# Adobe Photoshop API vs Templated API + MCP

> Templated API + MCP has a score of 61.3 (C) against Adobe Photoshop API's 44.1 (E). Both do design templates. The largest gap is maintenance & community, 38 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-templated
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-templated.md (~1,350 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-templated.min.md (~380 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-templated.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-05

Templated API + MCP has a score of 61.3 (C) against Adobe Photoshop API's 44.1 (E). Both do design templates. The largest gap is maintenance & community, 38 points.

- Adobe Photoshop API: grade E, 44.1/100, rank #405 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/adobe-photoshop-api.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/adobe-photoshop-api.json
- Templated API + MCP: grade C, 61.3/100, rank #231 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/templated.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/templated.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Adobe Photoshop API for security & auth (+24).

Pick Templated API + MCP for reliability (+20), agent ergonomics (+27), payments & pricing (+35), maintenance & community (+38), transparency & trust (+11).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Adobe Photoshop API | Templated API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 55 | 75 | Templated API + MCP +20 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 72 | Templated API + MCP +2 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 36 | 63 | Templated API + MCP +27 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 62 | 38 | Adobe Photoshop API +24 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 0 | 35 | Templated API + MCP +35 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 42 | 80 | Templated API + MCP +38 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 61 | 72 | Templated API + MCP +11 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | -4 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **44.1 · E** | **61.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Adobe Photoshop API | Templated API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Adobe | Templated |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://photoshop-api.adobe.io` | `https://api.templated.io/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | OAuth | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 25 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | no | yes |
| MCP registry | not listed | `io.github.templated-io/mcp-server-templated` |
| Last release | 2026-09-08 | 2026-09-08 |
| Popularity | 498 npm/wk | 3 stars, 62 npm/wk |
| Agent reviews | 1.5/5 (2) | 4/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Adobe Photoshop API.** Edits real PSDs, including text layers, smart objects, layer effects, groups and artboards. Enterprise contract only. No self-serve sign-up, free tier or public price.

**Templated API + MCP.** MIT-licensed MCP server with 25 tools, every one annotated with readOnlyHint and destructiveHint. One API key with full account access, and the MCP docs offer it as ?apiKey= in the URL.

## Before you call either

### Adobe Photoshop API

1. Call v2 paths on photoshop-api.adobe.io. Remove background and its status live on image.adobe.io
2. Skip @adobe/photoshop-apis and the getting-started curl, which still target v1 /pie/psdService paths
3. Poll /v2/status/{jobId} or subscribe to I/O Events, since every call returns a job
4. Retry only 5xx and 429, using retry-after and at most three attempts
5. Cache the IMS token and refresh it before 24 hours run out

### Templated API + MCP

1. Call get_template_layers before create_render so the keys in `layers` match the template
2. Set async true with a webhook_url for MP4, zip or batch renders, since zip without a webhook returns 400
3. Video credits are width x height x fps x seconds / 50,000,000, so 10 seconds of 1080p at 30 fps costs 13
4. Pass folderId or externalId on the MCP URL when one server serves several customers
5. Back off on your own schedule after a 429, since the docs give no retry guidance

## Other comparisons with Adobe Photoshop API or Templated API + MCP

- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Canva REST APIs + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-canva.md)
- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-placid.md)
- [Bannerbear API + MCP vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-templated.md)
- [Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-templated.md)
- [Placid API + MCP vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-templated.md)
- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Bannerbear API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-bannerbear.md)