IMG.LY vs. Shotstack

The best Shotstack alternative for a client-side video editor with turn-key UIs, creative automation and powerful templates.

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500M+

video and photo creations are powered by IMG.LY every month

Your partner in crime

What makes IMG.LY the best Shotstack alternative?

Real-Time, In-Browser Video Editing

Fully interactive video editor where users can edit, preview, and manipulate media in real time inside the browser.

Timeline Editing and Video Composition

Multi-track video editing, allowing video, images, text, overlays, and animations to be layered and adjusted dynamically.

Turn-key Solutions

Pre-built editors for print, photo editing, photo books, social media design and more.

Pre-built UI with Full Customization

Pre-built, use case-specific UIs for video editing, social media content, and marketing automation.

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. Shotstack at a Glance

Real-Time, In-Browser Editing

Full in-browser editor with live preview.

No real-time preview – API-based rendering only.

Multi-Layer Editing

Supports real-time multi-track editing (video, images, overlays).

No interactive layer control – must define layers in API requests.

Video Templating & Automation

Supports headless mode & template-based automation.

Supports automated video rendering.

Customization & UI Flexibility

White-label UI, customizable components, plugin system.

No UI – API-only service.

Framework & Platform Support

Web, iOS, Android, and server-side.

Web-based API, backend-dependent.

Advanced Composition (Overlays, Effects, Animations)

Dynamic animations, overlays, and blending modes, picture in picture

Limited animation & overlay support – predefined API logic.

Asset Support (Images, Text, Video)

Supports video, images, text, stickers, and flexible overlays.

Web-based API, backend-dependent.

Turnkey Solutions for Various Use Cases

Pre-built editors for video, social, and marketing content.

Requires building everything with API calls.

Everything you need

Key Capabilities

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

Editing

Transform

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

Filters

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

Adjustments

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

Effect & Blur

Add a unique mood to designs with effects & blur.

Element Snapping

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

Blend Modes & Grouping

Define the blending behavior and grouping.

Undo & Redo

Allow users to undo and redo all editing operations.

Printing

Cutout Lines

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

CMYK/ Spot color support

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

Templating

Design Templates

Create role based design templates to jumpstart users’ creativity.

Text Variables

Enable mass personalization and creative automation by embedding variables.

Placeholders & Lockable Designs

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

Configurable Presets

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

Customizability

Build Custom UIs

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

Theming

Change the editor theme to fit seamlessly with your app.

Media Libraries

Set up custom libraries that are easily sortable.

Toolbar Customization

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

Internationalization

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

Export Options

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

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

Learn More Open Showcase

Creative Automation

Automate & scale content creation with ease.

Learn More Open Showcase

Variable Data Printing

Enable mass-personalization in your design & print workflows.

Learn More Open Showcase

Photo Prints

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

Learn More Open Showcase

Print Personalization

Streamline personalization for your print products.

Learn More Open Showcase

Apparel Designer

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

Learn More Open Showcase

Explore Our Demos

See how IMG.LY looks and feels.

Check out our

demos

Ready to Connect?

Reach out to our sales team or start a free trial.

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IMG.LY vs. Shotstack

500M+

What makes IMG.LY the best Shotstack alternative?

Real-Time, In-Browser Video Editing

Timeline Editing and Video Composition

Turn-key Solutions

Pre-built UI with Full Customization

What Our Clients Say About Us

IMG.LY vs. Shotstack at a Glance

Features

IMG.LY

Shotstack

Real-Time, In-Browser Editing

Multi-Layer Editing

Video Templating & Automation

Customization & UI Flexibility

Framework & Platform Support

Advanced Composition (Overlays, Effects, Animations)

Asset Support (Images, Text, Video)

Turnkey Solutions for Various Use Cases

Everything you need

Key Capabilities

Editing

Transform

Filters

Adjustments

Effect & Blur

Element Snapping

Blend Modes & Grouping

Undo & Redo

Printing

Cutout Lines

CMYK/ Spot color support

Templating

Design Templates

Text Variables

Placeholders & Lockable Designs

Configurable Presets

Customizability

Build Custom UIs

Theming

Media Libraries

Toolbar Customization

Internationalization

Export Options

Check Out Other Use Cases

Web2Print Designer

Creative Automation

Variable Data Printing

Photo Prints

Print Personalization

Apparel Designer

More from IMG.LY

IMG.LY for Brands & Agencies

IMG.LY for Marketing Tech

Camera SDK

Photo Editor SDK

Creative Editor SDK

IMG.LY for Social Media

IMG.LY for DAM

Video Editor SDK

More to discover

Explore Our Demos

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