Screenshot API Pricing: SaaS vs Self-Hosted
Real cost at 10K, 100K, and 1M screenshots per month
SaaS screenshot API pricing in 2026
Every major screenshot API charges per screenshot on a tiered subscription. Prices below are from each provider's public pricing pages as of June 2026.
ScreenshotOne
ScreenshotOne is a popular screenshot API with four tiers. Pricing is per-screenshot-allowance per month with no rollover.
| Plan | Price/mo | Screenshots/mo | Cost per screenshot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $17 | 2,000 | $0.0085 |
| Growth | $79 | 10,000 | $0.0079 |
| Scale | $259 | 50,000 | $0.0052 |
| Business | Contact | 100,000+ | Custom |
Urlbox
Urlbox is a SaaS screenshot API with public pricing starting at $29/mo. Pricing is render-based and scales with volume.
| Plan | Price/mo | Renders/mo | Cost per render |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | $29 | ~5,000 | ~$0.006 |
| Start-up | $99 | ~15,000 | ~$0.007 |
| Enterprise | $199+ | Custom | Custom |
Browserless
Browserless charges by concurrent browser sessions (units) per hour rather than per screenshot. Prices below reflect typical screenshot workloads.
| Plan | Price/mo | Units/hr | Equivalent screenshots/mo* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prototyping | $25 | 20,000 units/mo | ~3,000 |
| Starter | $140 | 180,000 units/mo | ~25,000 |
| Scale | $350 | Custom | ~80,000+ |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Unlimited |
* Estimated at 5 seconds average per screenshot, 8 hrs/day active usage
Microlink
Microlink is a metadata and screenshot API with a generous free tier but steep scaling costs.
| Plan | Price/mo | Requests/mo | Cost per request |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1,500 (~50/day) | $0 |
| Pro | $45 | 46,000 | $0.00098 |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Self-hosting cost model
Self-hosting a screenshot API with Openkova has two cost components: server infrastructure and initial setup time. There are no per-screenshot charges.
Infrastructure costs
Openkova runs on standard Linux VPS instances. Headless Chromium is the dominant resource consumer — each concurrent screenshot uses ~150–300 MB RAM and 0.5–1 CPU core.
| Server spec | Provider examples | Cost/mo | Max concurrent screenshots | Typical throughput |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM | Hetzner CX22, DO Basic | ~$7–20 | 4–6 | 3K–20K/day |
| 4 vCPU / 8 GB RAM | Hetzner CX32, DO General | ~$20–40 | 10–14 | 20K–100K/day |
| 8 vCPU / 16 GB RAM | Hetzner CX52, DO Premium | ~$40–80 | 24–30 | 100K–300K/day |
Storage for output images adds minimal cost. A 1 MB average PNG at 10K screenshots/month is 10 GB — roughly $0.23/mo on most object storage providers, or free on a VPS with local disk.
Setup cost
Deploying Openkova with Docker Compose takes 30–60 minutes for a developer familiar with Docker. This is a one-time cost. Ongoing maintenance — dependency updates, monitoring — is approximately 1–2 hours per month.
Direct cost comparison by volume
At 10,000 screenshots/month
| Option | Monthly cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ScreenshotOne Growth | $79 | Exactly 10K/mo allowance |
| Urlbox Start-up | $99 | ~15K/mo — Start-up tier covers 10K |
| Browserless Prototyping | $25 | ~3K/mo equivalent — need Starter at $140 for 10K |
| Microlink Pro | $45 | 46K/mo included — covers 10K easily |
| Openkova self-hosted | ~$20 | 2 vCPU / 4 GB VPS, unlimited screenshots |
At 100,000 screenshots/month
| Option | Monthly cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ScreenshotOne Scale | $259 | 50K/mo — contact for 100K tier |
| Urlbox Enterprise | $199+ | Custom volume — Enterprise tier |
| Browserless Starter | $140 | ~25K/mo equivalent — Scale ($350) for 100K |
| Microlink Pro | $45 | 46K/mo — custom pricing above 46K |
| Openkova self-hosted | ~$40 | 4 vCPU / 8 GB VPS, unlimited screenshots |
At 1,000,000 screenshots/month
| Option | Monthly cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ScreenshotOne | $1,000–2,000+ | Custom enterprise pricing |
| Urlbox | $199+ | Enterprise custom pricing |
| Browserless | $1,000+ | Multiple Scale instances required |
| Openkova self-hosted | ~$80–200 | 2× 8 vCPU servers with load balancing |
Total cost of ownership: 12-month comparison
The table below shows the full 12-month cost including setup time (valued at $75/hr — adjust for your team's rate).
