Question 1

How do I authenticate?

Accepted Answer

No API keys, no auth headers. Each workspace gets a unique namespace baked into the URL — drop it into an <img src> or a fetch() and you’re authenticated. Browser-side traffic is gated by a per-workspace CORS allowlist; server-to-server calls with no Origin header pass through unconditionally.

Question 2

Where are my originals stored?

Accepted Answer

Nowhere on our side. You configure a named source once — an HTTP URL prefix, your Cloudflare R2 bucket, or your S3 bucket — and we fetch live, transform at the edge, and discard the original. Only the transformed output is cached. Switch storage providers later without touching a URL.

Question 3

Which formats do you serve back?

Accepted Answer

AVIF, WebP, JPEG, PNG. By default we negotiate via the Accept header — AVIF → WebP → original — so the same URL serves the best format for each browser. Pin it with format=jpeg, or use format=nocompress to mirror the source content-type (WebP / AVIF sources fall through to PNG so the bytes are truly uncompressed). Input side: anything the edge can decode.

Question 4

Where do you run and what are the cache TTLs?

Accepted Answer

Every Cloudflare POP — currently 300+ locations. /info and its variants share a 24-hour edge cache; /transform, /grid and /placeholder are cached for one year, immutable. Every response carries x-img-apis-cache: HIT|MISS so you can verify which side of the line you’re on.

Question 5

What does a single operation cost?

Accepted Answer

/info (and its shortcuts) is 0.5 credits. /placeholder/blurhash and /placeholder/color are 0.5 credits. /transform is 1 credit; add ?bg-remove=true and it’s 5 credits — disclosed upfront, not buried as an AI add-on. /grid is 2 credits per source image — a 4-image grid costs 8. Pro at 70,000 credits buys 140,000 /info calls or 70,000 transforms. Cache hits, errors, and repeat URLs draw zero credits. The more often your app serves the same image, the cheaper we get.

Question 6

What happens when I run out of credits?

Accepted Answer

The next call returns 402 — no transformed bytes, no charge. The cycle keeps running. Top up by upgrading or buying credits, or wait for renewal. There is no overage line, no surprise invoice. Zero is a hard floor.

Question 7

Are you cheaper than imgix or ImageKit?

Accepted Answer

Depends what cheaper means. Most vendors bill four meters at once — transforms, bandwidth, storage, and a premium multiplier for AI. We bill the endpoint call: bandwidth is bundled, cache hits and repeat URLs don’t draw, and bg-remove sits on the menu at a disclosed credit cost instead of a hidden AI premium. The rule we live by: the more often your app serves the same image, the cheaper we get versus per-byte vendors. Inside our bundle you also get the things nobody else ships at all — BlurHash encode AND decode, palette with WCAG-paired contrast, full metadata in a single /info call, /grid composition for 2–5 sources, and an account-level default mark that auto-applies on Pro+. Pure per-transform shootout at very high volume, no AI, no BlurHash, no auto-mark? imgix or ImageKit is the right pick. Real production traffic that reuses the same images? That’s our game.

Question 8

Do you include CDN bandwidth?

Accepted Answer

Yes — bandwidth is in the plan. No separate GB meter, no per-byte overage. Your namespace serves from Cloudflare’s 300+ POPs, and only the first unique transform of the month draws against your quota — cache hits, repeat URLs and errors cost zero credits. ImageKit and Cloudinary bill every delivered byte, cache hit included; we don’t.

Question 9

Can I use my own domain on the cheapest plan?

Accepted Answer

Yes — custom domains are included on every paid plan, Hobby included. Add the hostname in the dashboard, point a CNAME at customers.imgapis.com, and we provision the SSL certificate automatically. Your image URLs read like images.acme.com/... with nothing in them advertising us.

Question 10

Do you support CORS?

Accepted Answer

Yes — per-workspace allowlist with wildcards. * for any origin, example.com for a host, *.example.com for any subdomain, https://app.example.com for an exact scheme+host match. Off-list browser requests get a real 403 (not opaque), so you can debug. Server-to-server calls with no Origin header bypass the gate.

Question 11

Will this work with my framework?

Accepted Answer

Yes — img apis is just URLs. Drop them into <img src>, Next.js Image, Astro Image, Nuxt Image, a CMS image field, or any fetch() call from any backend. No SDK to install, no provider plugin to maintain, no SSR/CSR edge case to handle differently. If your stack can load a URL, it works.

Question 12

What's the trial like? Do I need a card?

Accepted Answer

200 credits, 7 days, no credit card. Sign up by email — we send an OTP, you are in. The trial covers every endpoint (/info, /transform, /grid, /placeholder) and includes the full dashboard. When the trial ends, you pick a plan or the namespace pauses; nothing auto-charges.

Question 13

Cancel and refund policy?

Accepted Answer

Cancel any time in the dashboard — the current cycle (1 or 3 months) just stops renewing at period end. Credits granted for the current cycle remain usable until period end and do not roll over. For an early refund on a 3-month commitment, email hello@imgapis.com and we’ll prorate.

Question 14

Do you have an SDK?

Accepted Answer

No, by design. Every endpoint is a URL — use fetch, curl, requests, or any HTTP client in any language. No package version to pin, no client to update, no breaking change from an npm install. The dashboard generates copy-pasteable URLs with your namespace pre-filled.

// feature	oursimg apis	Cloudinary	imgix	Bunny	ImageKit
Mid-tier billing model	flat plan, bandwidth bundled	credit pool	credit pool	flat add-on per pull zone	bandwidth + storage bundle
Transforms at mid-tier	flat credit allowance	credits shared with bandwidth + storage	credits shared with bandwidth + storage	unlimited optimization, bandwidth on top	bandwidth-coupled
Palette + BlurHash + metadata in one /info call
Color pairs with WCAG contrast
Smart gravity (face + entropy)
Background removal
BlurHash decode endpoint (renders to PNG/JPEG)
1-year immutable transform cache
Edge POPs serving you	300+	60+	100+	100+	200+
Free trial	200 cr / 7d	25 cr / mo	30d capped	14d capped	free tier
Bill is one line (no shared pool with bandwidth & storage)
Same URL never billed twice
Custom domain on cheapest plan

One image API. Metadata, palette, BlurHash, and transforms.

If your stack can load a URL, it works.

Plug in storage. Keep your URLs.

HTTP

Cloudflare R2

AWS S3

External URLs work too — through your allowlist.

Your hostname. Your callers.

Serve images from your domain.

Decide which sites can call your URLs.

One API surface. Nine moves.

Real colors, ranked.

Color pairs, ready to ship.

Resize and recompress.

Remove backgrounds at the edge.

Placeholders shaped like the image.

2–5 sources. One image out.

Marks the URL can’t strip.

Color placeholders, edge-rendered.

Lighter bytes, same pixels.

Every workspace, one live console.

Try it. Without an account.

One meter. One bill.

Pick the bundle. Not the brand.

Questions you'd ask before signing up.

200 free credits.No card. No catch.