The Urlbox alternative
for better cost per render

Urlbox is a respected screenshot service with 10+ years of experience. If you care about cost per render and broader browser workflows under one key, Microlink gives you 46,000 requests for $45 versus 5,000 on Urlbox Hi-Fi for $49, while still benchmarking 44% faster on average.

Measuring cold-start speed across 2 screenshot APIs

Microlink

Urlbox

Up to 2.4× faster response times

Same request. Same URL. Same output format.

We ran identical screenshot requests against both APIs from a New York server and measured cold-start latency — no cache, no warm-up. The numbers below are averages from 10 independent benchmark runs at different hours.

Cold-start latency by URL

URL	Microlink	Urlbox
vercel.com	6,361	14,953
example.com	968	2,331
stripe.com	3,217	3,679
screenshotone.com	5,474	14,976
news.ycombinator.com	3,435	4,748
github.com	3,060	4,267
framer.com	6,267	6,386
Total	28.8 s	51.3 s

vercel.com

Microlink6,361 ms

Urlbox14,953 ms

example.com

Microlink968 ms

Urlbox2,331 ms

stripe.com

Microlink3,217 ms

Urlbox3,679 ms

screenshotone.com

Microlink5,474 ms

Urlbox14,976 ms

news.ycombinator.com

Microlink3,435 ms

Urlbox4,748 ms

github.com

Microlink3,060 ms

Urlbox4,267 ms

framer.com

Microlink6,267 ms

Urlbox6,386 ms

Average cold-start latency

Provider	Avg Cold Duration	vs. Microlink
Microlink	4,111.84 ms	—
Urlbox	7,334.22 ms	+78% slower

See the full benchmark with all 6 providers and 7 URLs on the Screenshot API Benchmark page.

Averages from 10 benchmark runs taken from a New York server at different hours. The

benchmark repo

is open — run it yourself and see. Last run: March 2026.

Why Developers Switch

The top reasons teams move from Urlbox to Microlink.

9.2× more requests, $4 less

Urlbox Hi-Fi: 5,000 renders for $49/month. Microlink: 46,000 requests for $45. That’s the volume Urlbox charges $498 for on its Business plan.

API latency compounds at scale

At 100k screenshots/month, saving ~3.2 s per request recovers over 88 hours of pipeline time. Microlink is 44% faster on average — and up to 2.4× faster on heavy DOMs like vercel.com.

One API key, not five

Microlink handles screenshots, PDFs, metadata extraction, link previews, and remote JS in a single integration. One bill, one set of docs, no glue code between services.

A free tier that never expires

Microlink gives you 50 requests/day with no credit card and no time limit. Urlbox only offers a 7-day trial — after that, you’re on a paid plan or locked out.

Proxy and antibot built‑in, zero config

Microlink auto-rotates residential proxies and detects 30+ antibot providers (Cloudflare, DataDome, Akamai…) on every request. Urlbox supports custom proxies but does not include built-in rotating proxies.

Open-source, fully auditable

Metascraper, MQL, and Browserless are MIT-licensed. Inspect the core engine, fork it, or self-host. No black boxes, no vendor lock-in — just code you can read.

More requests. Less money.

Get 9.2× more volume for $4 less per month.

Microlink

$45/mo

46,000 requests/month

Screenshots + PDF + metadata + previews + remote JS
Free tier: 50 requests/day, no credit card
No requests-per-minute cap
240+ edge nodes, 99.9% SLA
Open-source core (MIT)
$0.98 per 1,000 requests

Start for free

Urlbox

$49/mo

5,000 renders/month

Screenshots, PDF, metadata, markdown, and video
No free plan (7-day trial only)
$9.80 per 1,000 renders
Cloud storage workflows with plan/config nuance
GPU rendering available

We can keep prices this low because our enterprise clients cover the infrastructure cost. We want to help indie devs and startups squeeze every drop of value out of their budget.

Cut Urlbox cost per render
without trimming features

Your first 50 requests/day are free — no credit card, no commitment.

Start Building Free

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

An honest look at what each API offers.

Feature	Microlink	Urlbox
Screenshot capture	✓	✓
Full-page screenshots	✓	✓
Element-level capture (CSS selector)	✓	✓
PDF generation	✓	✓
HTML rendering	✓	✓
Dark/light mode capture	✓	✓
Device emulation presets	✓	✓
Custom JS/CSS injection	✓	✓
Custom HTTP headers	✓	✓
Custom cookies	✓	✓
Hide elements (CSS selectors)	✓	✓
Click/scroll interactions	✓	✓
Wait for selector	✓	✓
Cookie banner blocking	✓	✓
Ad blocking	✓	✓
Signed request URLs	✓	✓
Built-in response cache	✓	✓
Custom proxy support	✓	✓
Render links (direct embed)	✓	✓
Video output	✓	✓
Animated GIF output	✓	✓
Markdown extraction	✓	✓
Metadata extraction (JSON)	✓	✓
Retina / HiDPI screenshots	✓	✓
Built-in proxy (auto-rotating residential)	✓	✕
Antibot detection (30+ providers)	✓	✕
Link previews SDK (React/Vue/JS)	✓	✕
Browser chrome overlay	✓	✕
Open-source core	✓	✕
Remote JS execution (return values)	✓	✕
MCP server	✓	✕
Lighthouse audits	✓	✕
Technology detection	✓	✕
Color palette extraction	✓	✕
Free tier (50 req/day, no expiry)	✓	✕
GPU rendering	On demand	✓
SVG output	✕	✓
LLM integration (GPT-4V, Claude…)	✕	✓
Scrolling video capture	✕	✓
Cloud storage integrations (plan-gated) Urlbox documents S3-compatible storage plus newer Azure and GCS workflows with plan/configuration nuance.	✕	✓
Bulk screenshot tool (CaptureDeck)	✕	✓
Scheduled screenshot workflows Recurring capture flows are documented through Zapier and no-code automation.	✕	✓
No-code integrations (Zapier, Airtable…)	Partial	✓
SOC 2 Type 2 audit started	✕	✓

Last verified: April 2026. See each product's docs for the latest.

