QuickChart — Full Profile (English, 2026-09)

Headquartered in San Mateo, California, QuickChart operates under Alioth LLC and was founded in 2015 by Ian Webster, a former engineer at Google and DuckDuckGo. It is a bootstrapped‑independent private single‑member LLC with no venture‑capital financing, no acquisition event, no public listing, and no private‑equity ownership; it is neither a platform primitive nor a nonprofit entity. While QuickChart falls into the same bootstrap bucket as Todoist, it is structured as a commercial limited‑liability company rather than solo freeware. QuickChart does not provide a first‑party MCP server. Its public surface consists solely of REST endpoints for chart and QR‑code generation (/chart, /qr). Agent‑based access follows the common community pattern using generic HTTP MCP bridges wrapping those REST APIs. This places QuickChart inside the no‑first‑party‑MCP cluster together with Motion, Todoist, Qualtrics, Documenso and Semantic Scholar, and distinguishes it from the first‑party‑MCP cohort comprising Klaviyo, n8n, Databox, Typeform and Gmail.

Website

Field	Value
Official Website	https://quickchart.io · pricing: https://quickchart.io/pricing · docs: https://quickchart.io/documentation · GitHub: github.com/typpo/quickchart (1,784 stars / 243 forks / AGPL-3.0, created 2019-03, last push 2024-09) · live editor: quickchart.io/chart
Company	QuickChart (Alioth LLC), San Mateo CA; founded 2015 Ian Webster; bootstrap-independent private (self-funded LLC, no VC/angel disclosed, 4B+ images rendered cumulative, used by Fortune Global 500/universities/hospitals); dual-license GNU AGPLv3 + commercial (AGPL escape via paid license for on-prem modify-distribute); Cloud hosted multi-provider + Docker self-host; no SOC 2 published (dev-infra not enterprise-BAA)
Status	Active, Chart.js v2/v3/v4 via `version` param, QR + chart + wordcloud + GraphViz, no MCP server
Category	ai-productivity-data
Pipeline Stage	none

Title

Field	Value
Product	QuickChart
Descriptive Title	QuickChart — URL-Parameter Chart Image + QR Code Rendering API (Server-Side Chart.js): GET `quickchart.io/chart?c={Chart.js JSON}&w=&h=&format=png
One-line Positioning	Dev URL-encodes a Chart.js config → QuickChart renders PNG/SVG/PDF server-side → embed in email/SMS/Sheets/report/n8n payload without shipping Chart.js to client → agents call it only via generic HTTP MCP bridge (no vendor mcp.quickchart.io); billing is image-count + rate-limit metered, not per-seat (reverse Motion) not per-interaction (reverse Qualtrics) not AI-credit (reverse Databox) not response-cap (reverse Typeform); ownership bootstrap-LLC (same macro-bucket as Todoist, commercial not solo).

Features

Field	Value
Render Core	GET/POST `/chart` accepts Chart.js v2/v3/v4 JSON, params width(500)/height(300)/devicePixelRatio(2 retina)/backgroundColor/version/format(png
QR Codes	`/qr?text=&size=&format=&margin=&ecLevel=&dark=&light=` — png/svg, error-correction L/M/Q/H, brand-color QR, no watermark
Extras	Wordcloud endpoint, GraphViz endpoint (Microsoft connector), chart URL shortener (paid), custom chart plugins (paid), Chart Maker no-code template builder, retina support
Plugins Bundled	chartjs-plugin-datalabels, -annotation, -piechart-outlabels, chartjs-chart-radial-gauge, -box-and-violin-plot, -doughnutlabel, -colorschemes (note: some custom plugins disabled on Chart.js ≥3.0)
MCP	None first-party — no `mcp.quickchart.io`, no Claude/Cursor native mount; community pattern = MCP HTTP/SSE bridge → QuickChart REST (same shape as Documenso/Semantic Scholar none-cluster)
API / Clients	REST GET+POST, no GraphQL, CORS enabled, official libs quickchart-js / quickchart-python, community Node/Py/Go/Ruby/Java/C#/PHP; Docker self-host (`ianw/quickchart` or build own), `/healthcheck` + `/healthcheck/chart`
Security (self-host)	Chart.js config executes JS in canvas sandbox → must sandbox (Cairo/Pango/libjpeg) or untrusted users can run arbitrary JS; hosted service sandboxes for you

Pricing (2026-09, image-count + rate-limit, free tier permanent, no per-seat)

Field	Value
Community (Free)	$0 — 1,000 images/month, 60/min (1/sec) rate limit, charts+QR, no watermark, no auth, shared servers, best-effort email support, AGPL-commercial-use-ok (images public domain)
Professional	$40/mo — 100,000 images/month, 50,000 short URLs/month, no rate limit, low-latency dedicated cluster, custom chart plugins, chart URL shortener, priority support, custom fonts/backgrounds
Enterprise	Custom — unlimited images/short URLs, no rate limit, worldwide CDN high-perf cluster, custom domain, on-prem option, dedicated account manager, SLA, custom Chart.js version pinning
Self-Hosted	$0 AGPL-3.0 (Docker) + your VPS; commercial license (paid, contact) needed to modify-distribute closed-source/on-prem resell
Type	image-count-metered + rate-limit; starting_paid=$40 Pro; reverse Motion per-seat, reverse Qualtrics per-interaction, reverse Nanonets block-run, reverse Databox AI-credit, reverse Gmail 80M-unit, reverse Typeform response-cap, reverse Documenso no-per-envelope
Note	Free 1,000/mo + 60/min is fine for email digests/static reports, dies on agentic bulk (60/min = 3,600/hr ceiling); $40 Pro removes rate limit not image quality

