# Creatomate vs Robolly

> Creatomate scores 49.6 (D) to Robolly's 48.4 (D) for design templates. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

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- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-07

Creatomate scores 49.6 (D) on agent readiness against Robolly's 48.4 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Robolly leads on reliability and agent ergonomics. Both do design templates.

- Creatomate: grade D, 49.6/100, rank #1078 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/creatomate.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/creatomate.json
- Robolly: grade D, 48.4/100, rank #1115 of 1486. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/robolly.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/robolly.json
- Best programmatic image and design asset APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/design-assets/index.md
- All 153 assets comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/design-assets/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Creatomate (D)

Good for: Teams that render video, images and GIFs from templates or JSON and want an agent to draft templates and start renders through MCP.

Ahead on:
- Maintenance & community, 54 against 5

Watch for: No status page, incident history or SLA found. `status.creatomate.com` does not resolve

### Robolly (D)

Good for: Template-driven images, PDFs and short videos for marketers and developers who want a hosted editor and simple synchronous calls.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 48 against 40
- Agent ergonomics, 75 against 67

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract found


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: Creatomate +49

- Creatomate (54): No changelog. Dated releases since 6 August are the n8n node 0.2.0 (11 August, per the 8 October npm reading), the rebuilt n8n node v1.0.0 (11 September) and v1.0.1 (19 September, a category metadata fix, half), and `@creatomate/preview` 1.6.1 (3 September, removing a dependency and type definitions from the build, half). The newest release that changes code is n8n v1.0.0, 54 days before the check (20). Three counted entries in 90 days (20, cause evidence; it drops to 0 after 9 November when 0.2.0 leaves the window). Support by email, no public changelog or forum found, and two open GitHub issues across the libraries per the 8 October check (5). The Node library was last tagged 1.2.1 on 23 September 2024 and calls `/v1`, the PHP library was last pushed on 21 October 2024, and the Preview SDK is current (7). No CI in the Node repository (2). 20+20+5+7+2 = 54.
- Robolly (5): No changelog, release notes or dated API change was found. The sitemap marks every docs page as modified on 4 November 2026, which reads as a site rebuild rather than a change, so it isn't counted (0). No dated changes since 8 August (0). Support by email, with chat on higher plans; not tested (5 of 15). Not in the official MCP registry and no SDKs (0). No public package or repository (0). 0 + 0 + 5 + 0 + 0 = 5.

### Reliability: Robolly +8

- Creatomate (40): Hosted lines. No status page found. status.creatomate.com still has no DNS record and no page we read links to one (0). No readable incident history (5). 30 requests per 10 seconds per account, documented in the API reference for agents (15). The same page documents `X-RateLimit-*` headers on every response and `Retry-After` on 429 with "wait that long, do not retry immediately", but no idempotency key for renders, which are writes (10). The 8 October first-hand header reading came from a request to the product's API and is struck; the docs carry the same facts. No SLA found (0). The REST API and MCP server carry no beta label (10). 0+5+15+10+0+10 = 40.
- Robolly (48): Hosted lines. The footer links an UptimeRobot status page, but it loads its figures from /api/, which stats.uptimerobot.com's robots.txt disallows, so the page showed no monitors or history (10 of 20 for a page that exists) and no history was read (5). A hard limit of 3 renders a second is published (15). The `rate-limit` error code and advice to send renders one at a time, and identical renders are cached for 45 days at no cost, which makes a retry safe; there's no Retry-After or backoff interval (8 of 15). No SLA found (0). The API isn't labelled beta (10). 10 + 5 + 15 + 8 + 0 + 10 = 48.

### Agent ergonomics: Robolly +8

- Creatomate (67): Eight MCP tools on the vendor's list, re-read on 4 November, definitions unseen, and the template list omits sources (22). A `tags` filter on the template list, with no pagination, limit or render list found (6). The API reference documents a `hint` and a `documentation` URL on 400, 401, 404 and 429, a `hint` on 402 and 500, plus advisory `errors` and `warnings` and a free `dry_run` (20). No idempotency key. `dry_run` and status polling are safe, and template delete is now described as a soft delete that an open editor can restore; MCP annotations were not readable (8). `template_id` alone starts a render, and the Node and PHP libraries are official but last published in 2024 (11). 22+6+20+8+11 = 67.
- Robolly (75): Nine MCP tools (25). The renders list pages with a cursor, and templates are found by name (14 of 20). Errors carry `errorCode` and `developerMessage` with eight documented codes (17 of 20). Identical renders are cached for 45 days, so repeats are free and safe, the MCP server has no delete tool, and annotations couldn't be read on the closed server (12 of 20). Renders return the file synchronously by default, but there's no SDK (7 of 15). 25 + 14 + 17 + 12 + 7 = 75.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Creatomate | Robolly | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 40 | 48 | Robolly +8 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 57 | Robolly +4 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 67 | 75 | Robolly +8 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 48 | 47 | Creatomate +1 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 35 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 54 | 5 | Creatomate +49 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 52 | 49 | Creatomate +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **49.6 · D** | **48.4 · D** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Creatomate | Robolly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Creatomate | Avantis Innovations LLC (Robolly) |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://api.creatomate.com/v2` | `https://api.robolly.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Creatomate's Terms and Conditions. The Node, PHP and Preview SDK libraries on GitHub are MIT | Closed service under the Robolly terms of use (effective 8 April 2026) |
| Tools exposed | 8 | 9 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-09-19 | none |
| Terms last updated | 2022-06-27 | 2026-04-08 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2022-06-27 | 2026-04-08 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | not found in the text | yes |
| Popularity | 9 stars, 13k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 3.3/5 (4) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Creatomate

