# img.ly Alternative for a Hosted Embeddable Editor

> An img.ly alternative for teams who want a hosted, embeddable design and video editor. From $39/mo, white-labeled with webhooks, events and fine controls

- **Author**: Rishi Mohan
- **Published**: 2026-06-16
- **Tags**: Alternative, Image Editor SDK, Embed
- **Read time**: 6 min read
- **URL**: https://orshot.com/blog/imgly-sdk-alternative

---

If you're looking for an img.ly alternative, you want one thing: a real design editor inside your own product.

Their CreativeEditor SDK does that, and does it well — full-featured, runs in the browser or natively on mobile, and you control almost everything. No complaints there.

The bill comes due around the editor. img.ly's SDK is _just_ the editor — the rest is yours to build and run:

- Host the rendering engine yourself
- Build the backend it needs — template storage, per-user data, uploads, auth
- Ship a heavy editor bundle to every user
- Get the commercial price on a sales call

I built [Orshot Embed](https://orshot.com/features/orshot-embed) for teams who want the editor without running all of that. Same editor we use in Orshot, hosted by us, dropped into your app with an iframe or a React/Vue component. Your users, your branding, your domain — our storage, accounts, and rendering.

[**Try Orshot Embed free**](https://orshot.com/pricing "target=_blank")

![The Orshot Studio editor — this is what loads inside your app via Orshot Embed](https://orshot.com/blog/imgly-alternative/01-studio-editor.webp)

## What actually changes

Same job — your users editing designs in your app. The difference is who runs the editor:

|                                | Orshot Embed                    | img.ly SDK                     |
| ------------------------------ | ------------------------------- | ------------------------------ |
| Runs                           | On Orshot, embedded in your app | In your app, on your own infra |
| Backend (storage, auth, users) | Included                        | You build it                   |
| Offline / native mobile        | No                              | Yes                            |
| Price                          | Listed, from \$39/mo            | Quote from sales               |

## Where img.ly is still the better pick

I'll be straight about it — stay on img.ly if you need:

- **Offline editing** — it runs client-side, no network required
- **Native mobile** — a real iOS / Android / Flutter editor
- **Engine-level control** — forking the renderer, custom UI internals

Orshot won't match it there. If that's your list, this is the wrong tool and I'd rather you know now.

## What you get with Orshot Embed

If it's not your list, here's what's actually included:

- **White-label it** — custom embed title, icon, and accent color, with Orshot branding removed on higher tiers
- **Webhooks and events** — your backend gets pinged on `template.create`, `template.update`, and `template.delete`, and `postMessage` events fire on save and export so your UI can react
- **The same [render API](https://orshot.com/solutions/image-generation-api) underneath** — PNG, JPG, WebP, AVIF, PDF, and MP4/WebM/GIF from one template, any size via [Smart Resize](https://orshot.com/features/smart-resize)
- **A [brand library](https://orshot.com/features/brand-assets-library) and [1,000+ templates](https://orshot.com/templates)** so nobody starts on a blank canvas
- **Me on the other end of the chat**, usually within the hour

Basic embed is on the paid plans; white-label, webhooks, per-user data, and custom buttons turn on as you move up the [tiers](https://orshot.com/pricing).

## Try the editor right here

This is the editor your users would get — embedded exactly like it'd sit in your app. Click around:

<iframe
  title="Orshot Embed demo"
  src="https://orshot.com/templates/shared/muzkxu0y/embed?view=view"
  style=}
/>

Like how that feels? [**Build your own →**](https://orshot.com/pricing "target=_blank") — free to start.

## Dropping it into your app

Setup lives in your Orshot workspace:

- Switch the embed on and add your allowed domains
- Drop in your branding — title, icon, accent color
- Pass a `userId` for each person so their templates stay separate

![Orshot Embed settings — enable it, lock it to your domains, brand it, and isolate users](https://orshot.com/blog/imgly-alternative/02-embed-builder.webp)

Then mount it however suits your stack:

- **Iframe** — `<iframe src="https://orshot.com/embeds/EMBED_ID">`, with an optional `userId` and signed token
- **React or Vue** — drop in `@orshot/embed-react` or `@orshot/embed-vue`, mount it as a component, and listen for save and export events

Full steps are in the [Embed docs](https://orshot.com/features/orshot-embed) and this [walkthrough](https://orshot.com/blog/orshot-studio-embed).

Need an image without anyone opening the editor? The same template is one POST away:```javascript
const response = await fetch("https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_ORSHOT_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: "orshot_template_id",
    modifications: {
      title: "Hello World",
      image: "https://example.com/photo.jpg",
    },
    response: { type: "url", format: "png" },
  }),
});
```## Common questions

**Q: Is Orshot Embed self-hosted like img.ly's SDK?**

No — that's the main difference. Orshot hosts the editor and you load it via an iframe or the React/Vue SDK. img.ly runs client-side on your own infrastructure. If a fully self-hosted editor is a hard requirement, img.ly is the better fit. More on the [Embed page](https://orshot.com/features/orshot-embed).

**Q: Can I white-label it and lock it to my domain?**

Yes. You set a custom title, icon, and accent color, restrict it to an allowed-domains list, and remove Orshot branding on higher tiers. To keep each user's work separate you pass a userId — they get their own templates and assets. (The JWT option is a domain-validation fallback, not a user login.)

**Q: Does it work on native mobile?**

It runs in mobile browsers and web views, but there's no native iOS, Android, or Flutter editor. If you need an on-device editor, that's where img.ly's SDK is stronger.

**Q: Where do my users' templates live?**

On Orshot. Pass a userId and each person gets isolated templates and assets, while your workspace templates stay shared — so the backend you'd normally build around img.ly's SDK is already running. See [workspaces](https://orshot.com/features/team-collaboration).

**Q: What does it cost?**

Pricing is public and starts at $39/mo. Embed features are on the paid plans, but you can build templates and test the render API free — 30 credits, no card. See [pricing](https://orshot.com/pricing).

## Bottom line

img.ly's SDK wins if you need a self-hosted, client-side editor you own down to the engine — offline, native, all of it. No argument from me.

If you just want your users editing on-brand templates inside your product, without building the platform behind it, that's the gap Orshot fills.

Comparing other embeddable editors? It's the same hosted-vs-SDK question with [Polotno](https://orshot.com/blog/polotno-studio-alternative) and [Templated](https://orshot.com/blog/templated-io-alternative) — I went deeper [here](https://orshot.com/blog/image-editor-sdk). Try Embed free. Get stuck wiring it up? Hit the chat. I'll help you out.