How do you take a screenshot of a website using an API?
A website screenshot API renders a page in a cloud-hosted browser and returns a captured image as a hosted URL or binary, with no local Chromium install required. Screenshot APIs split into two categories: dedicated services that only capture images, and web scraping APIs that include screenshot alongside markdown and structured data in one request.
| Factor | Dedicated screenshot API | Web scraping API (with screenshot) | Local headless browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | API key only | API key only | Install Chromium, manage driver |
| Output | Screenshot URL or binary | Screenshot URL plus content formats | Buffer saved to disk |
| Content extraction | Screenshot only | Screenshot and markdown in one request | Separate parsing step |
| Infrastructure | Managed cloud | Managed cloud | Local machine |
| Best for | Bulk visual capture, page monitoring | Combined scraping and visual capture | Fine-grained browser control |
Use a dedicated screenshot API for high-volume visual capture with no content extraction. Use a scraping API with screenshot support when you need the image alongside extracted content, or after page interactions. Local headless browsers are the right choice when you need custom viewports or interaction control that managed APIs don't expose.
Firecrawl's Scrape API supports screenshot as an output format alongside markdown and structured data: pass it in formats and a single request returns both the rendered page content and a hosted screenshot URL. For a step-by-step Python example, see how to use Firecrawl for screenshots instead of Playwright.
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