rasterly vs Screenshot Machine — a cheaper screenshot API

Q: Is rasterly a drop-in for Screenshot Machine?

For the screenshot job, yes. Both take a URL and options as query params and return an image or PDF. Point at /v1/screenshot, pass your key as the X-Api-Key header, and keep your dimensions, full-page and format options.

Q: Does rasterly capture full-page and retina screenshots?

Yes. Add full_page=true for the whole scroll height and scale=2 or 3 for retina, plus width and height for the viewport. Format can be png, jpeg or pdf.

Q: Can rasterly do more than screenshots?

Yes, on the same key: read returns clean Markdown of a page, extract returns structured JSON, and crawl and change-monitoring cover the jobs a screenshot product usually needs next.

Screenshot Machine is a long-running, no-frills screenshot API. rasterly does the same core job — a URL to an image or PDF, full-page and retina — from $0.58 per 1,000 on Growth, and adds the content endpoints (Markdown, JSON, crawl) that AI and SaaS products reach for next. If all you need is a picture of a page, both work; at volume the difference is the bill and the extra jobs on the same key.

If you use Screenshot Machine for thumbnails and captures

Same render. PNG/JPEG/PDF, full-page, retina scale up to 3× — a real headless Chromium, from $0.58/1,000 at the Growth tier.
One key, more jobs. read returns clean Markdown of a page and extract returns structured JSON — useful when a thumbnail sits next to a title, description or content feed.
Crawl and change-monitoring live alongside, so a directory or monitoring product doesn't add a second vendor.
MCP-native + x402. The primitives are exposed as agent tools via npx rasterly-mcp, and a pay-per-call x402 endpoint on Base gives agents a billed on-ramp with no signup.

Price, side by side

rasterly sells by monthly render tiers with the same all-formats feature set on every plan. Representative points:

Renders / month	rasterly	Screenshot Machine
10,000	$9 (Starter)	comparable to higher
50,000	$29 (Growth)	higher at volume
250,000	$99 (Scale)	higher at volume
Per 1,000 (at 50k)	$0.58	higher at volume
Free tier	100 / mo	limited free plan

We keep the Screenshot Machine column qualitative on purpose — check screenshotmachine.com for current numbers. The point isn't a single tier, it's a cost-priced render plus read/extract/crawl on the same key.

Feature parity for the common job

	rasterly	Screenshot Machine
PNG / JPEG	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	Yes
Full-page capture	Yes	Yes
Retina / device scale	Yes, up to 3×	Yes
Markdown of a page (read)	Yes	no
Structured JSON (extract)	Yes	no
Crawl & change-monitoring	Yes	no
MCP + x402 for agents	Yes	no
SSRF protection	Enforced	Yes

Migrating from Screenshot Machine

The screenshot request is the same shape: a base URL, the target url, and options as query params. In most codebases it's a hostname and key swap.

before — Screenshot Machine

curl "https://api.screenshotmachine.com/?key=KEY&url=https://stripe.com&dimension=1280xfull"

after — rasterly

curl "https://api.rasterly.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&width=1280&full_page=true" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: sk_live_..." -o shot.png

Need the page's data instead of a picture? Call read for Markdown or extract for JSON on the same key. See a render before you sign up on the live proof page.

FAQ

Is rasterly a drop-in for Screenshot Machine?

For the screenshot job, yes — swap the base URL and auth, keep your dimensions, full_page and format options. rasterly takes the key as an X-Api-Key header.

Does rasterly capture full-page and retina screenshots?

Yes — add full_page=true for the whole scroll height and scale=2 or 3 for retina, plus width/height for the viewport. Format can be png, jpeg or pdf.

Can rasterly do more than screenshots?

Yes, on the same key: read (clean Markdown), extract (structured JSON), plus crawl and change-monitoring.

Why is rasterly cheaper at volume?

A render is a headless Chromium drawing a page. rasterly reuses one browser across requests, so a warm render is about a second of CPU. We price on that cost, from $0.58 per 1,000 on Growth.

Start free — 100 renders See the full API

Screenshot Machine pricing and features are public information and shown for comparison only; the competitor column is kept qualitative and not a quoted figure — check screenshotmachine.com for current details. rasterly is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Screenshot Machine.