| Scenario | ScreenshotOne | Urlbox | Openkova self-hosted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10K/mo, 12 months | $948 ($79 × 12) | $1,188 ($99 × 12) | $315 ($240 infra + $75 setup) |
| 100K/mo, 12 months | $3,108 ($259 × 12 base) | $2,388+ ($199 × 12) | $555 ($480 infra + $75 setup) |
| 1M/mo, 12 months | $15,000–24,000+ | $38,400+ | $1,275–$2,475 ($1,200–$2,400 infra + $75 setup) |
When SaaS makes sense
Self-hosting is not always the right choice. SaaS screenshot APIs have genuine advantages in specific situations:
- Under 500 screenshots/month: The $20/mo VPS cost exceeds what you would pay on a SaaS free tier or lowest tier. Microlink's free tier (1,500/mo) is hard to beat at very low volumes.
- Zero infrastructure team: If no one on your team is comfortable with Docker, Linux administration, or server monitoring, the ongoing ops burden may outweigh the savings.
- Burst-only usage: If you need screenshots for a one-off project rather than ongoing production use, a monthly SaaS subscription with no commitment is lower friction.
- Compliance requirements: Some enterprise environments require vendor SOC2 reports or specific SLAs that a self-hosted tool cannot provide. (Though for data privacy reasons, self-hosting is often the more compliant option — see GDPR and screenshot APIs.)
When self-hosting wins
Self-hosting Openkova is clearly better when:
- You take more than ~1,000 screenshots/month (SaaS costs exceed $20/mo server cost)
- You need to screenshot internal URLs (staging servers, VPN-protected services) that SaaS APIs cannot reach
- You have data privacy requirements — no screenshot data leaves your infrastructure
- You need to render HTML snippets or uploaded files, not just URLs (many SaaS APIs are URL-only)
- You want no vendor dependency — MIT license means you own the software and can fork it
The break-even point
The break-even analysis is simple. A $20/mo VPS running Openkova is cheaper than every SaaS option from the very first month — assuming you take more than a handful of screenshots. The only real question is whether the one-time setup investment (30–60 minutes with the Docker guide) is worth it for your use case.
For teams processing 10K+ screenshots/month, self-hosting saves $25–$119/mo versus the cheapest comparable SaaS plan at that volume. That is $300–$1,428 per year before enterprise pricing kicks in.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a screenshot API cost per month?
SaaS screenshot APIs range from $17/mo (ScreenshotOne Basic, 2K screenshots) to $199+/mo (Urlbox Enterprise). Self-hosting Openkova on a $20/mo VPS has no per-screenshot charges at any volume.
At what volume does self-hosting become cheaper than SaaS?
Self-hosting is cheaper from the very first screenshot once you factor in the $20/mo server cost. At 1,000 screenshots/month, the lowest SaaS tier ($17/mo ScreenshotOne) is comparable. Above 1,000/month, self-hosting consistently wins.
What does it cost to self-host a screenshot API?
A 2 vCPU / 4 GB RAM VPS (~$7–20/mo on Hetzner, DigitalOcean, or Fly.io) running Openkova handles 3K–20K screenshots per day. The one-time setup cost is 30–60 minutes of developer time.
When does SaaS make more sense than self-hosting?
At very low volumes (under 500/month), or when you have no infrastructure team and prefer zero ops. Microlink's free tier at 1,500 screenshots/month is genuinely hard to beat if you need simple URL screenshots without server management.
Does Openkova charge per screenshot?
No. Openkova is MIT-licensed open-source software with no per-screenshot charges, no API key, and no usage limits when self-hosted. A managed Cloud Pro tier is available for teams that want zero infrastructure management.
Openkova is MIT-licensed. No per-screenshot fees. No API key. Docker-deployable in under an hour.