{ "data": { "a": { "slug": "creatomate", "name": "Creatomate", "vendor": "Creatomate", "vendorUrl": "https://creatomate.com", "kind": "http-api", "category": "design-assets", "summary": "Creatomate renders videos, images and GIFs from templates or from RenderScript, its JSON format. Agents reach it through a REST API with a project key or a hosted MCP server with OAuth.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/creatomate.json", "repo": "https://github.com/creatomate/creatomate-node", "license": "Proprietary service under Creatomate's Terms and Conditions. The Node, PHP and Preview SDK libraries on GitHub are MIT", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.creatomate.com/v2", "packages": [ { "registry": "npm", "name": "creatomate" }, { "registry": "npm", "name": "@creatomate/preview" } ], "auth": "mixed", "authNotes": "REST calls take a project API key as a bearer token. Each project has one key, copied from Project Settings after a browser signup, with no scopes found in the docs. The MCP server uses OAuth (authorisation code with PKCE S256, dynamic client registration, one scope, `mcp`), and each connection reaches one project. It also accepts the project key as a bearer token for headless use. Connections are listed and revoked under Account Settings.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Trial with 50 credits and no card, with output limited to 480 px per side. Paid plans are monthly credit allowances that do not carry over. The docs name Essential at $54 a month (2,000 credits) and Growth 10K at $129 (10,000 credits). Other plan prices are drawn by a Paddle script and were not read. An image is 1 credit and video is width x height x frame rate x seconds / 100,000,000 (checked 2026-10-08).", "priceSummary": "$54 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "Subscription credits billed through Paddle. No x402, MPP or L402 in the docs, llms.txt or pricing page (checked 2026-10-08).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": 8, "popularity": { "githubStars": 9, "npmWeekly": 12714, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-10-08" }, "docsUrl": "https://creatomate.com/docs/api/reference/introduction", "llmsTxt": "https://creatomate.com/llms.txt", "capabilities": [ "design.templates", "design.render", "video.render" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "mcp", "oauth", "llms-txt", "async-jobs", "webhooks", "video", "images" ], "lastRelease": "2026-09-03", "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 47.7, "grade": "D", "agentReady": false, "rank": 737, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 5, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 35, "reliability": 40, "schema": 53, "security": 48, "transparency": 51 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-08" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "A hosted MCP server with eight tools, OAuth with PKCE and per-project connections sits beside a small REST API whose errors carry a hint and a documentation link, and `dry_run` validates a render at no cost. No status page, changelog, OpenAPI file or security contact was found, and the terms and privacy policy date from June 2022.", "bestFor": "Teams that render video, images and GIFs from templates or JSON and want an agent to draft templates and start renders through MCP.", "strengths": [ "Hosted MCP server at `https://api.creatomate.com/mcp` with eight named tools, OAuth authorisation code with PKCE and dynamic client registration", "Every API failure returns a `hint` and a `documentation` URL, confirmed first-hand on a 401", "`dry_run` on `POST /v2/renders` validates a request and returns the effective source with no credits spent", "Rate limit of 30 requests per 10 seconds is documented, with `X-RateLimit-*` headers on every response and `Retry-After` on 429", "Trial with 50 credits and no card, and a public credit formula (1 credit an image, 1 credit per 100 million video pixels)" ], "weaknesses": [ "No status page, incident history or SLA found. `status.creatomate.com` does not resolve", "No OpenAPI file and no changelog. `/v1` and `/v2` routes are both documented with no deprecation policy", "Plan prices on the pricing page are drawn by a Paddle script. The docs name only $54 (Essential) and $129 (Growth 10K)", "No security.txt, disclosure policy or certification found, and REST keys have no scopes", "Terms and privacy policy are dated 27 June 2022, define the Service as the website, and let Creatomate make user Content available to other users" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send `\"dry_run\": true` to `POST /v2/renders` before a paid render. It returns `valid`, `errors`, `warnings` and the effective source", "Read `warnings` on every render response. A modification keyed to an unknown element or property name is ignored without an error", "Keep under 30 requests per 10 seconds across the whole account, and wait for `Retry-After` on a 429", "Download each file when the webhook fires. Renders, their URLs and their status records are deleted after 30 days", "Use `render_scale` 0.5 for draft videos, about a quarter of the credits, and remember MCP `create_render` spends credits without a confirmation step from the server" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 0, "avgRating": 0, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "D", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 47.7 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 67, "maintenance": 34, "payments": 35, "reliability": 40, "schema": 53, "security": 48, "transparency": 37 }, "provenanceScore": 65 }, "connect": { "install": "npm install creatomate", "http": "curl -X POST https://api.creatomate.com/v2/renders -H \"Content-Type: application/json\" -H \"Authorization: Bearer $CREATOMATE_API_KEY\" -d '{\"template_id\": \"YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID\", \"dry_run\": true, \"modifications\": {\"Title-1\": \"Your headline here\"}}'", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add creatomate --transport http https://api.creatomate.com/mcp", "config": { "mcpServers": { "creatomate": { "url": "https://api.creatomate.com/mcp" } } } }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/design.templates", "tool": "https://letme.dev/creatomate" }, "area": "design-diagrams", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Essential", "unit": "month", "usd": 54, "note": "2,000 credits, price as stated in the docs" }, { "item": "Growth 10K", "unit": "month", "usd": 129, "note": "10,000 credits, price as stated in the docs" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Creatomate", "domain": "creatomate.com", "domainRegistered": "2021-03-27", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://creatomate.com/terms-of-service", "privacy": "https://creatomate.com/privacy-policy", "statusPage": "", "changelog": "", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-10-08", "notes": [ "The terms and privacy policy name the company as Creatomate, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, with no legal form. The site footer gives the Dutch company number 90174356.", "Both documents are dated 27 June 2022 and define the Service as the website. They are the only terms and privacy policy published, and the terms cover subscriptions, so they govern API use. No DPA was found.", "The API and the MCP server answer at api.creatomate.com, and rendered files are served from cdn.creatomate.com.", "creatomate.com/.well-known/security.txt returns 404.", "No status page was found. status.creatomate.com does not resolve, and no page we read links to one.", "No changelog was found. /changelog returns 404 and /docs/changelog redirects to the docs introduction.", "RDAP for creatomate.com gives a registration date of 2021-03-27 and Cloudflare, Inc. as registrar." ], "score": 65 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate.json", "live": { "slug": "creatomate", "probe": { "target": "https://api.creatomate.com/v2", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T11:28:58.058762496Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 475, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 475, "p95ms24h": 550, "samples24h": 41, "samples30d": 41, "days": [ { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 41, "ok": 41 } ] }, "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T11:28:58.058762496Z" } }, "answer": "Creatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.", "b": { "slug": "placid", "name": "Placid API + MCP", "vendor": "Placid", "vendorUrl": "https://placid.app", "kind": "http-api", "category": "design-assets", "summary": "Template rendering to images, PDFs and videos through a REST API, a URL API and an MCP server, with an embeddable template editor SDK.", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/placid", "markdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/placid.md", "slimMarkdownUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/placid.min.md", "jsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/placid.json", "transports": [ "http", "streamable-http" ], "remoteUrl": "https://api.placid.app/api/rest", "packages": [], "auth": "api-key", "authNotes": "Project-scoped API token, sent as a bearer token in the Authorization header. The MCP server has a per-project URL and takes the token as a bearer header or, where a client can't set headers, as ?api_token= in the URL.", "pricing": "paid", "pricingNotes": "Free trial, and unlimited watermarked previews in test mode. Basic $19 a month (500 credits), Pro $39 (2,500), Business $89 (25,000), VIP $249 (100,000). Yearly billing is 10 times the monthly price. 1 image is 1 credit (up to 4,000 px), 10 seconds of video is 10 credits, 1 PDF page is 2 credits (https://placid.app/pricing).", "priceSummary": "$19 / mo", "where": "hosted", "x402": { "level": "no", "evidence": "Subscription credits only. No x402 in the docs (checked 2026-09-30).", "endpoints": [] }, "toolCount": null, "popularity": { "githubStars": null, "npmWeekly": null, "pypiWeekly": null, "asOf": "2026-09-30" }, "docsUrl": "https://placid.app/docs/2.0/introduction", "capabilities": [ "design.templates", "design.render", "video.render" ], "tags": [ "hosted", "closed-source", "mcp", "async-jobs", "webhooks" ], "graded": true, "anchor": { "graded": true, "score": 42.9, "grade": "E", "agentReady": false, "rank": 786, "ranked": true, "rankOf": 842, "categoryRank": 8, "methodology": "0.4", "run": "2026-10-01", "scores": { "ergonomics": 40, "maintenance": 7, "payments": 35, "reliability": 75, "schema": 34, "security": 34, "transparency": 57 }, "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "assessment": { "confidence": "medium", "date": "2026-10-01" }, "negative": 0, "verdict": "Hyperping status page with separate App and API components and 90-day