Bannerbear

  • Bannerbear — Template-Based Image/Video/PDF Generation API with AI Layers (BG Removal/Face Detect/AI BG Gen), Workflows, Webhooks, 50+ No-Code Integrations & Official MCP Server (Bootstrap Bali-2018/2020, Active)

    Previewmojo launched Nov 2019 → pivoted/rebranded Bannerbear Jan 15 2020; founded by Jon Yongfook Cockle (Singapore/Bali digital nomad); bootstrapped, zero VC, ~$1M ARR Sep 2025, 7 employees. Independent, active, not acquired.

    Website

    Field Value
    Official Website https://www.bannerbear.com · app: https://app.bannerbear.com/v5 · API docs: https://developers.bannerbear.com · MCP: https://mcp.bannerbear.com
    Company Bannerbear (sole proprietor / single-member bootstrap, Jon Yongfook Cockle). Origin: Previewmojo (OG-image generator) Nov 2019 → rebranded Bannerbear Jan 2020; REST API + template editor Mar 2020. Legal/base Bali, Indonesia; founder Singapore/Bali. Unfunded, no acquisition, no shutdown.​ ~$1M ARR Sep 2025, 7 staff Jun 2026.
    Status Active, independent, not acquired-kept​ (never sold, bootstrapped solo), not shut down
    Category ai-productivity-data
    Pipeline Stage none

    Title

    Field Value
    Product Bannerbear
    Descriptive Title Bannerbear — Template-Based Image/Video/PDF Generation API with AI Layers (BG Removal/Face Detect/AI BG Gen), Workflows, Webhooks, 50+ No-Code Integrations & Official MCP Server (Bootstrap Bali-2018/2020, Active)
    One-line Positioning Designer builds one template in the editor (or imports Figma/Sketch/PSD) → developer/agent pushes data via REST API / Zapier / Airtable / MCP → Bannerbear renders 1 to 1,000,000 branded images/videos/PDFs at scale with async webhook callback; credit-metered, AWS Serverless backend, no per-seat tax.

    Features

    Field Value
    Template Engine Visual template editor (layers: text/image/shape/qr/audio/subtitle), smart auto-resize text, conditional layer visibility, custom fonts (TTF/OTF), design tokens, Figma/Sketch/Photoshop import via plugins, unlimited templates on all paid plans
    Image API Render JPG/PNG/GIF from template + modifications JSON; multi-format × scale multiplier affects credit cost; collections API (batch single request → many renders); signed/instant URLs; CDN delivery
    Video API Template-driven video (title cards, overlays, subtitles burn-in w/ transcription, intro/outro, bg music, TTS voiceover, resize/crop/join); 24/30fps same cost, 60fps doubles; 2 credits/sec rounded up
    PDF API Single + multi-page PDF from templates (certificates, invoices, badges)
    AI Layers Per-layer AI: background removal, face/subject detection, AI background generation — each AI layer on a render costs +1 credit; not a prompt-diffusion model, composition tool with selective AI ops
    Automation Workflows (multi-step chains, unlimited on Scale+), Forms (no-code web form → render), webhooks (render success/fail callback), batches API, async queue (60 POST / 10s window)
    No-Code Integrations 50+ native: Zapier, Make, Airtable, Notion, WordPress, Ghost, Typeform, Forms, Simple/Instant/Signed URLs
    Dev Surface REST API v5 (Bearer key, scoped keys, CORS origins), official libs Ruby/Node/PHP/Python, OpenAPI spec, MCP server (hosted OAuth profiles: default 17 tools / workflows 6 / all 56; local npx @bannerbear/mcp with API key)​ for Claude/Cursor/ChatGPT agents
    Admin 2FA (Scale+), SSO + audit logs + zero-data-retention (Enterprise), team roles (Scale+), BYO S3 (Enterprise)

    Pricing (2026-09 USD, credit-metered, monthly; annual ~20% off)

    Field Value
    Free Trial 30 API credits, no CC — not permanent free tier (older 25-image trial retired)
    Automate $49/mo​ — 1,000 credits/mo, REST API, MCP, 50+ app integrations, Forms, 3 Workflows, 10 GB bandwidth, email support. 1 image@scale1=1 cr; AI layer +1 cr; video 2 cr/sec
    Scale $149/mo​ — 10,000 credits/mo (page shows 10k–40k promo tiers), unlimited Workflows, Instant URLs, Custom S3, Team Members, 2FA, 50 GB bandwidth, priority support
    Enterprise $299/mo​ — 50,000 credits/mo (promo 50k–2M), everything in Scale + SSO, Audit Logs, Zero Data Retention, Priority Support, BYO storage, larger custom contracts available
    Credit Rules 1 image = 1 cr × formats × scale; animation 2 cr/sec rounded; tools 1–4 cr (subtitle burn 4 cr); workflow = sum of steps; cancelled pre-render refunds unstarted portion
    Type credit-metered-not-seat; starting_paid=$49; free_trial_only_30_credits_no_cc; AI layers surcharge +1 cr each

