Urlbox alternatives
Free, self-hosted screenshot APIs with no API key required.
What Urlbox provides
Urlbox captures screenshots of public URLs via a managed REST API. It handles Chromium infrastructure so you don't have to, provides reliable rendering, and integrates quickly with an API key. Features include custom JavaScript injection, CSS overrides, cookie passing, and a render-ready webhook.
For teams that need screenshots without managing servers, Urlbox is a reasonable choice. For teams that process sensitive URLs, run at high volume, or want to avoid per-request costs, a self-hosted option is a better fit.
Where Urlbox falls short
- Privacy — every URL you screenshot is sent to Urlbox's servers. Internal tools, staging environments, and authenticated pages all pass through a third party.
- Cost at scale — pricing is per screenshot. Agent workflows, CI pipelines, or monitoring jobs that generate hundreds of screenshots per day accumulate costs quickly.
- No file upload mode — Urlbox accepts HTML as a JSON string parameter, but does not support multipart file uploads. Uploading an HTML file directly from disk requires pre-reading and re-encoding it on the client.
- No URL crawling — Urlbox screenshots a single URL per request. It has no depth-based crawl that automatically captures linked sub-pages in one call.
- Vendor lock-in — if Urlbox changes pricing or deprecates an API version, migration requires rewriting your integration.
Comparison
| Feature | Urlbox | Openkova |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Managed SaaS | Self-hosted |
| API key required | ✓ | ✗ |
| Captures HTML snippets | ✓ | ✓ |
| Captures HTML file uploads | ✗ | ✓ |
| Captures URLs | ✓ | ✓ |
| URL crawling | ✗ | ✓ depth 1–2 |
| Data privacy | Sent to Urlbox servers | Stays on your servers |
| Rate limits | ✓ plan-based | ✗ |
| SSE progress streaming | ✗ | ✓ |
| Pricing | Paid (usage-based) | Free |
| License | Proprietary | MIT |
| Self-hostable | ✗ | ✓ |
Other alternatives to Urlbox
- ScreenshotOne — similar managed SaaS API, per-screenshot pricing, strong uptime guarantees
- Bannerbear — higher-level image generation API focused on dynamic template rendering; more than just screenshots
- Puppeteer — Node.js library; you manage Chromium directly, no HTTP API layer
- Playwright — Microsoft's multi-browser alternative to Puppeteer; Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit support
Getting started with Openkova
git clone https://github.com/scnix-git/openkova
docker compose upScreenshot a URL:
curl -N -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/convert/url \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"url": "https://example.com", "depth": 1}'See the API reference for the full endpoint list, or read how to deploy Openkova with Docker.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Urlbox?
Yes. Openkova is free and MIT-licensed with no usage limits. Puppeteer and Playwright are also free open-source Node.js libraries.
Can Openkova replace Urlbox for URL screenshots?
Yes. POST /api/convert/url accepts a URL and optional crawl depth. It returns a PNG screenshot via SSE stream. Openkova also adds depth-based URL crawling and HTML file upload that Urlbox does not offer.
What is the difference between Urlbox and a self-hosted tool?
Urlbox is managed infrastructure you pay for per use. Openkova is software you run yourself — on a VPS, Docker host, Railway, or Fly.io. You own the infrastructure and the data.
Does Openkova require Docker?
No — it runs on any Node.js 24+ environment. Docker is recommended because Chromium is pre-installed in the image, removing the setup step entirely.