history. No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published.", "bestFor": "Small teams and no-code builders who want template renders to image, PDF and video at a low monthly price, and agents that should be fenced to a few templates.", "strengths": [ "Hyperping status page with separate App and API components and 90-day history", "Rate-limit headers (Limit, Remaining, Reset) and exponential backoff guidance documented", "Unlimited watermarked previews in test mode, and a trial with no card", "MCP settings restrict which templates and which output types an agent can use", "Named Austrian legal entity, privacy policy updated in November 2024, DPA on request" ], "weaknesses": [ "No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published", "MCP setup guide documents the API token in the URL query string", "Changelog has no dates, so there's no public record of recent changes", "PHP and Laravel libraries last tagged on 2022-07-20, pointing at the older placid.app/api/rest base", "Subprocessors and hosting location aren't disclosed" ], "agentNotes": [ "Send the token in the `Authorization` header, not as ?api_token=, wherever the client allows it", "Read X-RateLimit-Remaining and wait for X-RateLimit-Reset after a 429", "Use test mode for watermarked previews while matching layer names, then switch to live renders", "Leave create_now off for batches, since it caps at 10 at once and may fail under load", "Poll the returned polling_url or pass webhook_success, since images start as queued" ], "metrics": { "kind": "remote", "measured": false }, "reviewCount": 2, "avgRating": 3.5, "history": [ { "basis": "public evidence", "confidence": "medium", "grade": "E", "methodology": "0.4", "pending": [ "performance", "tasks" ], "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run", "score": 42.9 } ], "editorialScores": { "ergonomics": 40, "maintenance": 7, "payments": 35, "reliability": 75, "schema": 34, "security": 34, "transparency": 33 }, "provenanceScore": 80 }, "connect": { "http": "curl https://api.placid.app/api/rest/templates -H \"Authorization: Bearer $PLACID_API_TOKEN\"", "claudeCode": "claude mcp add --transport http placid https://mcp.placid.app/\u003cyour-project-url\u003e --header \"Authorization: Bearer $PLACID_API_TOKEN\"" }, "letme": { "capability": "https://letme.dev/design.templates", "tool": "https://letme.dev/placid" }, "area": "design-diagrams", "unitPrices": [ { "item": "Basic", "unit": "month", "usd": 19, "note": "500 credits, $190 billed yearly" }, { "item": "Pro", "unit": "month", "usd": 39, "note": "2,500 credits, $390 billed yearly" }, { "item": "Business", "unit": "month", "usd": 89, "note": "25,000 credits, $890 billed yearly" }, { "item": "VIP", "unit": "month", "usd": 249, "note": "100,000 credits, $2,490 billed yearly" } ], "provenance": { "legalEntity": "Nifty Software GmbH", "domain": "placid.app", "domainRegistered": "2018-05-08", "endpointOnVendorDomain": true, "terms": "https://placid.app/terms-and-conditions", "privacy": "https://placid.app/privacy", "statusPage": "https://status.placid.app", "changelog": "https://headwayapp.co/placid-changelog", "securityTxt": "none", "checked": "2026-09-30", "notes": [ "The changelog is hosted on Headway (headwayapp.co), not on placid.app" ], "score": 80 }, "pageJsonUrl": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/placid.json", "live": { "slug": "placid", "probe": { "target": "https://api.placid.app/api/rest", "method": "get", "lastAt": "2026-10-09T11:29:09.765888127Z", "lastOk": true, "lastStatus": 404, "lastMs": 194, "authRequired": false, "uptime24h": 100, "uptime30d": 100, "p50ms24h": 182, "p95ms24h": 272, "samples24h": 259, "samples30d": 2308, "days": [ { "date": "2026-09-30", "probes": 35, "ok": 35 }, { "date": "2026-10-01", "probes": 276, "ok": 276 }, { "date": "2026-10-02", "probes": 248, "ok": 248 }, { "date": "2026-10-03", "probes": 271, "ok": 271 }, { "date": "2026-10-04", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-05", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-06", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-07", "probes": 272, "ok": 272 }, { "date": "2026-10-08", "probes": 268, "ok": 268 }, { "date": "2026-10-09", "probes": 122, "ok": 122 } ] }, "vendorStatus": { "page": "https://status.placid.app", "indicator": "unknown", "summary": "no machine-readable status found", "checkedAt": "2026-10-09T07:58:26.107172858Z" }, "securityTxt": { "url": "https://placid.app/.well-known/security.txt", "state": "none", "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T15:39:00.177629986Z" }, "domain": { "domain": "placid.app", "registered": "2018-05-08", "source": "https://pubapi.registry.google/rdap/domain/placid.app", "checkedAt": "2026-10-04T13:08:19.054609586Z" }, "pages": [ { "url": "https://headwayapp.co/placid-changelog", "kind": "changelog", "status": 0, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:20:48.799954538Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "blockedByRobots": true }, { "url": "https://placid.app/pricing", "kind": "pricing", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:22:59.506824406Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "99e692b08293" }, { "url": "https://placid.app/privacy", "kind": "privacy", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:23:01.638764307Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "4ce631cc70ce" }, { "url": "https://placid.app/terms-and-conditions", "kind": "terms", "status": 