    Reviews

    Field Value
    G2 Not a material G2 surface for Bannerbear​ — 0–2 reviews, no genuine profile; exclude from avg (do not invent 4.x)
    Capterra 0/5 (0) — no standalone Capterra profile; exclude
    Trustpilot Not material (developer-tool buyer base not on TP for this) — exclude
    Product Hunt #1 Product of the Day (Jan 2020 relaunch), launch-era sentiment ~4.x but not reweighted
    Editorial / Founder-led TechVernia 2026 review (pros/cons balanced), MarketingAdvice 2025, AIQuiks 75/100 “Strong Contender”, Dir2AI qualitative — feature confirm only, no aggregate star
    Aggregate No legitimate multi-source star exists; report “no rated B2B profile (G2/Capterra/TP all empty)”​ rather than Seek4 blend
    Praise Purpose-built for programmatic image gen at scale, clean REST + scoped keys + MCP ahead of most design tools, async webhook rendering reliable, Zapier/Airtable/Make native, founder answers support personally, credit model predictable if budgeted, AI layers optional not forced
    Gripes Credits burn fast on video/AI-layer/60fps (real bill 2–3× sticker), template editor lacks Bezier/path drawing (not a real design tool), async latency unsuited for real-time UI rendering, 30-credit trial tight, no native diffusion/text-to-image, Enterprise SSO only at $299, no per-seat collaboration depth

    Review Sources Breakdown

    Field Value
    G2.com 0–2 reviews, no profile — excluded, not weighted
    Capterra.com 0/5 0 — excluded
    Trustpilot Not a Bannerbear B2B surface — excluded
    Product Hunt Jan 2020 #1 PotD, launch-era ~4.x — not reweighted
    TechVernia (May 2026) Editorial pros/cons — positioning only
    MarketingAdvice (Aug 2025) / AIQuiks / Dir2AI Editorial 75/100 band — convenience not independent star
    Vendor (bannerbear.com) Pricing/credit/company facts only
    Conclusion​ No valid aggregated star; card prints “no-rated-b2b-profile” instead of fabricating 4.5

    Access

    Field Value
    Web App https://app.bannerbear.com/v5 — template editor, workflows, forms, logs; no desktop app
    API REST API v5​ (Bearer, scoped keys images:write etc., CORS origin lock, 60 POST/10s), webhooks, batches, collections, official SDKs Ruby/Node/PHP/Python, OpenAPI, CLI-less
    MCP Hosted OAuth: https://mcp.bannerbear.com (17 tools default) / /workflows (6) / /all (56); Local: npx @bannerbear/mcp + API key, Claude/Cursor/ChatGPT compatible
    Integrations Zapier, Make, Airtable, Notion, WordPress, Ghost, Typeform, Forms, Simple/Instant/Signed URLs, n8n/Pipedream via REST
    Login Email/Google; workspace model; 2FA Scale+, SSO Enterprise
    Self-host None (AWS Serverless cloud only, no on-prem)

    Best For

    Field Value
    Audience 1 SaaS/indie devs auto-generating OG images / blog social cards / docs thumbnails on publish (CMS → Bannerbear → CDN)
    Audience 2 E-com operators bulk-rendering product cards / price-drop banners / localized sale creatives from Shopify feed or CSV via Zapier
    Audience 3 Course/platform teams batching personalized certificates / badges / QR-verified PDFs from Airtable rows
    Audience 4 Agentic builders wiring Claude/Cursor MCP to generate marketing visuals inside coding agents
    Audience 5 Agencies producing campaign variations (100s of localized sizes) from one template

    Not For

    Field Value
    Exclude 1 Interactive WYSIWYG one-off design work (→ Canva/Figma, Bannerbear is compose-not-draw)
    Exclude 2 Prompt-based text-to-image / diffusion generation (→ Midjourney/DALL·E/Ideogram; Bannerbear AI layers are compositing aids only)
    Exclude 3 Real-time in-UI image rendering (async queue + webhook latency kills it; → client-side canvas/Cloudinary)
    Exclude 4 Teams refusing credit-metering mental overhead (→ Placid/API2SVG fixed-quota or Canva bulk)
    Exclude 5 High-volume video houses (2 cr/sec + 60fps double + subtitle 4 cr = bill explodes; → Creatomate/Pipedream+FFmpeg)

    Competitors

    Field Value
    Placid Closer template-API rival, simpler OG focus, fixed plans, weaker video/MCP
    Creatomate Video-first template API, stronger motion, weaker PDF/forms/no-code breadth
    Cloudinary Media transform giant, not template-design-first, no MCP, heavier enterprise
    APITemplate.io HTML→image/PDF API, no visual template editor, cheaper for receipts
    Canva/Adobe Express API Brand design giants with API, but not credit-metered dev-first compose engine
    Pixlr API / Ogimage Niche OG-only, no workflow/video/PDF trio

     

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