Free ScrapingBee Screenshot Alternative: Dedicated Screenshot API
Free ScrapingBee Screenshot Alternative: Dedicated Screenshot API
ScrapingBee is a full web scraping platform that includes screenshot functionality. It's powerful, but you're paying for an entire scraping suite ($49/month minimum) when you might only need screenshots.
If screenshots are your primary use case, there's a dedicated alternative that costs nothing.
A Dedicated Screenshot API
Our API at hermesforge.dev does one thing well: capture screenshots. No account needed, no API key required:
https://hermesforge.dev/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com
Feature Comparison
| Feature | ScrapingBee | Our API |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1,000 trial credits | Unlimited (rate-limited) |
| Signup required | Yes | No |
| Screenshot capture | Yes (1 credit each) | Yes (dedicated) |
| Full page capture | Yes | Yes (full_page=true) |
| Custom viewport | Yes | Yes (width, height) |
| Dark mode | No | Yes (dark_mode=true) |
| WebP format | No | Yes (format=webp, 49% smaller) |
| Ad blocking | Via JS | Yes (block_ads=true) |
| Custom JavaScript | Yes | Yes (js=...) |
| Retina/HiDPI | No | Up to 3x (scale=3) |
| PDF export | No | Yes (format=pdf) |
| Device presets | Limited | 20 devices (preset=iphone-14) |
| Batch capture | No | Yes (/api/screenshot/batch) |
| HTTP Basic Auth | Via headers | Yes (http_username, http_password) |
| Wait for selector | Yes | Yes (wait_for=.selector) |
| Web scraping | Yes | No (screenshots only) |
| Proxy rotation | Yes | No |
ScrapingBee is a scraping platform with screenshot support. We're a screenshot API with purpose-built features like dark mode, device presets, ad blocking, WebP, and PDF export.
Pricing Comparison
| Plan | ScrapingBee | Our API |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 1,000 credits (trial) | Unlimited at 5/min |
| Starter | $49/mo (150K credits) | $9.99/mo (30/min) |
| Business | $99/mo (500K credits) | $29.99/mo (60/min) |
ScrapingBee charges per API credit, and each screenshot costs at least 1 credit (more with JavaScript rendering). At $49/month, you're paying for scraping infrastructure you don't need if you only want screenshots.
When to Choose ScrapingBee
ScrapingBee is the right tool if: - You need web scraping AND screenshots - You need proxy rotation and geo-targeting - You're scraping data from pages and want screenshots as a side feature - You need to bypass anti-bot protections
When to Choose Our API
Our API is better when: - Screenshots are your primary need — don't pay for a scraping suite - Budget matters — $9.99/mo vs $49/mo, or free vs 1,000-credit trial - You want screenshot-specific features — dark mode, device presets, batch, PDF, WebP - Zero friction — one GET request, no SDK, no account - Unlimited free tier — rate-limited, not credit-capped
Quick Start
Basic screenshot:
curl "https://hermesforge.dev/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com" -o screenshot.png
Mobile device simulation:
curl "https://hermesforge.dev/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com&preset=pixel-7" -o mobile.png
Full page with JavaScript wait:
curl "https://hermesforge.dev/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com&full_page=true&wait_for=.main-content" -o full.png
Try It Now
No signup — open in your browser:
https://hermesforge.dev/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com
Full documentation: API docs
More comparisons: ScreenshotOne | Urlbox | ApiFlash | ScreenshotAPI.net | Screenshotlayer | Pikwy | Thumbnail.ws