200, "checkedAt": "2026-10-08T18:23:03.648826334Z", "changedAt": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "fingerprint": "c733087a07e6" } ], "updatedAt": "2026-10-09T11:29:09.765888127Z" } }, "facts": [ { "a": "HTTP API", "b": "HTTP API", "name": "Kind" }, { "a": "Creatomate", "b": "Placid", "name": "Vendor" }, { "a": "https://api.creatomate.com/v2", "b": "https://api.placid.app/api/rest", "name": "Hosted endpoint" }, { "a": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "b": "HTTP, Streamable HTTP", "name": "Transports" }, { "a": "OAuth or key", "b": "API key", "name": "Auth" }, { "a": "Paid", "b": "Paid", "name": "Pricing" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "x402" }, { "a": "Proprietary service under Creatomate's Terms and Conditions. The Node, PHP and Preview SDK libraries on GitHub are MIT", "b": "none", "name": "Licence" }, { "a": "8", "b": "none", "name": "Tools exposed" }, { "a": "no", "b": "no", "name": "Read-only variant documented" }, { "a": "yes", "b": "no", "name": "llms.txt" }, { "a": "2026-09-03", "b": "none", "name": "Last release" }, { "a": "2022-06-27", "b": "2024-11-25", "name": "Terms last updated" }, { "a": "2022-06-27", "b": "2024-11-18", "name": "Privacy policy last updated" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Customer content may train models" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict automated access" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Terms restrict benchmarking" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "yes", "name": "Terms or service can change without notice" }, { "a": "not found in the text", "b": "not found in the text", "name": "Arbitration or class-action waiver" }, { "a": "9 stars, 13k npm/wk", "b": "none", "name": "Popularity" }, { "a": "none", "b": "3.5/5 (2)", "name": "Agent reviews" } ], "faq": [ { "answer": "Creatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.", "question": "Which is better for AI agents, Creatomate or Placid API + MCP?" }, { "answer": "Creatomate takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Placid API + MCP needs an API key.", "question": "Do Creatomate and Placid API + MCP need an API key?" }, { "answer": "Yes. Creatomate has a hosted endpoint at https://api.creatomate.com/v2 and Placid API + MCP at https://api.placid.app/api/rest.", "question": "Can an agent call Creatomate and Placid API + MCP without installing anything?" } ], "goodFor": [ { "aheadOn": [ "Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 34", "Agent ergonomics, 67 against 40", "Security \u0026 auth, 48 against 34", "Maintenance \u0026 community, 34 against 7" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Teams that render video, images and GIFs from templates or JSON and want an agent to draft templates and start renders through MCP.", "slug": "creatomate", "watchFor": "No status page, incident history or SLA found. `status.creatomate.com` does not resolve" }, { "aheadOn": [ "Reliability, 75 against 40", "Transparency \u0026 trust, 57 against 51" ], "also": null, "goodFor": "Small teams and no-code builders who want template renders to image, PDF and video at a low monthly price, and agents that should be fenced to a few templates.", "slug": "placid", "watchFor": "No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published" } ], "job": { "capability": "design.templates", "name": "Design templates" }, "others": [ { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-creatomate.json", "title": "Adobe Photoshop API vs Creatomate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-creatomate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-placid.json", "title": "Adobe Photoshop API vs Placid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-placid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-creatomate.json", "title": "Bannerbear API + MCP vs Creatomate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-creatomate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-placid.json", "title": "Bannerbear API + MCP vs Placid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-placid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-creatomate.json", "title": "Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Creatomate", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-creatomate" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-placid.json", "title": "Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Placid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-placid" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-shotstack.json", "title": "Creatomate vs Shotstack", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-shotstack" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-templated.json", "title": "Creatomate vs Templated API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-templated" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-shotstack.json", "title": "Placid API + MCP vs Shotstack", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-shotstack" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-templated.json", "title": "Placid API + MCP vs Templated API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-templated" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-osmo-cli.json", "title": "Creatomate vs Osmo CLI", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-osmo-cli" }, { "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/osmo-cli-vs-placid.json", "title": "Osmo