A Polotno Studio Alternative with Unlimited Loads and API

Polotno is a solid JavaScript SDK for building canvas editors. If you're a developer who wants to embed a design tool into your React app and has time to integrate, customize, and maintain it – Polotno does that job well. They've built a capable library that powers 200+ businesses.

But here's where it gets tricky. Polotno is fundamentally an SDK – a JavaScript library you need to integrate, host, and maintain yourself. At $199/month for the Team plan (or $399/month for Business), you're paying for the SDK license, not a complete solution. You still need to handle rendering infrastructure, storage, API endpoints, and ongoing maintenance.

I built Orshot because I needed something simpler. If you want to embed a design editor into your app, Orshot Studio Embed gives you a white-label Canva-like editor with a single line of code – no React setup, no infrastructure, no SDK integration. Plus you get a REST API included for programmatic generation when you need it.

Try Orshot Studio Embed

Here's a live demo of the Orshot Studio:

What's Different

If you're evaluating Polotno SDK to embed a design editor, here's how Orshot Studio Embed compares:

The Real Problems with Polotno

Based on conversations with developers who've evaluated or used Polotno:

1. It's an SDK, Not a Ready-to-Use Embed

Polotno gives you components to build a canvas editor – but that's where their job ends. You need to:

• Set up React (or adapt for Vue/Angular)
• Host the editor on your infrastructure
• Build rendering/export logic (or pay extra for their cloud rendering)
• Handle storage, exports, and asset management
• Maintain everything as your product scales

Orshot Studio Embed is the opposite approach. One line of code gives you a full white-label design editor in your app. Your users can create designs and download images and PDFs directly – no infrastructure to manage, no SDK maintenance. Need video generation? The REST API is included for that.

2. Editor Loads ≠ Image Renders

Polotno's pricing is based on "editor loads" – how many times users open the editor. At $199/month, you get 10,000 editor loads. But here's the catch: that doesn't include rendering.

If you want Polotno to render images for you (instead of building your own rendering pipeline), their cloud rendering costs $0.004/image and $0.03/minute for video – on top of the SDK license.

Orshot's pricing is simpler: you only pay for API renders. Downloads from Orshot Studio or Studio Embed are completely free and unlimited. Embed loads don't count against anything. $30/month gets you 3,000 API renders – that's for programmatic generation via REST API. If your users are designing and downloading directly from the editor, that costs you nothing.

3. React Dependency Creates Lock-in

Polotno is built on React with Blueprint.js UI components. If your stack is Vue, Angular, vanilla JS, or even a no-code platform, you'll need workarounds. Their docs mention Vue and Angular integrations, but you're swimming upstream.

Orshot Studio Embed is framework-agnostic. It's an iframe – works in React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, WordPress, Webflow, or any platform that supports HTML. One line of code:

<embed src="https://orshot.com/embeds/YOUR_EMBED_ID" />

Need programmatic generation too? The REST API works with any language – Python, Node, PHP, Go, whatever your backend runs.

4. No Built-in Multi-page Templates

Need Instagram carousels, LinkedIn slideshows, or multi-page PDFs? With Polotno, you're building that functionality yourself using their pages API.

Orshot has native multi-page template support. Design carousels in Studio, generate all slides with one API call. Same for multi-page PDFs and even multi-page videos with multiple video layers per page.

5. Building vs Buying Takes Real Time

Polotno's own case studies mention customers saving "4+ months" by using their SDK instead of building from scratch. But that still assumes weeks of integration work.

With Orshot, you can go from signup to generating images via API in under an hour. No SDK integration, no infrastructure setup, no component customization. Design a template, grab your API key, start rendering.

What You Get with Orshot

Beyond solving Polotno's integration overhead:

• One-line white-label embed - Studio Embed drops a full Canva-like design editor into your app with a single line of code. Your users design and download images and PDFs directly from the embed, completely free (no render charges, no download limits). Video generation is available via API.
• Deep customization without code - Configure everything from your dashboard:
• Branding - Custom accent colors, logo, title to match your app
• Template controls - Show/hide template list, allow delete/rename, enable carousels
• Download permissions - Control what formats users can export (PNG, PDF)
• Language - 4 languages with optional user language switching
• Domain security - Restrict embed to specific domains

Built-in webhooks - Get notified when users create or update templates. No infrastructure to build:

// Webhook payload on template.create or template.update
{
  "event": "template.update",
  "templateId": "abc123",
  "workspaceId": "workspace_456",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-13T10:30:00Z"
}

Browser events via postMessage - Listen to real-time events in your app for deeper integration:

window.addEventListener("message", (event) => {
  if (event.data.type === "orshot:template.save") {
    console.log("Template saved:", event.data.templateId);
    // Update your UI, trigger workflows, etc.
  }
  if (event.data.type === "orshot:template.download") {
    console.log("User downloaded:", event.data.format);
  }
});

REST API included - Need programmatic generation? Every template becomes an API endpoint. The API is included in all plans – not a separate add-on like Polotno's cloud rendering.

