs in 2025

Are you searching for the best screenshot API? You've come to the right place! 

Screenshot APIs automate website captures, making it easier to monitor website changes, archive content, and create reports.

In this article, we'll review and compare the top screenshot APIs based on key features, pricing, and ease of use to help you choose the right tool for your needs.

Let's dive in!

What Is a Screenshot API?

A screenshot API is an automated tool that captures snapshots of websites, either as full pages or specific sections. It's used to generate screenshots of web pages at different resolutions or device settings without manually taking screenshots or setting up complex headless browsers.

Screenshot APIs are versatile and compatible with multiple programming languages, which makes them easy to integrate into various tech stacks. They are commonly used for:

• Capturing how your site looks across devices to track visual changes that impact rankings.
• Monitoring your site's layout and performance regularly to catch issues quickly.
• Storing snapshots to create a visual history or keep records for compliance.
• Generating clean screenshots for use in presentations and marketing.
• Testing how your web app appears across browsers and devices with ease.

And much more.

Why Do You Need a Screenshot API?

Manually capturing website screenshots is tedious and time-consuming. Although headless browsers like Puppeteer or Selenium can automate the process, they come with challenges such as managing browser instances, handling complex page rendering, or dealing with anti-bot detection.

A screenshot API addresses the common challenges faced when capturing website screenshots, making it a more reliable option for automating the process and reducing manual effort. Some of the benefits of using a screenshot API include:

Ease of Integration

Screenshot APIs can easily integrate into your existing applications through a simple endpoint. With this endpoint, you can send API requests with specific parameters such as URL, resolution, or viewport size to capture the desired screenshots. 

This approach requires minimal configuration compared to managing headless browsers, which often involve complex setups and ongoing maintenance.

Scalability

Most screenshot APIs can handle tasks ranging from capturing a single image to processing thousands of screenshots across multiple websites. 

This flexibility makes them ideal for projects that start small but may grow over time. Unlike manual methods or headless browsers, they can scale effortlessly without adding complexity or straining resources, which might struggle under high demand.

Automation

For websites with dynamic content or frequent updates, screenshot APIs can refresh screenshots regularly without manual intervention. This ensures you always have the most up-to-date visuals without needing constant monitoring or input.

Handling Anti-Bot Measures

Some screenshot APIs are designed to bypass common anti-bot systems. They can capture screenshots on protected websites without being detected or blocked. This makes them more reliable than headless browsers, which often struggle with anti-bot detection and may be restricted from accessing certain content.

Key Features to Look for in a Screenshot API

Choosing the right screenshot API can make all the difference in your project's success! Here are some key features to look for:

• Auto-scroll for full-page screenshots: If you need to capture an entire webpage, auto-scroll ensures that the API grabs everything from top to bottom without missing any content.
• Customizable resolution and viewport size: Look for options to set the resolution and viewport dimensions that fit your needs, especially if you're targeting different devices or display sizes.
• Multiple image formats (PNG, JPG): Depending on your project, flexibility in image formats can be crucial. A good API will offer support for popular formats like PNG, JPG, and even PDF for more professional outputs.
• Dark mode support: With more websites adopting dark themes, ensure your API can capture accurate screenshots without losing important details in dark mode.
• Banner blocking: Nobody likes cluttered screenshots full of cookie consent banners or ads. A reliable API will automatically block these elements to keep your screenshots clean and focused.
• JavaScript execution: Many websites rely on dynamic content, which only loads after interacting with the page. An API that can execute JavaScript ensures that all content is displayed correctly in the screenshot.

When capturing screenshots of websites with anti-bot protection like Cloudflare, it's important to use a screenshot API with advanced features like proxy support, geolocation options, and anti-bot bypass. 

These features allow you to capture screenshots from various locations and bypass site restrictions.

Now, let's review the list of the four best screenshot APIs available in the market. 

1. ZenRows

ZenRows is a web scraping tool with a dedicated screenshot API that captures exactly what you need on any website without being blocked. It uses rotating premium proxies, optimized headers, anti-CAPTCHAs to bypass blocks and avoid detection, and more, enabling you to take screenshots even from websites with strict protections.

The ZenRows screenshot API supports full-page, viewport, and element screenshots, making it flexible for various use cases. With a single API call, you can capture multiple screenshots simultaneously. 

ZenRows works with multiple programming languages, making it easy to integrate it into your tech stack. It also acts as a headless browser to handle dynamic content, ensuring all interactive elements are captured correctly.

Key Features:

• Provides the auto-scroll feature to capture full-page screenshots.
• Offers rotating proxies, handles headers and more to bypass anti-bot systems like Cloudflare.
• Customizable image formats and resolutions, including PNG and JPG. Additional output options include PDF and base64-encoded image data in JSON responses.
• JavaScript execution to handle dynamic content before capturing the screenshot.
• Ad-blocking to automatically remove ads, popups, and cookie banners for clean visuals.

ZenRows Pricing

ZenRows offers flexible pricing plans based on project needs. The pricing options for screenshot scraping include:

• Free Plan: Offers limited requests suitable for testing or small-scale projects.
• Standard Plan: Starting at $69/month, this plan includes 9,000 requests, ideal for moderate usage. The cost per request is approximately $0.007.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing is available for large-scale projects, offering advanced features, higher limits, and dedicated support.

ZenRows is a flexible and powerful screenshot API that offers great features and scalability, making it a solid choice for any web scraping project.

To see how ZenRows works, let's capture an above-the-fold screenshot of this e-commerce product page:

Sign up and open the Request Builder. Enter the target URL in the link box and toggle on JS Rendering. If you want to use proxies, check the Premium Proxies checkbox. Select Python as your programming language and click the API tab. Copy and paste the code into your script:

The generated code uses Python's Requests library. Install it with the following command:

pip3 install requests

Adjust the code to capture the screenshot and save it to your project directory. The return_screenshot parameter makes sure you get the image as part of the response:

# import the required library
import requests

# specify the query parameters with the screenshot option
params = {
   "url": "https://www.scrapingcourse.com/ecommerce/product/abominable-hoodie",
   "apikey": "<YOUR_ZENROWS_API_KEY>",
   "js_render": "true",
   "premium_proxy": "true",
   "return_screenshot": "true"
}

# send the request and set the response type to stream
response = requests.get("https://api.zenrows.com/v1/", params=params, stream=True)

# check if the request was successful
if response.status_code == 200:
   # save the response content as a screenshot
   with open("product-screenshot.png", "wb") as f:
       f.write(response.content)
   print("Screenshot saved successfully.")
else:
   print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")

The above code captures a above-the-fold screenshot of the product page.

Well done! You've successfully taken a screenshot of an e-commerce product page with ZenRows.

Check out our documentation to learn more.

2. ScreenshotAPI

ScreenshotAPI is a simple and fast tool designed to capture website screenshots with minimal effort. It supports full-page, section-specific, and mobile-specific screenshots, giving developers the flexibility to capture exactly what they need.

ScreenshotAPI offers customization options such as setting image dimensions, selecting specific browsers, and delaying captures to ensure that websites are fully loaded before the screenshot is taken. This makes it ideal for dynamic websites where content frequently changes.

Key Features:

• Auto-scroll to capture full-page screenshots.
• Customizable image dimensions and support for PNG, JPG, WebP, and PDF formats.
• Quick and easy integration with simple API requests.
• JavaScript execution to ensure dynamic content is fully rendered before capturing.
• Lazy loading and delay options to ensure all page elements load before the screenshot is taken.
• Supports capturing HTML5 videos, single-page apps, and web fonts.

ScreenshotAPI offers a free tier with limited requests for testing purposes and paid plans for higher usage, making it flexible for both small and large projects.

ScreenshotAPI Pricing

ScreenshotAPI offers the following pricing structure to accommodate different project sizes:

• Free Tier: Offers 100 screenshots for 7 days, ideal for testing and small projects.
• Essentials Plan: Priced at $9/month, this plan includes 1,000 screenshots.
• Startup Plan: Costs $29/month and includes 10,000 screenshots.
• Business Plan: Priced at $175/month, this plan provides 100,000 screenshots. 
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing is available for larger-scale projects, offering dedicated servers, no rate limits, custom domain support, and volume-based pricing.

ScreenshotAPI is perfect for users who need a simple, quick, and customizable solution for capturing website visuals.

3. ApiFlash

ApiFlash is a user-friendly screenshot API that uses Chrome-based rendering to deliver accurate and high-quality screenshots. It can be easily integrated into existing workflows through simple API calls without needing SDKs. It's built on AWS Lambda, which ensures scalability and stability even under heavy workloads.

Before capturing screenshots, ApiFlash automatically detects when a page is fully loaded, ensuring optimal timing for accurate results. 

It supports full-page, mobile, and responsive screenshots and integrates with cloud solutions like Amazon S3, making it easy to store and manage screenshots directly within your workflow. ApiFlash uses full HTTPS endpoints to protect the privacy and security of your data.

Key Features:

• Chrome-based rendering to deliver accurate, high-quality screenshots.
• Flexible screenshot options, including full-page, mobile, and responsive captures across various devices.
• Integration with cloud solutions like Amazon S3 for easy screenshot management.
• Supports high-resolution, retina-quality images for modern displays.
• Simple API integration without the need for SDKs.
• Full HTTPS support to ensure secure and private screenshot captures.

ApiFlash Pricing

ApiFlash offers pricing options that are suitable for small and medium-sized projects. 

• Free Plan: Perfect for testing or very small projects, offering 100 screenshots per month at no cost.
• Lite Plan: At $7/month, this plan provides 1,000 screenshots per month, ideal for light usage.
• Medium Plan: Priced at $35/month, the Medium Plan includes 10,000 screenshots and features like direct export to Amazon S3 for easier storage management.
• Large Plan: For $180/month, this plan offers 100,000 screenshots, along with premium support for more demanding users.
• Custom Enterprise Plan: For large-scale needs, custom pricing is available, with tailored features like IP geolocation and top-priority support.

ApiFlash is budget-friendly for small projects but lacks advanced proxy and CAPTCHA bypass features needed for complex scraping tasks.

4. Urlbox

Urlbox is a flexible screenshot API that offers responsive screenshots and video previews of websites. It supports full-page, element-specific, and viewport screenshots, providing flexibility for various use cases.

Users can customize screenshots with CSS and JavaScript to fit specific needs. It also offers scrolling screenshots to capture the full height of a page, including animations and GPU rendering to handle complex WebGL scenes.

Urlbox supports retina images, delivering high-DPI visuals for modern screens. You can export your screenshots to cloud services like Amazon S3 and Google Cloud or integrate with no-code tools like Zapier for easy automation.

Key Features:

• Full-page, element-specific, and viewport-specific screenshot options for various use cases.
• Customizable screenshot settings using CSS and JavaScript for greater control over the final output.
• Delay options and lazy loading support to ensure all page elements are fully loaded before the capture.
• Export options to cloud services like Amazon S3 and Google Cloud.
• Integration with no-code tools like Zapier for easy automation.

Urlbox Pricing

Urlbox offers flexible pricing plans to meet the needs of different project sizes:

• Free Plan: Ideal for small-scale testing with limited screenshot requests.
• Lo-Fi Plan: Priced at $19/month for 2,000 renders, with basic features like 2x Retina images and 30 requests per minute.
• Hi-Fi Plan: Starts at $49/month for 5,000 renders, offering 4x Retina images, 60 requests per minute, and 10 MB file size limits.
• Ultra Plan: At $99/month for 15,000 renders, it features 8x Retina images, 250 requests per minute, and no file size limits.
• Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing for large-scale projects with advanced features like custom integrations and dedicated support.

Urlbox is a solid option for users looking to capture both screenshots and video previews with custom settings and high-quality visuals.

Conclusion

You've just read a detailed comparison of the best screenshot API. Here's a quick recap of the top tools we covered in this article:

• ZenRows: Best suited for advanced, large-scale projects with features like high-scalability, anti-bot bypass, proxy support, and dynamic content handling.
• ScreenshotAPI: A fast and simple solution for developers who need basic captures without the complexity, making it ideal for smaller tasks.
• ApiFlash: Offers easy integration and basic screenshot functionality, perfect for small to medium-sized projects needing cloud storage support.
• Urlbox: Great for capturing both screenshots and video previews, with export options to cloud services and no-code tools like Zapier.

If you're looking for the most powerful and flexible solution, ZenRows is the top choice. Its advanced features and scalability make it the best option for developers with demanding projects. 

Ready to get started? Try ZenRows for free today!