How does authentication and billing work?

You get an sk_live_ key instantly from POST /v1/keys and pass it as X-Api-Key. Billing is usage-based on monthly render tiers with a free tier of 100 per month, plus a pay-per-call x402 endpoint on Base for agents that want no signup.

rasterly vs Thum.io — a screenshot API with PDF and a real key

Q: Is rasterly a drop-in for Thum.io?

Close. Both take a URL and options and return an image. Thum.io builds options into the path segments; rasterly uses query params on /v1/screenshot with an X-Api-Key header. Map your width, full-page and format options across and you're switched.

Q: Does rasterly output PDF?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds, at the same price as an image. There is also a POST /v1/pdf endpoint for rendering raw HTML you generate server-side.

Q: Can rasterly screenshot private or internal URLs?

No. Every target is resolved and blocked if it points at localhost, a private range, or cloud metadata (169.254.169.254). SSRF protection is enforced.

Thum.io is a simple, fast way to get a website thumbnail from a URL. rasterly does the same screenshot and goes further where products outgrow a thumbnail service: PDF output, an sk_live_ key with usage-based billing, retina scale up to 3×, and page-content endpoints on one key — from $0.58 per 1,000 on Growth.

When you outgrow a thumbnail service

Thum.io is great for a quick image. If you're building a product on top of it, three things usually come up:

PDF, not just images. format=pdf returns a print-ready A4, and POST /v1/pdf renders raw HTML you generate — invoices, reports, documents.
A real key and usage billing. Instant sk_live_ key from POST /v1/keys, passed as X-Api-Key, billed on monthly render tiers with a 100/mo free tier.
Page content on the same key. read→Markdown, extract→JSON, crawl and change-monitoring, so a product doesn't add a second vendor for the content side.
MCP-native + x402. Exposed as agent tools via npx rasterly-mcp, with a pay-per-call x402 endpoint on Base.

Price, side by side

rasterly sells by monthly render tiers with every format on every plan. Representative points:

Renders / month	rasterly	Thum.io
10,000	$9 (Starter)	per-plan quota
50,000	$29 (Growth)	higher tier
250,000	$99 (Scale)	higher tier
Per 1,000 (at 50k)	$0.58	higher at volume
Free tier	100 / mo	free with attribution

The Thum.io column is kept qualitative — check thum.io for current numbers. The takeaway is a cost-priced render at volume, plus formats and endpoints a thumbnail service doesn't carry.

Feature parity

	rasterly	Thum.io
PNG / JPEG	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	no
Full-page capture	Yes	Yes
Retina / device scale	Yes, up to 3×	Yes
Authenticated key + usage billing	Yes	Yes
read / extract / crawl / monitor	Yes	no
SSRF protection	Enforced	Yes

Migrating from Thum.io

Thum.io encodes options as path segments; rasterly uses query params plus a key header.

before — Thum.io

curl "https://image.thum.io/get/width/1200/fullpage/https://stripe.com" -o shot.png

after — rasterly

curl "https://api.rasterly.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&width=1200&full_page=true" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: sk_live_..." -o shot.png

PDF is format=pdf; retina is scale=2. See a render on the live proof page.

FAQ

Is rasterly a drop-in for Thum.io?

Close — both take a URL and options and return an image. Thum.io builds options into path segments; rasterly uses query params on /v1/screenshot with an X-Api-Key header. Map width, full-page and format across and you're switched.

Does rasterly output PDF?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds at the same price as an image, and POST /v1/pdf renders raw HTML you generate server-side.

How does auth and billing work?

Instant sk_live_ key from POST /v1/keys, passed as X-Api-Key. Usage-based on monthly render tiers, 100/mo free, plus a pay-per-call x402 endpoint on Base for agents with no signup.

Can rasterly screenshot private or internal URLs?

No — every target is resolved and blocked if it points at localhost, a private range, or cloud metadata (169.254.169.254). Enforced.

Start free — 100 renders See the full API

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