rasterly vs HTML/CSS to Image — render your HTML vs screenshot a URL

Q: Does rasterly do PDF?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds, at the same price as an image. HCTI also offers HTML-to-PDF for the HTML you supply.

Different inputs, different jobs. HTML/CSS to Image (HCTI) takes your own HTML and CSS and renders it into an image — purpose-built for templated images: social cards, OG images, receipts, certificates, dynamic banners. Its primary input is markup you supply, not a live web page. rasterly's primary job is the opposite: point it at a live URL and get back a PNG, JPEG or PDF. If you're generating images from your own templates, HCTI is built for that and rasterly is not a replacement. If you're capturing real, already-rendered web pages (or need PDF of them), rasterly is simpler and cheaper — from $0.90 per 1,000.

The real difference

	rasterly	HTML/CSS to Image
Primary input	A live URL	HTML & CSS you supply
Screenshot a live web page	Yes — its core	Secondary (accepts a url, but built for markup)
Render your own HTML/CSS template	Not its job	Yes — its core
Template variables & signed URLs for dynamic cards	No	Yes
Full-page capture, retina up to 3×	Yes	Viewport-based, sized to your markup
PDF output	Yes	Yes (from your HTML)
SSRF protection on URL fetch	Enforced	Less relevant — it renders markup you send

Honest line: if you want to turn a designed template into a social/OG card at scale — with placeholders you fill per request — HCTI is the right tool and rasterly won't do it well. rasterly is for capturing pages that already exist on the web, and for PDF of those pages.

Price, side by side

Both meter per image, but they're solving different problems, so treat this as orientation, not a like-for-like winner. rasterly is cheaper per image at volume; HCTI's value is the templating, not the unit price.

Tier	rasterly	HTML/CSS to Image
Free	100 renders / mo	50 images / mo, no card
Entry paid	$9 (Starter, 10k)	$14 (Essentials, 1k)
Mid	$29 (Growth, 50k)	$29 (mid tier)
Higher volume	$99 (Scale, 250k)	tiered up (see their pricing)
Per 1,000 (at 50k)	$0.58	materially higher per image

At the entry paid tier rasterly's Starter is $9 for 10,000 renders where HCTI's Essentials is $14 for 1,000 images — but that gap reflects the different jobs, not a flaw in HCTI. You pay HCTI for templating and dynamic markup rendering, which rasterly does not offer.

Different inputs, in code

The APIs make the split obvious: HCTI POSTs markup, rasterly GETs a URL.

HTML/CSS to Image — render your markup

curl -X POST "https://hcti.io/v1/image" \
  -u 'USER_ID:API_KEY' \
  -d 'html=<div class="card">Hello</div>' \
  -d 'css=.card{padding:40px;font:600 32px sans-serif}'

rasterly — screenshot a live URL

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

If your input is a template you control, that first shape is what you want. If your input is a URL that already exists, that's rasterly. PDF is format=pdf; retina is scale=2.

FAQ

Is rasterly a drop-in for HTML/CSS to Image?

No — they take different inputs. HCTI's primary input is HTML and CSS you send it, which it renders into an image; that's ideal for templated social and OG cards. rasterly's primary input is a live URL it screenshots. If you're rendering your own templates, HCTI is purpose-built; if you're capturing real web pages, rasterly is.

Can rasterly render my own HTML like HCTI does?

rasterly is built to screenshot live URLs, not to render an HTML string you POST. If your job is turning your own HTML/CSS templates into images with variables and signed URLs, HCTI is designed for that and rasterly is not a substitute.

Does rasterly do PDF?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds, at the same price as an image. HCTI also offers HTML-to-PDF for the HTML you supply.

Which is cheaper?

For capturing URLs at volume, rasterly is cheaper per image — from $0.90 per 1,000 versus HCTI's per-image tiers. But price isn't the deciding factor here: pick the tool whose input matches your job. HCTI for your own templates, rasterly for live pages.

Start free — 100 renders See the full API

HTML/CSS to Image pricing and features observed August 2026, shown for comparison only; check htmlcsstoimage.com for current details. HCTI and rasterly take different inputs (supplied markup vs a live URL), so the tables above compare rough orientation points, not identical products. rasterly is an independent product, not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by HTML/CSS to Image.