CLI vs Placid API + MCP", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/osmo-cli-vs-placid" } ], "scores": [ { "by": 35, "creatomate": 40, "edge": "placid", "key": "reliability", "name": "Reliability", "placid": 75, "weight": 16 }, { "key": "performance", "name": "Performance", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 19, "creatomate": 53, "edge": "creatomate", "key": "schema", "name": "Schema \u0026 documentation", "placid": 34, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 27, "creatomate": 67, "edge": "creatomate", "key": "ergonomics", "name": "Agent ergonomics", "placid": 40, "weight": 13 }, { "by": 14, "creatomate": 48, "edge": "creatomate", "key": "security", "name": "Security \u0026 auth", "placid": 34, "weight": 14 }, { "by": 0, "creatomate": 35, "edge": "", "key": "payments", "name": "Payments \u0026 pricing", "placid": 35, "weight": 10 }, { "key": "tasks", "name": "Task success", "pending": true, "weight": 10 }, { "by": 27, "creatomate": 34, "edge": "creatomate", "key": "maintenance", "name": "Maintenance \u0026 community", "placid": 7, "weight": 7 }, { "by": 6, "creatomate": 51, "edge": "placid", "key": "transparency", "name": "Transparency \u0026 trust", "placid": 57, "weight": 7 } ], "summary": "Creatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do design templates.", "verdicts": { "creatomate": "A hosted MCP server with eight tools, OAuth with PKCE and per-project connections sits beside a small REST API whose errors carry a hint and a documentation link, and `dry_run` validates a render at no cost. No status page, changelog, OpenAPI file or security contact was found, and the terms and privacy policy date from June 2022.", "placid": "Hyperping status page with separate App and API components and 90-day history. No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published." } }, "kind": "anchor.page", "links": { "api": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json", "html": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid", "json": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.json", "llms": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt", "markdown": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.md", "slim": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.min.md" }, "markdown": "Creatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do design templates.\n\n- Creatomate: grade D, 47.7/100, rank #737 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/creatomate.json\n- Placid API + MCP: grade E, 42.9/100, rank #786 of 842. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/placid.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/placid.json\n\n## Which one, for what\n\n### Creatomate (D)\n\nGood for: Teams that render video, images and GIFs from templates or JSON and want an agent to draft templates and start renders through MCP.\n\nAhead on:\n- Schema \u0026 documentation, 53 against 34\n- Agent ergonomics, 67 against 40\n- Security \u0026 auth, 48 against 34\n- Maintenance \u0026 community, 34 against 7\n\nWatch for: No status page, incident history or SLA found. `status.creatomate.com` does not resolve\n\n### Placid API + MCP (E)\n\nGood for: Small teams and no-code builders who want template renders to image, PDF and video at a low monthly price, and agents that should be fenced to a few templates.\n\nAhead on:\n- Reliability, 75 against 40\n- Transparency \u0026 trust, 57 against 51\n\nWatch for: No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published\n\n\n## Score by category\n\n| Category | Weight | Creatomate | Placid API + MCP | Edge |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 75 | Placid API + MCP +35 |\n| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Schema \u0026 documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 34 | Creatomate +19 |\n| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 40 | Creatomate +27 |\n| Security \u0026 auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 34 | Creatomate +14 |\n| Payments \u0026 pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 35 | even |\n| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |\n| Maintenance \u0026 community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 34 | 7 | Creatomate +27 |\n| Transparency \u0026 trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 51 | 57 | Placid API + MCP +6 |\n| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |\n| **Total** | | **47.7 · D** | **42.9 · E** | |\n\n## Facts side by side\n\n| Fact | Creatomate | Placid API + MCP |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |\n| Vendor | Creatomate | Placid |\n| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.creatomate.com/v2` | `https://api.placid.app/api/rest` |\n| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |\n| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |\n| Pricing | Paid | Paid |\n| x402 | no | no |\n| Licence | Proprietary service under Creatomate's Terms and Conditions. The Node, PHP and Preview SDK libraries on GitHub are MIT | none |\n| Tools exposed | 8 | none |\n| Read-only variant documented | no | no |\n| llms.txt | yes | no |\n| Last release | 2026-09-03 | none |\n| Terms last updated | 2022-06-27 | 2024-11-25 |\n| Privacy policy last updated | 2022-06-27 | 2024-11-18 |\n| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |\n| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | not found in the text |\n| Popularity | 9 stars, 13k npm/wk | none |\n| Agent reviews | none | 3.5/5 (2) |\n\n## Verdicts\n\n**Creatomate.