Free Screenshot API for Developers in 2026: Capture Any Website Programmatically

Why You Need a Screenshot API

Whether you're building a link preview feature, generating thumbnails for a CMS, archiving web pages, or creating automated reports — a screenshot API saves you from the pain of running your own headless browser infrastructure.

The problem? Most screenshot APIs charge $29-99/month for basic usage, require complex SDKs, or have slow response times. We built something better.

Introducing Pandan Screenshot API

A fast, reliable, and developer-friendly screenshot API with a generous free tier. No SDK required — just a simple GET request.

curl "https://api.pandan.is/v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com"

That's it. You get back a PNG image of the webpage. Under 3 seconds, every time.

Features

Multiple formats: PNG, JPEG, WebP
PDF generation: Convert any webpage to PDF
Custom viewport: Set width, height, and device scale
Full page capture: Capture entire scrollable pages
Wait options: Wait for network idle or custom delay
Quality control: Adjust JPEG/WebP quality (1-100)

API Reference

Screenshot Endpoint

GET https://api.pandan.is/v1/screenshot

Parameters:
  url      (required) - URL to capture
  width    (optional) - Viewport width (default: 1280)
  height   (optional) - Viewport height (default: 800)
  format   (optional) - png, jpeg, webp (default: png)
  quality  (optional) - Image quality 1-100 (default: 80)
  fullPage (optional) - Capture full page (default: false)
  delay    (optional) - Wait ms before capture (default: 0)

PDF Endpoint

GET https://api.pandan.is/v1/pdf

Parameters:
  url      (required) - URL to convert
  format   (optional) - A4, Letter, Legal (default: A4)
  landscape (optional) - Landscape orientation (default: false)

Code Examples

JavaScript / Node.js

const response = await fetch(
  'https://api.pandan.is/v1/screenshot?url=https://github.com&width=1920'
);
const blob = await response.blob();
// Save or display the screenshot

Python

import requests

response = requests.get(
    'https://api.pandan.is/v1/screenshot',
    params={'url': 'https://github.com', 'format': 'jpeg', 'quality': 90}
)
with open('screenshot.jpg', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)

cURL

# Screenshot as PNG
curl "https://api.pandan.is/v1/screenshot?url=https://news.ycombinator.com" -o screenshot.png

# Full page PDF
curl "https://api.pandan.is/v1/pdf?url=https://example.com" -o page.pdf

Pricing

Plan	Price	Screenshots/mo
Free	$0	100
Starter	$9/mo	1,000
Pro	$29/mo	10,000
Enterprise	$49/mo	50,000

Why Pandan?

No credit card required for the free tier
No SDK to install — works with any HTTP client
Fast responses — powered by Chromium, under 3 seconds
Simple pricing — no per-screenshot fees, just monthly plans
European hosting — low latency for EU users

Ready to get started? Head to api.pandan.is and start capturing screenshots for free.