Maximize Your Value

Riddle bills per second of browser time. Here's how to get the most screenshots, form fills, and page interactions for your money.

How Billing Works

$0.50/hour

= $0.0083/minute = $0.000139/second

30-second minimum

= ~$0.00417 per job

Egress: ~$0.0001 per 1.5MB

First 1.5MB included per job

The key insight: one 30-second job costs the same whether you take 1 screenshot or 10.Pack more work into each job to drive down your per-action cost.

Tier 1: Single Screenshot (~$0.004)

The simplest case. One URL, one PNG. Good for occasional use or when you need just one page.

# Sync mode - returns PNG directly
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "sync": true}' \
  -o screenshot.png

# Cost breakdown:
# - Browser time: 30s minimum = $0.00417
# - Egress: ~200KB PNG = included
# - Total: ~$0.004 per screenshot

~$0.004

per screenshot

Tier 2: Batch Multiple URLs (<$0.001)

Need multiple pages? The batch endpoint screenshots up to 10 URLs in one job. Same 30-second minimum, split across all screenshots.

# URLs mode - multiple URLs, one API call
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "urls": [
      "https://example.com",
      "https://example.com/pricing",
      "https://example.com/docs",
      "https://example.com/about",
      "https://example.com/contact"
    ]
  }'

# Cost breakdown (5 URLs):
# - Browser time: ~20-25s = $0.00417 (30s minimum)
# - Egress: ~1.5MB total = included
# - Total: $0.00417 / 5 = $0.00083 per screenshot

<$0.001
per screenshot when batched (5 URLs in one job)

Sync timeout: Sync mode (the default) has a 28-second limit. Batch 5-6 URLs of similar complexity to stay within this window. For larger batches, use "sync": false to poll for results.

Tier 3: Structured Steps API (~$0.0005)

The /v1/run API lets your agent send JSON steps. Navigate, click, fill, screenshot—all in one call. Best for AI agents that generate actions programmatically.

# Structured Steps API - agent-friendly JSON
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "steps": [
      { "goto": "https://example.com" },
      { "screenshot": "homepage" },
      { "goto": "https://example.com/pricing" },
      { "screenshot": "pricing" },
      { "goto": "https://example.com/docs" },
      { "screenshot": "docs" },
      { "goto": "https://example.com/about" },
      { "screenshot": "about" },
      { "goto": "https://example.com/contact" },
      { "screenshot": "contact" }
    ]
  }'

# Cost breakdown (5 pages, ~30 seconds):
# - Browser time: 30s = $0.00417
# - Total: $0.00417 / 5 = ~$0.0008 per screenshot

~$0.0005-0.0008
per screenshot when batched (5+ pages in one job)

Pro tip: Use assert steps to check page state without screenshotting. Only take screenshots at decision points to reduce vision API costs.

Tier 3b: Script API Multi-Page (~$0.0005)

Need full Playwright control? The Script API lets you write custom logic with loops and conditionals.

# Script mode - full control over the browser
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "script": "
      const pages = [
        "https://example.com",
        "https://example.com/pricing",
        "https://example.com/docs",
        "https://example.com/about",
        "https://example.com/blog",
        "https://example.com/contact",
        "https://example.com/careers",
        "https://example.com/press"
      ];

      for (let i = 0; i < pages.length; i++) {
        await page.goto(pages[i], {waitUntil: "domcontentloaded"});
        await saveScreenshot("page" + (i + 1));
      }
    ",
    "timeout_sec": 60
  }'

# Cost breakdown (8 pages, ~45 seconds):
# - Browser time: 45s = $0.00625
# - Egress: ~3MB = $0.00417 + ~$0.0001 overage
# - Total: ~$0.0053 / 8 = ~$0.00066 per screenshot

~$0.0005-0.0007
per screenshot (8+ pages)

Tier 4: Multi-Action Workflows

Screenshots are just one action. What about form fills, clicks, and data extraction? Pack multiple valuable actions into one job.

# Login + navigate + screenshot multiple states
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "script": "
      // Inject auth (no login flow needed)
      await page.goto("https://app.example.com/dashboard");
      await saveScreenshot("dashboard");

      // Check different views
      await page.click("[data-tab=analytics]");
      await page.waitForSelector(".analytics-loaded");
      await saveScreenshot("analytics");

      await page.click("[data-tab=settings]");
      await saveScreenshot("settings");

      // Fill a form and capture result
      await page.fill("#search", "test query");
      await page.click("button[type=submit]");
      await page.waitForSelector(".results");
      await saveScreenshot("search-results");

      // Export some data
      await page.click("#export-btn");
      await page.waitForSelector(".export-ready");
      await saveScreenshot("export");
    ",
    "options": {
      "cookies": [{"name": "session", "value": "xyz", "domain": "app.example.com"}]
    },
    "timeout_sec": 60
  }'

# Cost breakdown:
# - Browser time: ~40s = $0.00556
# - Actions performed: 5 screenshots + 3 clicks + 1 form fill + navigation
# - Per screenshot: ~$0.001
# - Per action (9 total): ~$0.0006

~$0.0006
per action (form fills, clicks, screenshots)

Authenticated Pages: Skip the Login Tax

Login flows are expensive—they burn 10-30 seconds per job. Inject cookies instead and go straight to authenticated content.

Approach	Time	Cost	Screenshots
Login flow each time	30-60s	$0.004-0.008	1
Cookie injection	3-5s	$0.004 (minimum)	1
Cookie + batch 5 pages	20-25s	$0.004	5

# Get your session cookie once (from browser devtools or login script)
SESSION_COOKIE="abc123xyz..."

# Then reuse it for all screenshots - no login overhead
curl -X POST "https://api.riddledc.com/v1/run" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "urls": [
      "https://app.example.com/dashboard",
      "https://app.example.com/analytics",
      "https://app.example.com/settings",
      "https://app.example.com/billing",
      "https://app.example.com/team"
    ],
    "options": {
      "cookies": [{"name": "session", "value": "'$SESSION_COOKIE'", "domain": "app.example.com"}]
    }
  }'

# 5 authenticated screenshots for ~$0.004 total = $0.0008 each

Learn more about authenticated screenshots →

Egress: When It Matters

Each job includes 1.5MB of egress. Additional egress costs ~$0.0001 per 1.5MB. For most use cases, egress is negligible. But if you're taking many large screenshots:

Reduce Viewport Size

Default is 1920x1080. For thumbnails or previews, use smaller viewports. 800x600 screenshots are ~4x smaller than full HD.

"viewport": {"width": 800, "height": 600}

Skip fullPage

Full-page screenshots of long pages can be huge. If you only need above-the-fold, disable fullPage to capture just the viewport.

"fullPage": false

JPEG for Photos

PNG is best for UI screenshots. For photo-heavy pages, JPEG at 80% quality can be 5-10x smaller with minimal visual difference.

"format": "jpeg", "quality": 80

Batch Math

5 screenshots × 300KB each = 1.5MB (included). 5 screenshots × 500KB each = 2.5MB (+$0.00007). Egress rarely exceeds a few cents even at high volume.

Quick Reference: Cost Per Screenshot

Method	Screenshots	Typical Time	Total Cost	Per Screenshot
Sync (single URL)	1	3-5s	$0.00417	~$0.004
Batch (3 URLs)	3	15-20s	$0.00417	~$0.0014
Batch (5 URLs)	5	20-25s	$0.00417	~$0.0008
Batch (6 URLs)	6	22-28s	$0.00417	~$0.0007
Script (8 pages)	8	40-50s	~$0.006	~$0.0007
Script (10+ pages)	10+	50-60s	~$0.007	~$0.0005-0.0007

When to Use What

All modes use the same POST /v1/run endpoint. Just change the input field.

Use url mode When...

You need one screenshot, right now. PNG bytes returned directly (sync by default).

{"url": "..."}

Use urls mode When...

You have a list of URLs and want them all screenshotted. Best value for 3-10 independent pages.

{"urls": ["...", "..."]}

Use steps mode When...

Your AI agent generates actions programmatically. JSON steps, no code syntax. Best for LLM-generated workflows.

{"steps": [{...}]}

Use script mode When...

You need full Playwright control: loops, try/catch, complex selectors. Or when step types don't cover your use case.

{"script": "await page..."}

Real-World Examples

E-commerce: Product Page Monitoring

Screenshot 100 product pages daily to monitor competitor pricing:

# 100 URLs ÷ 5 per batch = 20 batch calls
# 20 calls × $0.00417 = $0.0834/day
# = $0.000834 per screenshot
# = ~$2.50/month for daily monitoring of 100 pages

SaaS: Visual Regression Testing

Screenshot 50 authenticated app states after each deploy:

# Use Script API with cookie injection
# 50 pages in 5 script calls (10 pages each, ~60s each)
# 5 calls × ~$0.007 = $0.035 per deploy
# = $0.0007 per screenshot
# With 10 deploys/day = $0.35/day = ~$10/month

AI Agent: Vision Loop

Agent takes 500 screenshots/day across various pages:

# Mix of sync (urgent) and batch (grouped) calls
# 100 sync calls × $0.004 = $0.40
# 400 screenshots in 80 batch calls × $0.004 = $0.32
# Total: $0.72/day = ~$22/month
# Average: $0.00144 per screenshot

Start Optimizing

Create an account and experiment with batching to find your optimal workflow.

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