A Placid.app Alternative with AI features and better pricing

Placid has been around since 2019 and they've built a solid creative automation platform. They were one of the early players in the image generation API space, and that experience shows. Good integrations, decent editor, reliable service.

But if you're using Placid right now, you've probably noticed some friction. The credit-based pricing where images and videos cost different amounts. Features like the Editor SDK locked behind higher plans. Premium templates requiring extra credits. It adds up fast.

I built Orshot because I ran into these exact limitations. Same core idea as Placid (turn templates into API endpoints), but with an editor that feels more intuitive and pricing that doesn't require a spreadsheet to understand.

Try Orshot Free (100 free renders, no card needed)

What's Different

If you're already on Placid, here's what changes when you switch:

The Real Problems with Placid

Based on what I've seen from users switching over:

• Pricing feels obnoxious — Placid's credit system where images cost 1 credit, videos cost 5 credits, and premium templates cost extra on top gets confusing fast. At $19/month for 500 credits, you're doing math homework every month to figure out what you can actually generate. Orshot keeps it simple: $30/month for 3,000 renders, video charged by the second. (ref ↗)

• Editor SDK locked behind $89/month — Want to embed Placid's editor into your app? You need the Growth plan at $89/month minimum. Orshot's Studio Embed is available on all paid plans starting at $30/month - a full white-label Canva-like editor with custom branding and webhook events.

• No multi-page templates — Placid doesn't support carousel templates or multi-page designs. Instagram carousels, LinkedIn slideshows, multi-page PDFs - you generate each page separately and stitch them together yourself. Orshot has native multi-page template support including multi-page videos.

• Premium templates cost extra credits — Placid's nice templates are premium, meaning you pay additional credits on top of generation credits. You're paying twice - once for template access, again for each render. All Orshot templates are included, no premium tier.

• Video burns through credits 5x faster — At 5 credits per video, 500 credits becomes just 100 videos. Orshot charges video by the second (8 renders/sec), so a 10-second video costs 80 renders. More predictable for video-heavy workflows.

What You Get Extra with Orshot

Beyond solving Placid's pain points:

• Intuitive visual editor - Orshot Studio feels like designing in Figma or Canva. Drag-and-drop, Smart Stacking for relative positioning, keyboard shortcuts that just work. Your designers can use it directly.

• White-label embed - Studio Embed lets you drop a full design editor into your app. Custom branding, permission controls, webhook events. It's like giving your users their own Canva.

• Multi-page templates - Create carousels, multi-page PDFs, and even multi-page videos in a single template. Each page can have multiple video layers. Generate all pages with one API call. Placid can't do this. See how it works.

• Scale from solo to enterprise - Plans go from free (50 images) to 200k images/month ($349). No awkward jumps in pricing.

• More integrations - MCP Server for AI apps like Claude, CLI for terminal workflows, plus Make, Zapier, n8n. Full list here.

• Import from anywhere - Clone from Canva, import from Figma, or use AI to generate templates. Way faster than starting from scratch.

• Actual support - I respond to chat messages. Usually within an hour. Sometimes I'll hop on a call if something's complicated.

Utility Templates (The Handy Extras)

We've got pre-built API templates that solve common problems:

• Twitter Screenshot API - Clean tweet screenshots with customization
• Website Screenshot API - Full page captures, any viewport
• Dynamic Image Resizer API - Resize on the fly

These work great on their own or combined with your custom templates.

Switching from Placid

It's pretty straightforward. Here's how most people do it:

Step 1: Recreate Your Templates (15-30 min)

You have a few options:

Just rebuild it - Open your Placid template, rebuild it in Orshot Studio. The editor is intuitive, usually goes faster than you think.

Use AI - Screenshot your Placid output, drop it into the AI Template Generator. It'll recreate it, you fine-tune.

Import existing designs - If you have the original in Canva or Figma, import directly:

• Clone from Canva
• Import from Figma

You can create multi-page templates, share through public links or embeds like the one below with different view modes. You can also invite your team to collaborate on design + template integration.