Powerful design editor - Orshot Studio includes features your users will love:

• Gradient text - Beautiful linear and radial gradients on any text layer
• Auto-scale text - Text automatically shrinks to fit container bounds
• Smart Stacking - Position elements relative to each other for dynamic layouts
• Video layers - Add video elements with trim, loop, and mute controls
• Dynamic layers - Mark any layer as dynamic for API/parameter overrides
• Multi-page templates - Create carousels, slideshows, multi-page PDFs
• Background removal - One-click AI background removal
• Import from Canva/Figma - Bring existing designs instantly

Multi-page templates - Create carousels, multi-page PDFs, and multi-page videos. See how it works.

Video generation - Export to MP4, WebM, or GIF. Control each video layer with .trimStart, .trimEnd, .muted, and .loop parameters via API. Learn more.

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

No-code integrations - Make, Zapier, n8n – connect to 1000+ apps without writing code. Plus MCP Server for AI apps and CLI for terminal workflows.

Cost Comparison: Real Numbers

Let's break down what you'd actually spend:

Scenario: 5,000 API renders/month + users designing in editor

At 10,000 API renders/month, Orshot is still $75. Polotno's cloud rendering alone would be $40, plus the $199 SDK license, plus your hosting costs. And remember – if you're using Orshot's Studio Embed to let users design and download their own images, those downloads are free. Only programmatic API generation counts.

When Polotno Makes Sense

I'll be honest – Polotno is a good choice if:

• You need deep customization of every editor component at the code level
• Your team has React expertise and time for SDK integration
• You want full control over the entire stack and UI
• You're building a complex design tool that needs SDK-level flexibility
• You have dedicated DevOps for hosting and rendering infrastructure

But if you want to embed a design editor without the SDK overhead, let users download designs for free, and have a REST API ready for programmatic generation – Orshot gets you there in minutes instead of weeks.

Utility Templates (The Handy Extras)

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 via API immediately – no template creation needed.

Getting Started with Orshot Embed

If you're evaluating alternatives to Polotno SDK, here's how to get a white-label editor running in your app:

Step 1: Configure Your Embed (5 min)

Signup for Orshot and go to your Workspace Settings → Embed. Configure:

1. Enable embed and add your allowed domains (including localhost:3000 for testing)
2. Customize branding - accent color, title, custom icon
3. Set permissions - template visibility, downloads, carousels
4. Add webhook URL (optional) - receive template.create and template.update events

Step 2: Add to Your App (2 min)

Basic embed:

<iframe
  src="https://orshot.com/embeds/YOUR_EMBED_ID"
  style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border-radius: 8px;"
  allow="clipboard-write; clipboard-read"
/>

Open with a specific template pre-loaded:

<iframe
  src="https://orshot.com/embeds/YOUR_EMBED_ID?templateId=YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID"
  style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border-radius: 8px;"
  allow="clipboard-write; clipboard-read"
/>

Set a specific language:

<iframe
  src="https://orshot.com/embeds/YOUR_EMBED_ID?lang=spanish"
  style="width: 100%; height: 600px; border-radius: 8px;"
  allow="clipboard-write; clipboard-read"
/>

Step 3: Listen to Events (Optional)

Capture user actions in your app:

window.addEventListener("message", (event) => {
  // Verify origin for security
  if (event.origin !== "https://orshot.com") return;

  const { type, templateId, data } = event.data;

  switch (type) {
    case "orshot:template.save":
      console.log("Template saved:", templateId);
      // Sync with your database
      break;
    case "orshot:template.download":
      console.log("Download completed:", data.format);
      // Track analytics
      break;
    case "orshot:template.create":
      console.log("New template created:", templateId);
      break;
  }
});

Step 4: Set Up Webhooks (Optional)

For server-side notifications, add a webhook URL in embed settings. Your endpoint receives:

// POST to your webhook URL
{
  "event": "template.update",
  "templateId": "tmpl_abc123",
  "workspaceId": "ws_456",
  "embedId": "emb_789",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-13T10:30:00Z"
}

That's it. Full design editor in your app with webhooks and events – no React setup, no component integration, no Blueprint.js CSS imports, no rendering infrastructure.

Embed Features at a Glance

Try It Free

If you've been evaluating Polotno SDK and want something ready-to-use, start here. You can always dig into SDK-level solutions later if you need that control – but most teams don't.