IMG.LY vs Creatomate

Looking for deep integration, scalability, and a full-featured design editor? With IMG.LY, you get much more than basic image editing. See why CreativeEditor SDK is a robust alternative to Creatomate.

500M+

video and photo creations are powered by IMG.LY every month
HP
Shopify
Reuters
Hootsuite
Semrush
Shutterfly
Sprout Social
One.com
Constant Contact
Your partner in crime

What makes IMG.LY the best Creatomate alternative?

Fully-Featured Design & Video Editor

Our SDK has matured in demanding environments, powering 500+ million creations per month.

UI Customization & White-Labeling

Full UI customization and white-label capabilities to match your branding and use case.

Extensibility & Plugin System

Custom plugins and extensibility, enabling the integration of new tools, automation features, and industry-specific workflows.

Cross-Platform

Runs on Web, iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, macOS, Electron, and Node.js for maximum flexibility.

What Our Clients Say About Us

IMG.LY’s solution engineers did a deep dive on our business case and helped us implement a custom print kiosk UI.

André Albrecht
Digital Solution Manager
 @ 
Brother

Our customers create over a million personalized postcards each year choosing from over hundreds of templates with IMG.LY’s SDK. It’s the only solution that allows us to build our own specialized, on-brand UI that integrates seamlessly with our platform.

Jeanine Zaalberg
Product Manager
 @ 
Swiss Post

Our app has photo-editing at the very core of its experience and the editor has been invaluable in making that vision happen. There are no other tools on the market up to the quality of PE.SDK.

Toby Green
Lead Developer
 @ 
Elbi

IMG.LY vs. Creatomate at a Glance

Features

IMG.LY

Creatomate

Customization & White-Labeling

Fully customizable UI with theming and white-label options.

Limited UI customization; primarily API-driven with a browser-based template editor.

Advanced Video Editing

Multi-track video editing with overlays, transitions, and automation.

Supports keyframes, animations, and various effects for automated video generation.

Plugin System

Extensible with ready-to-use plugins and support for custom extensions.

No plugin system; functionality is fixed to the provided features.

Framework & Platform Support

Cross-platform: Web, iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Electron, macOS, Node.js.

Web-based; API accessible via Node.js, PHP, Ruby, Python, and cURL.

Creative Automation

Supports automation through programmable project files and headless rendering.

Designed for automated video generation using templates and API calls.

File Format Compatibility

Supports PSD, INDD, AI import; scene export for saving and re-editing designs.

Works with standard image and video formats; no support for layered design files.

Asset Libraries

Integrates with Unsplash, Getty Images, and custom libraries.

No built-in asset library integrations.

Enterprise Support

Dedicated support team, SLAs, custom onboarding, and rapid feature delivery.

Offers support via email; no dedicated enterprise support.

IMG.LY

Creatomate

Customization & White-Labeling

Fully customizable UI with theming and white-label options.

Limited UI customization; primarily API-driven with a browser-based template editor.

Advanced Video Editing

Multi-track video editing with overlays, transitions, and automation.

Supports keyframes, animations, and various effects for automated video generation.

Plugin System

Extensible with ready-to-use plugins and support for custom extensions.

No plugin system; functionality is fixed to the provided features.

Framework & Platform Support

Cross-platform: Web, iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Electron, macOS, Node.js.

Web-based; API accessible via Node.js, PHP, Ruby, Python, and cURL.

Creative Automation

Supports automation through programmable project files and headless rendering.

Designed for automated video generation using templates and API calls.

File Format Compatibility

Supports PSD, INDD, AI import; scene export for saving and re-editing designs.

Works with standard image and video formats; no support for layered design files.

Asset Libraries

Integrates with Unsplash, Getty Images, and custom libraries.

No built-in asset library integrations.

Enterprise Support

Dedicated support team, SLAs, custom onboarding, and rapid feature delivery.

Offers support via email; no dedicated enterprise support.

Everything you need

Key Capabilities

Learn more about some of the functionalities of IMG.LY’s SDK

Editing

Transform

A globe
Web
Mobile

Crop, flip, and rotate with ease. Preset crop ratios to common formats.

Filters

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Web
Mobile

Over 60 state-of-the-art filters allow users to control the style and mood of their creations.

Adjustments

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Web
Mobile

Fine-tune designs with an exhaustive set of adjustment operations such as brightness and contrast.

Effect & Blur

A globe
Web
Mobile

Add a unique mood to designs with effects & blur.

Element Snapping

A globe
Web
Mobile

Snap stickers and text to control points for more precise placements.

Blend Modes & Grouping

A globe
Web
Mobile

Define the blending behavior and grouping.