- +1.8 on 4 November 2026: new evidence
- -0.2 on 28 October 2026: new evidence
- +0.3 on 27 October 2026: checklist

### Robolly

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Creatomate.** A hosted MCP server with eight tools and OAuth with PKCE sits beside a small REST API whose errors carry a hint and a documentation link, a documented rate limit with `Retry-After`, and a free `dry_run`. No status page, changelog, OpenAPI file or security contact was found, and the terms and privacy policy date from June 2022.

**Robolly.** Robolly's nine MCP tools, synchronous renders, typed error codes and free cached re-renders keep template rendering cheap and predictable for an agent, and OAuth connections can be revoked per client. There is no OpenAPI file, changelog or dated release, and API access starts at $39 a month after a 7-day trial.

## Before you call either

### Creatomate

1. Send `"dry_run": true` to `POST /v2/renders` before a paid render. It returns `valid`, `errors`, `warnings` and the effective source
2. Read `warnings` on every render response. A modification keyed to an unknown element or property name is ignored without an error
3. Keep under 30 requests per 10 seconds across the whole account, and wait for `Retry-After` on a 429
4. Download each file when the webhook fires. Renders, their URLs and their status records are deleted after 30 days
5. 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

### Robolly

1. Call `get_template_modifications` before `render` to learn the keys a template accepts
2. Send renders one at a time; the API refuses more than 3 a second with `rate-limit`
3. Repeat an identical render freely; it is cached for 45 days and costs nothing
4. Poll `get_render` after `render_video`, since video renders are queued
5. Stop on `render-limit-exhausted` and tell the user the monthly credits are spent

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Creatomate or Robolly?

Creatomate scores 49.6 (D) on agent readiness against Robolly's 48.4 (D), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Robolly leads on reliability and agent ergonomics.

### Do Creatomate and Robolly need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Creatomate and Robolly without installing anything?

Yes. Creatomate has a hosted endpoint at https://api.creatomate.com/v2 and Robolly at https://api.robolly.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-robolly.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-robolly.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "creatomate", "b": "robolly"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare creatomate robolly`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/creatomate.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/robolly.json

## Other comparisons with Creatomate or Robolly

- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-creatomate.md)
- [Adobe Photoshop API vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-photoshop-api-vs-robolly.md)
- [APITemplate.io vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apitemplate-io-vs-creatomate.md)
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- [Canva REST APIs + MCP vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/canva-vs-robolly.md)
- [Contentdrips API and MCP vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/contentdrips-vs-creatomate.md)
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- [Creatomate vs Layerre](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-layerre.md)
- [Creatomate vs Photoroom API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-photoroom.md)
- [Creatomate vs Pictify](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-pictify.md)
- [Creatomate vs Pixelixe](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-pixelixe.md)
- [Creatomate vs Placid API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-placid.md)
- [Creatomate vs PostNitro](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-postnitro.md)
- [Creatomate vs Shotstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-shotstack.md)
- [Creatomate vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-templated.md)
- [DynaPictures vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dynapictures-vs-robolly.md)
- [Layerre vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/layerre-vs-robolly.md)
- [Photoroom API vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/photoroom-vs-robolly.md)
- [Pixelixe vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pixelixe-vs-robolly.md)
- [Placid API + MCP vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/placid-vs-robolly.md)
- [PostNitro vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/postnitro-vs-robolly.md)
- [Robolly vs Shotstack](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/robolly-vs-shotstack.md)
- [Robolly vs Templated API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/robolly-vs-templated.md)
- [Abyssale vs Creatomate](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/abyssale-vs-creatomate.md)
- [Abyssale vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/abyssale-vs-robolly.md)
- [Creatomate vs Osmo CLI](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/creatomate-vs-osmo-cli.md)
- [Osmo CLI vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/osmo-cli-vs-robolly.md)
- [Pictify vs Robolly](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/pictify-vs-robolly.md)

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