PlaceKeanu vs Screenshotlayer

PlaceKeanu generates novelty placeholder images of Keanu Reeves sized entirely from the request path (/[width]/[height]/[options]), with no signup or API key needed. Each photo is served as an inline base64-encoded SVG and cached client-side for a day, so repeat requests at the same dimensions return the same image rather than a fresh random one. Optional y and g path suffixes request a younger-Keanu or grayscale variant.

Screenshotlayer (an APILayer product) is a REST API that renders any public URL into a PNG, JPEG, GIF, or WebP screenshot, with parameters for viewport size, full-page capture, and retina/2x scaling. A live GET against api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture with a bogus access_key returns a 101 invalid_access_key JSON error rather than serving anonymously, proving every call requires a real key passed as the access_key query parameter — auth is corrected from "None" to "API Key". That same probe carried Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * even on the error response, resolving the stored "unknown" cors to "yes". screenshotlayer.com/pricing lists a Free plan alongside paid Basic/Professional/Business tiers billed annually — freemium.