Undo & Redo

A globe
Web
Mobile

Allow users to undo and redo all editing operations.

Printing

Cutout Lines

A globe
Web
Mobile

Create and customize cutout shapes for web-to-print.

CMYK/ Spot color support

A globe
Web
Mobile

Integrate CMYK and Pantone color spaces, customized color libraries, including your brand's colors.

Templating

Design Templates

A globe
Web
Mobile

Create role based design templates to jumpstart users’ creativity.

Text Variables

A globe
Web
Mobile

Enable mass personalization and creative automation by embedding variables.

Placeholders & Lockable Designs

A globe
Web
Mobile

Constrain templates to guide your users’ design and ensure brand consistency.

Configurable Presets

A globe
Web
Mobile

Enforce a consistent aesthetic across all creations by using preset filters, adjustments, fonts, and crop ratios.

Customizability

Build Custom UIs

A globe
Web
Mobile

Use the headless API powering all creative operations to implement an entirely custom UI.

Theming

A globe
Web
Mobile

Change the editor theme to fit seamlessly with your app.

Media Libraries

A globe
Web
Mobile

Set up custom libraries that are easily sortable.

Toolbar Customization

A globe
Web
Mobile

Reposition toolbar elements, change icons, or rename tools to fit your use case.

Internationalization

A globe
Web
Mobile

Add support for additional languages, and customize any button label.

Export Options

A globe
Web
Mobile

Export designs in JPG, PNG, or PDF with custom quality, page ranges, and dimensions.

And there’s more

Check Out Other Use Cases

Learn more about related social media solutions.
Web2Print Designer

Web2Print Designer

Elevate your Web2Print application with best-in-class Design Editor.
Creative Automation

Creative Automation

Automate & scale content creation with ease.
Variable Data Printing

Variable Data Printing

Enable mass-personalization in your design & print workflows.
Photo Prints

Photo Prints

Provide seamless design experience and inspire users with easily personalized templates.
Print Personalization

Print Personalization

Streamline personalization for your print products.
Apparel Designer

Apparel Designer

Whether t-shirts, hoodies or caps, build for any use case, deploy on any platform.

More from IMG.LY

IMG.LY for Brands & Agencies

Automate design processes and generate on-brand marketing materials with ease.

IMG.LY for Marketing Tech

Scale and automate any creative workflow.

Camera SDK

Make in-app recording easy with our Camera SDK.

Photo Editor SDK

Bring beautiful photo editing to your applications.

Creative Editor SDK

Empower your users with an easy-to-use design editor.

IMG.LY for Social Media

Unleash your users' creativity & leverage user generated content.

IMG.LY for DAM

Empower users to create, collaborate , and automate design tasks in your app.

Video Editor SDK

Powerful video editor for your iOS, Android, and web applications.

More to discover

Explore Our Demos

See how IMG.LY looks and feels.
Check out our
demos

Get in Touch

Contact our sales team to learn more about licensing options and get access to our AI plugins for CE.SDK.

FAQs

What’s the best alternative to Creatomate?

If you're seeking a powerful, extensible, and scalable solution, IMG.LY is a strong alternative to Creatomate. It offers advanced design and video editing capabilities, automation, and deep customization options that are ideal for various applications.

What are the key differences between IMG.LY and Creatomate?

While Creatomate focuses on automating video and image generation through templates and APIs, IMG.LY provides a comprehensive SDK for interactive design and video editing, with extensive customization and plugin support.

Can I use both solutions for advanced video editing or social media content creation?

IMG.LY supports full video editing, including multi-track editing, overlays, transitions, and automation, making it suitable for social media content creation. Creatomate is more suited for automated video generation based on templates.

Which solution is better for integrating into a SaaS product?

IMG.LY offers more flexibility, scalability, and white-labeling options, making it ideal for SaaS platforms targeting various industries.

Can I customize the entire UI in both solutions?

IMG.LY allows full UI customization and theming. Creatomate offers limited UI customization, primarily focusing on API-driven automation.

What platforms does each editor support?

IMG.LY supports Web, iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, Electron, macOS, and Node.js. Creatomate is web-based with API access via Node.js, PHP, Ruby, Python, and cURL.

Which solution supports plugins or extending the editor's functionality?

IMG.LY supports a plugin system that allows you to build and integrate custom tools into the editor. Creatomate does not offer a plugin system.

What kind of design workflows are possible with IMG.LY that Creatomate doesn't offer?

IMG.LY supports interactive design workflows, including multi-layer editing, dynamic content insertion, smart layout constraints, and more, which are not available in Creatomate.