# Recraft API vs SurgePix API

> Recraft scores 52.9 (D) to SurgePix's 36 (F) for image generation. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-surgepix
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-surgepix.md (~4,300 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-02

Recraft API scores 52.9 (D) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SurgePix API leads on security & auth and maintenance & community. Both do image generation.

- Recraft API: grade D, 52.9/100, rank #881 of 1266. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/recraft.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/recraft.json
- SurgePix API: grade F, 36/100, rank #1173 of 1266. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/surgepix.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/surgepix.json
- Best image generation for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/image-generation/index.md
- All 120 image comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/image-generation/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Recraft API (D)

Good for: Logos, icons and brand-consistent graphics where SVG matters.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 15
- Schema & documentation, 64 against 40
- Agent ergonomics, 62 against 53
- Payments & pricing, 30 against 20
- Transparency & trust, 60 against 28

Watch for: No changelog and no error reference

### SurgePix API (F)

Good for: An agent that needs finished marketing assets, such as posters, slide decks, Xiaohongshu carousels, logos and translated images, as one file from a short request.

Ahead on:
- Security & auth, 41 against 30
- Maintenance & community, 66 against 48

Watch for: Only background removal and upload are in the public API reference, with no OpenAPI file or llms.txt


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Recraft API +55

- Recraft API (70): Instatus page (status.recraft.ai redirects to recraft.instatus.com) with Website, App and API components (20). No notices in August or September 2026 and 100 per cent shown for the API. The page we read didn't cover July, so two of the three months are seen clean (25). Limits of 100 images a minute and 5 requests a second per user (15). No 429 or backoff guidance found (0). No SLA (0). GA (10).
- SurgePix API (15): Read with the hosted lines. No status page was found on surgepix.ai or in the docs, and status.surgepix.ai doesn't resolve (0). With no history to read, the incident line takes the floor (5). No rate limits with numbers are documented. The terms say "non-human continuous or frequent query operations" lead to automatic account suspension, with no threshold given (0). No 429 or backoff guidance. The skill scripts poll every 2 seconds for up to 5 to 15 minutes, but that is client code, not a documented policy (0). No SLA, and the terms disclaim uninterrupted service (0). The API isn't labelled beta or preview, and API keys have been self-serve since 2 June 2026 per the changelog (10). 0+5+0+0+0+10 = 15.

### Transparency & trust: Recraft API +32

- Recraft API (60): Closed API with published terms and a commercial-rights page that bars training on outputs (15). The privacy policy (12 March 2026) says Recraft won't train on AI inputs or outputs without affirmative authorisation, yet also describes an opt-out in account settings, and gives no retention periods. Generated images sit at signed public URLs for about 24 hours (15). No deprecation policy or dated notices found (0). A subprocessor page at recraft.ai/subprocessors lists outside AI model providers, but data locations are only 'countries outside your home country' (15).
- SurgePix API (28): The editorial half. A closed service whose terms name no company or address. They restrict any commercial use of what the service produces without SurgePix's permission, and contain clauses from an unrelated product (a "big data" query platform and "non-resume content"). The skills are MIT. Unclear terms, with a little credit for the open skills (5). The privacy policy is dated both 10 June 2026 and 1 July 2022, describes WeChat and phone registration and "domestic servers", and gives no retention periods. The API reference says uploads go to Tencent Cloud storage in Seoul as public URLs. No DPA. The statements don't agree (5). No deprecation policy or notices, and the terms let changes take effect on publication without notice (0). Tencent Cloud Object Storage in ap-seoul is named in the API reference, and Alipay and WeChat Pay in the privacy policy. No subprocessor list or stated data location (4). 5+5+0+4 = 14.

