rasterly vs ApiFlash — screenshot API with PDF, cheaper

ApiFlash is a capable, Chromium-backed screenshot API with a generous free tier. Its gap is PDF — it renders images, not print-ready documents. rasterly does PNG, JPEG and PDF from the same endpoint, at a lower per-render price.

The one that matters: PDF

Plenty of teams reach for a screenshot API and then discover they also need to generate a PDF — an invoice, a report, a printable page. With ApiFlash that's a second tool. With rasterly it's one query param.

rasterly — image or PDF, same endpoint

curl ".../v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&format=png" -H "X-Api-Key: ..." -o shot.png
curl ".../v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&format=pdf" -H "X-Api-Key: ..." -o page.pdf

Side by side

	rasterly	ApiFlash
PNG / JPEG	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	No
Full-page & retina	Yes	Yes
Free tier	100 / mo	100 / mo
Per 1,000 (paid)	$0.58–0.90	~$1.5–3
SSRF protection	Enforced	Yes

Switching over

Both are query-param GET APIs — swap the base URL and key, keep your options.

before — ApiFlash

curl "https://api.apiflash.com/v1/urltoimage?access_key=KEY&url=https://stripe.com"

after — rasterly

curl "https://api.rasterly.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: sk_live_..." -o shot.png

FAQ

Does ApiFlash really not do PDF?

ApiFlash focuses on URL-to-image. For print-ready PDF output you need a separate tool — or rasterly, where format=pdf is built in at the same price.

Is the free tier comparable?

Both offer around 100 free renders a month to try before paying. rasterly's paid tiers start at $9 for 10,000.

Same rendering engine?

Both drive real headless Chromium, so screenshot fidelity is equivalent; rasterly adds device scale up to 3× and PDF.

Start free — 100 renders See the full API

ApiFlash features and pricing observed August 2026 and shown for comparison only; check apiflash.com for current details, as capabilities may change. rasterly is an independent product, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ApiFlash.