Reviews

Field	Value
G2	No standalone “QuickChart” G2 profile (developer infra, not bought-SaaS G2 pattern) → print `no-rated-b2b-profile-standalone-2026` (same rule as MonkeyLearn-standalone / FB-Ads-API / Gmail-API / Documenso / Semantic Scholar)
Capterra	None — no standalone Capterra page
Trustpilot	No B2C page (B2B/dev infra) → `no-rated-consumer-profile` excluded (aligns FFmpeg/MonkeyLearn/Qualtrics/Feedly/n8n/Databox/Documenso/Gmail/Semantic Scholar)
GitHub / Dev sentiment	1,784 stars / 243 forks, Saashub 4.2/5 directional, StackShare/Reddit/PH praise “URL→image is magic for email”, gripes 60/min free throttle, static-only no interactivity, Chart.js ≥3 plugin gaps, self-host sandbox burden, no first-party MCP
Editorial	FreeTier.co FTV 49/100 (~$2/mo equiv free), SaaSHub/TopBusinessSoftware 2026 blurbs, ToolRadar-style 4.3 norm; consensus “best URL-chart API, not a dashboard tool”
Praise	Chart.js config reuse (no new DSL), PNG/SVG/PDF/QR one endpoint, email/SMS/chat embed where JS can’t run, free 1K/mo no watermark, AGPL self-host, 4B+ rendered proof, Power Automate/Zapier/Make connectors
Gripes	Static images only (no hover/tooltip/drill), 60/min free wall, no first-party MCP (agent builders hand-roll HTTP), Chart.js v3+ plugin regressions, self-host = Cairo/Pango + JS-sandbox ops work, no SLA on free, pricing page once said 500/mo some docs say 1,000/mo (1,000 is current FAQ)

Review Sources Breakdown

Field	Value
G2.com	`no-rated-b2b-profile-standalone-2026` — dev infra not G2-rated bought SaaS
Capterra	none → `no-standalone-capterra-profile`
Trustpilot	none → `no-rated-consumer-profile` excluded
GitHub 1.7K stars / Saashub 4.2 / PH/dev blogs	directional dev-sentiment only, not star
FreeTier FTV 49 / ToolRadar 4.3 norm	value-band estimate
Conclusion	Prints “no G2/Capterra/TP standalone star, GitHub 1.7K + Saashub 4.2 dev-sentiment, free-forever 1K/mo” — aligns MonkeyLearn-standalone/FB-Ads-API/Gmail-API/Documenso/Semantic Scholar rule; do NOT fabricate 4.x

Access

Field	Value
Web App	quickchart.io/chart live editor, Chart Maker no-code; no dashboard app
API	`GET [](@replace=10002)<urlencoded JSON>&width=&height=&format=` + `POST /chart/create` (returns URL) + `GET /qr?text=`; Bearer optional (paid features), CORS on; 60/min free, unauth shared pool
MCP	None first-party — community MCP HTTP/SSE → REST bridge only (Claude/Cursor), not vendor-supported
Integrations	Zapier/Make/Airtable/Bubble/AppSheet/Thunkable/Power Automate (Microsoft connector ip)/n8n HTTP node/Sheets Apps Script/Python/Node; no 130-connector eco like Databox
Login	None for free API; email for Pro/short-URL dashboard
Self-host	Core differentiator — Docker (`docker build -t quickchart .`, port 3400), Cairo/Pango/libjpeg/libgif deps, AGPL-3.0, commercial license to resell/modify-distribute; must sandbox JS execution

Best For

Field	Value
Audience 1	Devs needing chart images in email/SMS/Slack/PDF reports where client-side Chart.js can’t run
Audience 2	No-code builders (Airtable/Sheets/Zapier/Make) injecting dynamic charts into docs without JS
Audience 3	Bootstrapped startups wanting 1,000 charts/mo free no-watermark before $40 Pro
Audience 4	QR-code generation at scale (ticket/checkout/contact cards) with brand colors + EC level
Audience 5	Agents/tools mounting generic HTTP MCP bridge to render a chart from JSON in a workflow (n8n/Claude)

Not For

Field	Value
Exclude 1	Interactive dashboards (hover/tooltip/drill/filter) — QuickChart is static image, use Chart.js/D3/Plotly/ECharts client-side
Exclude 2	Sub-second high-frequency chart streams (60/min free wall, even Pro is batch-oriented not stream)
Exclude 3	Enterprise BI with SSO/SOC2/BAA — QuickChart is dev-infra LLC, no SLA under Pro
Exclude 4	Buyers needing first-party MCP with chart-query tools — none exists (reverse Klaviyo/Databox/n8n)
Exclude 5	Teams refusing to sandbox JS — self-host means you own Chart.js config execution risk
Exclude 6	Very large datasets (>few K points) — server-side canvas chokes, client Chart.js better

Competitors

Field	Value
Chart.js (client-side)	Same config dialect, interactive, free, but needs browser JS — QuickChart is the “render to image” server-side twin not rival
Image-Charts	Closest direct twin (URL→chart image, free tier 500/day, then $49/mo), less Chart.js v3/v4 fidelity, no QR in free
Plotly + Kaleido	Python static export, richer scientific charts, no URL API, dev-only
Google Charts Image API	Deprecated but functional, less Chart.js fidelity, no QR
Datawrapper API	Hosted chart creation, $599/mo teams, interactive+static, not URL-JSON-chart.js shaped
Apache ECharts + node-canvas	OSS self-host, richer types, more setup than QuickChart URL
QR-only (goqr/qrickit)	Narrower than QuickChart dual chart+QR