In recent years, marketing a brand online has become much more difficult than it used to be. Customers are constantly bombarded with eye-catching visual content from all sides, leading to heightened expectations for every product, app, or website they interact with.
In order to stand out, businesses need tools that can scale content creation while delivering high-quality visuals. Image APIs offer a comprehensive solution to this problem. But with so many options available, which one should you choose?
To help you find the best fit, we’ve compiled a list of the top image APIs that offer a user-friendly interface, advanced editing features, and easy integration. Keep reading to discover the best one for your business needs!
What is an image API?
An image API is a programming interface that provides your application with image processing tools. With an image API, you can integrate an image editor, AI-powered tools, and a stock content library directly into your app or website.
How to find a good image API
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Don’t settle for popular API options first
The most popular options tend to be the cheapest. However, they often come with unpleasant surprises, such as manual checks for copyright and licensing restrictions. To find a good image API for MarTech, you must prioritize quality over popularity.
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Define your image processing needs
Identify must-have and nice-to-have features to choose an API that meets your needs. These may include basic editing features, design templates, AI-powered tools, or the availability of a stock media library.
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Check API documentation
Forbes reports that 98% of developers believe that APIs help them and their teams get work done. Therefore, when choosing among many types of image APIs, pay attention to those that have a user-friendly interface and comprehensive documentation.
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Compare pricing and hidden costs
The cost of image APIs often depends on usage and features offered. Therefore, you should look beyond base pricing and consider additional charges for the features and requests you plan to use.
3 best image and video APIs for MarTech
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Creative Suite API by Depositphotos and VistaCreate
If you’re looking for a one-stop solution for your marketing needs, Creative Suite API is the best option. This API combines the functionality of two of the most powerful brands on the market—Depositphotos and VistaCreate.
Depositphotos is one of the largest stock content platforms online, with over 310 million photos, vectors, illustrations, videos, and music files. VistaCreate is an intuitive design editor with over 200,000 design templates in over 80 formats. Together, they offer a comprehensive visual toolkit to market any product, app, website, or blog.
Tools and features
To help you browse its vast visual arsenal, the Creative Suite API provides an image search feature and a set of advanced filters. It also offers a variety of AI-based tools, including an AI Image Generator, Background and Object Remover, and Image Upscaler.
You can also integrate a stock library, design editor, and other tools into your platform under white-label conditions. This allows your customers to create content within your branded environment.
Licensing
You don’t have to worry about image or video copyrights with the Creative Suite API. All the content provided through the API is licensed for commercial use. This means you can confidently use and distribute visuals for marketing purposes without any legal issues.
Prices
Depositphotos is 10 to 50% cheaper than its competitors, so you don’t have to stress over high API costs. Plus, if your business doesn’t need all the features the Creative Suite API provides, you can customize your subscription plan. This way, you will only pay for the features and tools that are relevant to your company.
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Unsplash API
Unsplash API is one of the most popular free APIs on the market. With over seven million visuals available for free, Unsplash offers the largest open collection of stock images on the web.
Despite all the rules you have to follow when using the Unsplash API, many well-known companies choose to integrate it into their platforms. These include Medium, Dropbox, Wix, Zoom, Mailchimp, and many others.
Tools and features
The Unsplash API offers a simple setup, unlimited API calls, and official libraries in JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby. It also provides mobile SDKs for Android and iOS. When it comes to stock images and photos, this API allows for real-time adjustments when it comes to image quality, crop, and dimensions.
Licensing
The main drawback of the Unsplash API is its licensing. The platform does not check the copyright and licensing of images uploaded by users. As a result, you have to check each photo for famous people, logos, and trademarks before using it in commercial projects.
In addition, each picture must be attributed in accordance with the Unsplash API guidelines. If you fail to follow these rules, you risk infringing someone’s copyright, which could lead to legal problems.
Prices
Unsplash API images are free to use. However, if you want to use images for commercial purposes, you must attribute each photo to the original photographer or platform.
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Vecteezy API
If your business requires more visuals in SVG and PNG formats, Vecteezy API might be what you need. This platform specializes in vector graphics and offers a wide range of visual resources for designers and businesses looking to supercharge their marketing projects.
The Vecteezy API contains over 50 million creative assets, including stock photos, videos, vectors, and motion graphics. Some are free. However, the entire image collection is only available with a paid subscription.
Tools and features
Vecteezy offers simple API integration with easy-to-read documentation and clear commands. On top of that, the API comes with AI-powered image search capabilities and bundle downloads.
Licensing
With a paid plan, visuals accessed through the Vecteezy API can be used for commercial purposes without attribution. However, if you use free assets, attribution is required. But note that some free images cannot be used for commercial purposes.
Prices
Vecteezy API pricing can be tailored to your business needs. It starts at 50$ per month and offers 500 downloads and 10,000 API calls. However, the company can customize a pricing plan for enterprise-level customers with higher usage needs.
Final thoughts
Having the right image API can help your business stand out among hundreds of similar companies operating online. With features like AI-powered editing, white labeling, and customizable templates, these tools make it easy to create and manage high-quality visuals. So choose wisely to make your brand shine.