Step 2: Update Your API Calls (10 min)

The APIs are similar in concept. Here's what changes:

Placid API Call:

const response = await fetch("https://api.placid.app/api/rest/images", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_PLACID_API_KEY",
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    template_uuid: "placid_template_id",
    layers: {
      title: {
        text: "Hello World",
      },
      image: {
        image: "https://example.com/photo.jpg",
      },
    },
  }),
});

Orshot API Call:

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",
      // Dynamic parameters - override any style property
      // Docs: https://orshot.com/docs/dynamic-parameters
      "title.fontFamily": "Space Mono",
      "image.borderRadius": "32px",
    },
    response: {
      type: "url", // url, base64, binary
      format: "png", // png, jpg, webp, pdf, mp4, webm, gif
    },
  }),
});

Main differences:

• Modifications are a flat object (cleaner)
• You specify response format explicitly
• Same Bearer token authentication pattern

Helpful docs:

• API Reference - Complete API documentation
• Render from Template - Main endpoint you'll use
• SDKs - Node, Python, Ruby, PHP libraries
• Setting Parameters - How to make templates dynamic

Step 3: Test It (5 min)

1. Make a few test calls
2. Compare the output
3. Tweak styling if needed in Studio
4. Deploy

You can run both Placid and Orshot in parallel if you want. Most people are comfortable switching fully within a day or two.

Need Help?

Just hit the chat button on bottom right. I or someone from the team will help you migrate templates, check your API calls, whatever you need. Usually takes about 2 hours total for a complete workflow.

Common Questions

Will my Zapier/Make integrations still work?
Yeah, Orshot works with all the same platforms, plus some extras like n8n and MCP Server. Just swap the action/module to Orshot.

Do I have to rebuild all my templates?
You'll recreate them, but the editor's easier so it usually goes faster. Or use the AI generator to speed it up.

How do credits compare?
Placid uses variable credit costs (1 for images, 5 for videos). Orshot is simpler - every render costs the same whether it's an image or video.

What about the unlimited previews on Placid?
Orshot has a template playground where you can preview without using renders. Same idea.

Is it actually reliable?
99.9% uptime. Response times are similar to Placid. We're actively maintained and the parallel processing is actually faster for bulk stuff.

What if I get stuck?
Hit the chat button. We'll help you out - usually respond within 30 minutes.

Pricing (The Real Comparison)

Here's what you're actually paying for images:

Note: Placid prices are for images only. Video costs 5x more on Placid. Orshot charges video per second (8 renders/sec), which is more predictable for video-heavy workflows.

What you get with Orshot:

• 50 free images to test (no watermarks, all features)
• Studio Embed on all paid plans (Placid locks this behind $89/month)
• Multi-page templates included
• Plans scale up to 200k images/month

Full pricing details here

The Editor

Orshot Studio is clean and intuitive. If you've used Placid's editor, you'll immediately notice the difference.

Key features:

• Smart Stacking - Position elements relative to each other. They auto-adjust when content changes
• Brand Assets - Save your logos, colors, and fonts. Use across all templates for consistency
• Custom Fonts - Upload any font. No limits on typography
• Personalization - Make any element dynamic - text, images, colors, styling
• Studio Embed - Integrate the editor into your own app with custom branding
• Multi-page Support - Create carousels and PDF templates with different pages

How It Works

Every template becomes an API endpoint. You can:

• Generate templates with AI or import from Canva/Figma
• Automate with REST API, SDKs, Zapier, Make, n8n, or Dynamic URLs
• Bulk generate with parallel processing
• Generate multi-page PDFs and carousels (Placid can't do this)

If there's an integration missing, just ask. We'll probably add it.

Examples and Tutorials

Video Generation

Adding videos in your templates and automating via Orshot's Video Generation API:

Carousel Templates

How to create multi-page templates and automate them:

Import from Canva

Clone your existing Canva designs and turn them into API endpoints:

Import from Figma

Use the Figma plugin to import your designs directly:

eCommerce Automation

Example workflow - automating product images from your data sources:

Dynamic URLs

Generate images just by changing URL parameters - no API calls needed:

Bottom Line

Placid works, but the credit system is confusing and you're missing features like multi-page templates unless you pay more. Orshot does the same core thing (turn templates into API endpoints) but with simpler pricing and no feature gating.

If you're also comparing Bannerbear or Abyssale, the same advantages apply - simpler pricing, no feature gating, and multi-page support that most competitors lack.

The switch takes a couple hours. You can test everything free with 100 renders.

Try It

1. Sign up - no card needed
2. Recreate one of your templates (or use AI to do it)
3. Test with your actual data
4. See if it works for you

If you get stuck, hit the chat button. I'll help you out.