### Schema & documentation: Recraft API +24

- Recraft API (64): A Swagger UI at external.api.recraft.ai/doc, but no spec file we could fetch (15). llms.txt for the docs (10). The docs say which endpoint returns vectors and which model to use for drafts, raster or SVG (13). Typed inputs with enums for model, style and response format (12). Examples in the docs, no error reference found (7). Model release months on the getting started page, no changelog (7).
- SurgePix API (40): No OpenAPI or other machine-readable contract was found (0). surgepix.ai/llms.txt returns 404. The docs are HTML pages, but the 15 SKILL.md files in the MIT repository are Markdown written for agents, so half (5). The API reference states the purpose of each of its five operations and the async and session model. The SKILL.md files add trigger phrases and explicit do-not-use routing between skills, but 11 of the task endpoints the skills call appear only in their scripts, with no reference (10). Parameter tables give type and required for the documented operations, with no enums or limits, and the undocumented endpoints have no schema at all (7). JSON examples for every documented operation and an error table with 401, 404 and `error.file.sensitive_content` (10). A dated public changelog from 11 March 2026, but no version in the API path and no API-specific change notes (8). 0+5+10+7+10+8 = 40.

### Maintenance & community: SurgePix API +18

- Recraft API (48): V4.1 Flash released in September 2026, within 30 days (30). For models we look at churn and notice. Every model back to V2 (February 2024) is still served, so nothing has needed notice, but no policy exists for when it does (15). No public changelog, support not tested (3). No official SDK, the old stdio MCP repo is archived and the hosted server isn't in the MCP registry (0). No packages to assess (0).
- SurgePix API (66): The last dated change is GPT-Image-2.5 on 23 October 2026, 10 days before the check (30). Changelog entries on 15, 22 and 23 October, 16, 9 and 2 September 2026, more than three in 90 days (20). For a closed service, a dated changelog, a Discord server and a contact email. We didn't open Discord or the GitHub issues, so answering isn't confirmed (8). No official SDK. The skills are maintained client scripts with tags from v1.0.0 (4 June 2026) to v1.5.0 (2 September 2026), a judgement call (5). The repository's CI checks SKILL.md front matter only, with no tests, and the skills aren't published as a package (3). 30+20+8+5+3 = 66.

### Security & auth: SurgePix API +11

- Recraft API (30): Bearer API tokens from the profile page, several tokens sharing one balance, no scopes. The hosted MCP server uses OAuth 2.0 (20). No least-privilege mode or spend cap found (0). Returns generated images only (10). No per-call log found (0). security.txt expired on 11 November 2025, and no bug bounty or certification found (0).
- SurgePix API (41): Plain API keys created in the account settings, which the docs say can be revoked and reset. The key goes in the `authorization` header, never in a URL. No scopes found (20). No read-only key or spend cap. The plan's credit allowance bounds spend. Every uploaded file becomes a publicly accessible URL on Tencent Cloud storage, which counts against least privilege (3). The API returns image and file URLs, not untrusted text (10). The billing page's credit statement lists each request with its model and token counts, and sessions group calls in the web app, per the docs (8). No security.txt, disclosure policy, bug bounty or certification was found (0). 20+3+10+8+0 = 41.

### Payments & pricing: Recraft API +10

- Recraft API (30): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Per-image and per-operation prices published without a login (20). No free API allowance. The web Free plan's credits work through the hosted MCP with no card, but free-plan images belong to Recraft and are public (10). Browser sign-up (0).
- SurgePix API (20): No x402, MPP or L402 (0). Plan prices and monthly credits are public, but credits are spent per token with no per-call price for any API task, so plan-only pricing (10). A free plan with 25 credits a day. The pages don't say whether a card is needed or whether a free account can create API keys, so half, a judgement call (10). A person signs up in a browser and creates the key in settings (0). 0+10+10+0 = 20.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Recraft API | SurgePix API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 70 | 15 | Recraft API +55 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 64 | 40 | Recraft API +24 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 62 | 53 | Recraft API +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 30 | 41 | SurgePix API +11 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 20 | Recraft API +10 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 66 | SurgePix API +18 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 60 | 28 | Recraft API +32 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **52.9 · D** | **36 · F** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Recraft API | SurgePix API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | Model API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Recraft | SurgePix |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1` | `https://api.surgepix.ai/api` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary hosted service under the Surgepix User Agreement, which names no company and restricts commercial use without SurgePix's permission. The agent skills repository is MIT |
| Tools exposed | 9 | none |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-23 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-08-11 | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-03-12 | 2026-06-10 |
| Customer content may train models | yes, with an opt-out | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | not found in the text |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Recraft API

- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist
- -0.2 on 8 October 2026: checklist

### SurgePix API

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Recraft API.** Native SVG vector generation, not traced raster. No changelog and no error reference.

**SurgePix API.** A small, readable API with async tasks and MIT skill scripts that cover posters, decks, edits and translation. Only background removal is documented, the terms name no company and restrict commercial use and automated querying, and uploaded files become public URLs.

## Before you call either

### Recraft API

1. Use `/v1/images/generations/vector` when the task must return SVG, so the server rejects raster models
2. Ask for `b64_json` or `multipart` if you can't fetch the URL within a day
3. Name `recraftv4_1_flash` for drafts at $0.007. The default `recraftv4_1` costs $0.035
4. Stay under 100 images a minute and 5 requests a second per user
5. Point the OpenAI SDK at `https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1`, but expect some parameters to be ignored

### SurgePix API

1. Send the key as the raw `authorization` header value, with no `Bearer` prefix
2. Don't upload confidential files. The upload flow returns a public URL for every file
3. Check `code` in the JSON body as well as the HTTP status, since failures come back as a non-zero `code` with a `msg`
4. Poll `GET /tasks/{taskId}` within 24 hours, after which the task returns 404
5. Get written permission before using outputs commercially, since the terms restrict commercial use

## Tutorials

- [Create an editorial illustration with Recraft](https://www.anchorterminal.com/tutorials/recraft/), for Recraft API

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Recraft API or SurgePix API?

Recraft API scores 52.9 (D) on agent readiness against SurgePix API's 36 (F), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. SurgePix API leads on security & auth and maintenance & community.

### Do Recraft API and SurgePix API need an API key?

Recraft API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. SurgePix API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Recraft API and SurgePix API without installing anything?

Yes. Recraft API has a hosted endpoint at https://external.api.recraft.ai/v1 and SurgePix API at https://api.surgepix.ai/api.


## For agents

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

## Other comparisons with Recraft API or SurgePix API

- [Adobe Firefly API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-recraft.md)
- [Adobe Firefly API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/adobe-firefly-vs-surgepix.md)
- [ArtCraft vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-recraft.md)
- [ArtCraft vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/artcraft-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-recraft.md)
- [Black Forest Labs FLUX API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/black-forest-labs-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Bria API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-recraft.md)
- [Bria API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bria-vs-surgepix.md)
- [fal image models vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-recraft.md)
- [fal image models vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/fal-image-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Google Imagen vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-recraft.md)
- [Google Imagen vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-imagen-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Ideogram API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-recraft.md)
- [Ideogram API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/ideogram-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Iris-3B vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-recraft.md)
- [Iris-3B vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/iris-3b-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Leonardo.Ai API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-recraft.md)
- [Leonardo.Ai API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/leonardo-ai-vs-surgepix.md)
- [OpenAI Image API vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-recraft.md)
- [OpenAI Image API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/openai-image-api-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs Recraft API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-recraft.md)
- [Qwen-Image 2.1 (Model Studio) vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/qwen-image-2-1-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Recraft API vs Replicate image models](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-replicate-image.md)
- [Recraft API vs Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-seedream-on-byteplus-modelark.md)
- [Recraft API vs Stability AI Image API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/recraft-vs-stability-ai-image.md)
- [Replicate image models vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/replicate-image-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Seedream on BytePlus ModelArk vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/seedream-on-byteplus-modelark-vs-surgepix.md)
- [Stability AI Image API vs SurgePix API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/stability-ai-image-vs-surgepix.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp