screenshotlayer
Website screenshot API by APILayer — capture full-page or viewport PNG/JPEG/GIF screenshots of any URL with device emulation, via a single GET request.
🟢 Online · 483 ms
100%
100 snapshots/month, email signup, no credit card
API key
Free alternatives (live ranking)
- Free Dictionary API — 🟢 Online · Unlimited (fair use), no key, no credit card
- ipify — 🟢 Online · Unlimited, no key, no credit card
- DiceBear Avatars — 🟢 Online · Unlimited (fair use), no key, no credit card
Compare screenshotlayer with…
- screenshotlayer vs Free Dictionary API — Unlimited (fair use), no key, no credit card
- screenshotlayer vs ipify — Unlimited, no key, no credit card
- screenshotlayer vs DiceBear Avatars — Unlimited (fair use), no key, no credit card
Paid alternatives
- Urlbox — from $19/mo
Frequently Asked Questions
Does screenshotlayer require an API key?
Yes, screenshotlayer requires a free API key. You can sign up via https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation.
What is screenshotlayer's free tier?
100 snapshots/month, email signup, no credit card
Is screenshotlayer currently online?
We check screenshotlayer every hour. The current status is shown at the top of this page. You can also see the 30-day uptime history in the chart above.
Implementation notes
When to use screenshotlayer
screenshotlayer turns 'render this URL as an image' into a single GET request — full-page or viewport capture, device emulation, PNG/JPEG/GIF output. Use it for link-preview thumbnails, visual archives, and report generation where running your own headless-Chrome fleet is overkill. 100 snapshots/month free is enough for a personal dashboard or low-volume preview cache.
Common pitfalls
- Free-tier screenshots carry a watermark — fine for internal tools, not for customer-facing UI. The watermark-free tier starts on the paid plans.
- Screenshots of JS-heavy pages need the `delay` parameter (seconds to wait before capture) or you'll capture loading spinners. There's no 'wait for network idle' option — tune delay per target site.
- Cache aggressively by URL — the 100/month budget disappears fast, and target pages rarely change by the minute. A 24h cache multiplies your effective quota.
Quick start (bash)
curl -o shot.png "http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_KEY&url=https://freeapi.watch&viewport=1440x900&fullpage=1"Embed this badge
Add a live status badge to your README, docs, or website.
Markdown
[](https://freeapi.watch/screenshotlayer)HTML
<a href="https://freeapi.watch/screenshotlayer"><img src="https://freeapi-builder.a10ayassine.workers.dev/badge/screenshotlayer.svg" alt="screenshotlayer Status"/></a>