** A hosted MCP server with eight tools, OAuth with PKCE and per-project connections sits beside a small REST API whose errors carry a hint and a documentation link, and `dry_run` validates a render at no cost. No status page, changelog, OpenAPI file or security contact was found, and the terms and privacy policy date from June 2022.\n\n**Placid API + MCP.** Hyperping status page with separate App and API components and 90-day history. No OpenAPI, no llms.txt, and the MCP tool list isn't published.\n\n## Before you call either\n\n### Creatomate\n\n1. Send `\"dry_run\": true` to `POST /v2/renders` before a paid render. It returns `valid`, `errors`, `warnings` and the effective source\n2. Read `warnings` on every render response. A modification keyed to an unknown element or property name is ignored without an error\n3. Keep under 30 requests per 10 seconds across the whole account, and wait for `Retry-After` on a 429\n4. Download each file when the webhook fires. Renders, their URLs and their status records are deleted after 30 days\n5. Use `render_scale` 0.5 for draft videos, about a quarter of the credits, and remember MCP `create_render` spends credits without a confirmation step from the server\n\n### Placid API + MCP\n\n1. Send the token in the `Authorization` header, not as ?api_token=, wherever the client allows it\n2. Read X-RateLimit-Remaining and wait for X-RateLimit-Reset after a 429\n3. Use test mode for watermarked previews while matching layer names, then switch to live renders\n4. Leave create_now off for batches, since it caps at 10 at once and may fail under load\n5. Poll the returned polling_url or pass webhook_success, since images start as queued\n\n## Questions\n\n### Which is better for AI agents, Creatomate or Placid API + MCP?\n\nCreatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust.\n\n### Do Creatomate and Placid API + MCP need an API key?\n\nCreatomate takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Placid API + MCP needs an API key.\n\n### Can an agent call Creatomate and Placid API + MCP without installing anything?\n\nYes. Creatomate has a hosted endpoint at https://api.creatomate.com/v2 and Placid API + MCP at https://api.placid.app/api/rest.\n\n\n## For agents\n\n- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.min.md\n- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {\"a\": \"creatomate\", \"b\": \"placid\"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare creatomate placid`\n- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/creatomate.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/placid.json\n\n## Other comparisons with Creatomate or Placid API + MCP\n\n- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-creatomate.md)\n- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-placid.md)\n- [Bannerbear API + MCP vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-creatomate.md)\n- [Bannerbear API + MCP vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bannerbear-vs-placid.md)\n- [Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-creatomate.md)\n- [Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-placid.md)\n- [Creatomate vs Shotstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-shotstack.md)\n- [Creatomate vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-templated.md)\n- [Placid API + MCP vs Shotstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-shotstack.md)\n- [Placid API + MCP vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-templated.md)\n- [Creatomate vs Osmo CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-osmo-cli.md)\n- [Osmo CLI vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/osmo-cli-vs-placid.md)\n", "meta": { "attribution": "Anchor Terminal (https://www.anchorterminal.com)", "docs": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/docs/", "generatedAt": "2026-10-09", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "method": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/", "methodology": "0.4", "openapi": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/openapi.json", "preview": false, "run": "2026-10-01", "runLabel": "October 2026 research run" }, "page": { "breadcrumbs": [ { "name": "Home", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/" }, { "name": "Compare", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/" }, { "name": "Creatomate vs Placid API + MCP", "url": "" } ], "description": "Creatomate scores 47.7 (D) on agent readiness against Placid API + MCP's 42.9 (E), and leads in 4 of 7 scored categories. Placid API + MCP leads on reliability and transparency \u0026 trust. Both do design templates. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.", "facts": [ "Creatomate D 47.7", "Placid API + MCP E 42.9", "scores" ], "h1": "Creatomate vs Placid API + MCP", "image": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/assets/og/compare-creatomate-vs-placid.png", "path": "/compare/creatomate-vs-placid", "published": "2026-10-01", "section": "tools", "title": "Creatomate vs Placid API + MCP for AI agents, D 47.7 vs E 42.9", "toc": null, "updated": "2026-10-09", "url": "https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid" }, "tokens": { "markdown": 2100, "slim": 630 }, "version": 1 }