Where Urlbox
Might Be the Right Choice

GPU rendering

Urlbox offers built-in GPU rendering for sites that rely on WebGL, Canvas, or heavy 3D scenes. Microlink supports GPU rendering on demand but does not include it by default.

LLM-powered screenshot analysis

Urlbox integrates with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google AI, and more — analyze a screenshot with an LLM prompt in a single API call. Microlink does not have built-in LLM integration.

Screenshots sent to your own bucket

Urlbox documents cloud-storage workflows for S3-compatible storage, with newer Azure Blob and Google Cloud options carrying plan and configuration nuance. Microlink returns the image in the API response and does not include native storage upload.

Bulk screenshots from a dashboard

Urlbox's CaptureDeck tool lets you upload CSVs or paste URL lists and download zip archives without writing code. For recurring captures, Urlbox documents Zapier-driven automation flows. Microlink is API-first and does not have a bulk dashboard.

SOC 2 compliance

Urlbox has started its SOC 2 Type 2 audit and published a Trust Center. If SOC 2 is a hard requirement in your buying process, Urlbox is further along on that path.

SVG or scrolling video output

Urlbox can output SVG images and record scrolling videos (WebM/MP4/GIF) of page content. Microlink supports video and GIF but does not produce SVG or scrolling video captures.

Ship faster screenshots

50 requests/day free — no account, no credit card. Start capturing screenshots at the speed your users deserve.

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://www.apple.com' URL with 'screenshot' API parameter:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://www.apple.com&screenshot

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://www.apple.com" \
  -d "screenshot=true"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://www.apple.com', {
  screenshot: true
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://www.apple.com",
    "screenshot": "true"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://www.apple.com",
  screenshot: "true"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://www.apple.com",
    "screenshot" => "true"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://www.apple.com")
    q.Set("screenshot", "true")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://www.apple.com', {
  screenshot: true
})

Start now for free

Is there a free Urlbox alternative?

Yes. Microlink's free tier includes 50 requests/day with no credit card and no time limit. Same API, same quality, same 240+ edge network as paid plans.

Urlbox does not offer a free plan. Its entry point is a 7-day free trial on paid plans, after which you need a subscription starting at $19/month.

How does Microlink compare to Urlbox for screenshot quality?

Both services produce high-quality screenshots using Chromium. Urlbox emphasizes pixel-perfect rendering with macOS-quality emoji and webfont support, plus optional GPU rendering for WebGL-heavy sites. Microlink serves maximum quality with optimal compression by default and is 44% faster on average.

Can I migrate from Urlbox to Microlink easily?

Yes. Urlbox uses render links and a REST API with parameters like url, width, full_page, format, and selector. Microlink accepts the same capture concepts under its own parameter names. Most migrations are endpoint-and-key swaps. The screenshot docs cover every parameter with examples.

Paste your Urlbox integration into any LLM and ask it to migrate to Microlink. Or email

[email protected]

and we'll help directly.

When is Microlink the better value than Urlbox?

Urlbox is feature-rich and a strong fit when you need screenshot-first extras like SVG output, scrolling video, LLM analysis, or CaptureDeck.

Microlink becomes the better value when you want lower cost per render plus screenshots, PDF generation, metadata/Open Graph extraction, link previews (via SDK), remote JavaScript execution, and Lighthouse audits from one API key and one integration.

Is Microlink really open source?

The core engine components are MIT-licensed on GitHub:

Metascraper

(metadata extraction),

MQL

(Microlink Query Language), and

Browserless

(headless browser). Enterprise teams can audit, fork, and contribute.

Urlbox is closed-source. There is no way to inspect or audit the engine processing your requests.

How much does Urlbox cost compared to Microlink?

Urlbox Hi-Fi is $49/month for 5,000 renders ($9.80 per 1,000). Urlbox Ultra is $99/month for 15,000 renders ($6.60 per 1,000). Microlink is $45/month for 46,000 requests ($0.98 per 1,000) with no per-minute rate limit.

At the $49 price point, Microlink delivers 9.2× more volume. Enterprise clients running millions of requests fund the infrastructure, which is how indie devs get the same global edge network at these prices.

Does Microlink have rate limits?

Paid plans have no requests-per-minute cap — burst as high as your concurrency allows. The only limit is your monthly request quota.

Urlbox does not publish explicit per-minute rate limits, but its pricing tiers are based on successful renders, and higher throughput requires higher-tier plans.

Both Microlink and Urlbox support ad blocking and cookie banner removal. Microlink uses the adblock parameter and custom CSS/JS injection to dismiss consent dialogs before the screenshot is taken.

Use screenshot.hide to remove specific elements by CSS selector — sticky banners, chat widgets, or any overlay that clutters the capture.

What uptime and SLA does Microlink guarantee?

Microlink guarantees 99.9% uptime backed by a formal SLA. Requests are served from 240+ Cloudflare edge nodes worldwide, so latency and availability stay consistent regardless of where the caller is located.

The Urlbox alternativefor better cost per render