rasterly vs Urlbox — a cheaper screenshot & PDF API alternative

Q: Does rasterly do PDF like Urlbox?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds, at the same price as an image.

Urlbox is a mature, capable screenshot API — and priced like one. For the common job (PNG/JPEG/PDF, full-page, retina) rasterly does the same thing from $0.90 per 1,000 instead of Urlbox's roughly $9.80, and the request shape is close enough that switching is usually a hostname change.

Price, side by side

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

Renders / month	rasterly	Urlbox
5,000	$9 (Starter, 10k)	$49 (Hi-Fi)
50,000	$29 (Growth)	~$99
250,000	$99 (Scale)	~$300+
Per 1,000 (at 50k)	$0.58	~$1.98
Free tier	100 / mo	trial credits

Feature parity for the common job

	rasterly	Urlbox
PNG / JPEG	Yes	Yes
PDF	Yes	Yes
Full-page capture	Yes	Yes
Retina / device scale	Yes, up to 3×	Yes
Viewport control	Yes	Yes
SSRF protection	Enforced	Yes
Advanced (templates, geo, blocking rules)	not yet	Extensive

Honest line: Urlbox has more knobs — templated renders, geo, ad/cookie blocking, long-lived render options. If you depend on those, stay. rasterly is for the majority who need a clean screenshot or PDF, fast and cheap, without the enterprise invoice.

Migrating from Urlbox

The 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 — Urlbox

curl "https://api.urlbox.io/v1/KEY/png?url=https://stripe.com&full_page=true"

after — rasterly

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

PDF is format=pdf; JPEG quality is quality=1..100; retina is scale=2. Same endpoint, same price.

FAQ

Is rasterly really a drop-in for Urlbox?

For the common cases, yes — swap the base URL and auth. Options like full_page and format map directly. Urlbox-specific advanced features (templates, geo) don't have a one-to-one equivalent yet.

Why is it so much cheaper?

A screenshot is a headless browser rendering a page. rasterly reuses one browser across requests, so a warm render is about a second of CPU — cents, not dollars. We price on cost, not on brand.

Does rasterly do PDF like Urlbox?

Yes — format=pdf returns a print-ready A4 with backgrounds, at the same price as an image.

Can I screenshot internal or private URLs?

No — every target is resolved and blocked if it points at localhost, a private range, or cloud metadata (169.254.169.254). Enforced, not optional.

Start free — 100 renders See the full API

Urlbox pricing and features are public information observed August 2026 and shown for comparison only; check urlbox.io for current details. Figures at intermediate volumes are interpolated from published plans. rasterly is an independent product and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Urlbox.