Top reasons to choose ImageKit

1. Quick integration

You can complete the integration within 10 minutes by plugging ImageKit with existing storage instead of moving images to our storage. Integrate with Amazon S3, Firebase, Azure, Wasabi, Google Cloud, WordPress, or Magento to instantly get all real-time resizing and automatic optimization.

2. No need to change image URL

Setup the same custom domain and start delivering optimized images. You don't have to add any parameter in the image URL to get quality & format optimization.

3. Easy to use media library

ImageKit provides a simple interface to upload, manage, search, and tag resources for efficient digital asset management in the cloud. Your marketing team will love it.

4. Scalable pricing

Pricing should be simple to understand and predictable. ImageKit charges based on these factors:

• Viewing bandwidth
• Video manipulations operations
• Media library storage
• Advanced usage of extensions

All plans include unlimited image manipulations, and thumbnail storage is not charged.

In most cases, you will only manipulate media and delivery through our CDN. You pay more when your site traffic increases. Your cost doesn't depend on how many images you process per month. For example, if you serve an image only once in a month, in ImageKit, you only pay for the viewing bandwidth, but in Imgix, you also pay for master images.

5. Superior technical support

Most of the time, you won't have to speak with us, but you will be impressed when you do.

6. Faster processing timings

ImageKit has a multi-region image processing network that comes with every plan. It means, no matter where your original images are stored, first fetch timings will be minimal.

7 Performance monitoring

ImageKit has in-built automatic performance monitoring and alerting for key business pages.

8. Single account for multiple websites

You can use a single account for many websites and leverage volume discounts—no fuss about where and how you use it.

Top reasons to choose Imgix

1. You have fewer master images

If you have relatively less number of master images, then Imgix could be a good choice.

Still not convinced? Let's get into the details.

Feature comparison

Both products have been around for a long time and have all the features you need to store, resize, and deliver optimized images within milliseconds. However, each has certain unique advantages that could make your life easy, depending upon your use-cases.

Media manipulation

ImageKit has more than 40 URL parameters for image manipulation. You can dynamically adapt images as you want to fit the layout. Imgix has unique features like injecting a custom function into the image transformation pipeline.

For example:

<!-- In Imagekit.io, both will work-->
<img src="https://ik.imgkit.net/demo/image.jpg?tr=w-300"></img>
<img src="https://ik.imgkit.net/demo/tr:w-300/image.jpg"></img>

<!-- In Imgix, only one will work -->
<img src="https://assets.imgix.net/demo/image.jpg?w=300,format=auto"></img>

Let's see how media manipulation works in ImageKit:

Media optimization

Both offer the same level of compression as both solutions leverage tried and tested industry standard encoding algorithms.

However, ImageKit has a better approach. It will always compress images and videos by default. You don't have to change the URL to leverage automatic media optimization.

In Imgix, you will have to add format=auto parameter in every URL to make it work. Otherwise, the format is not changed based on browser support.

Let's see how automatic media optimization works in ImageKit:

Performance monitoring & alerting

This feature is unique to ImageKit. You will get an in-depth image optimization report for key business pages delivered to your inbox. This allows your team to proactively fix issues without having to check generic web-performance reports in third party tools manually.

• Get actionable advice that will fix performance issues immediately.
• Automatic daily analysis on desktop and mobile devices.
• Performance insights delivered to your inbox.

Media library

ImageKit has a simple interface to upload, manage, search, and tag resources for efficient digital asset management in the cloud. Your marketing team will love it.

Imgix doesn't have media storage.

ImageKit advantage is that it has co-located storages in all 6 geographic regions. It has two benefits:

• It will improve your first fetch timings. The processing server is in the same AWS region where the image is stored. The download timings are minimal, and your data doesn't even leave AWS datacenter.
• It will help you with GDPR compliance. For example, if you choose the Frankfurt region, your assets will be stored in only the Frankfort region.

Here is how the media library works in ImageKit:

Analytics

ImageKit has powerful analytics that allows you to track everything necessary from one place. You will get the following reports in ImageKit:

• Top 404 URLs - Proactively identify and fix image URLs that return 404 errors before your users report them.
• Daily bandwidth and request usage graph (with and without imagekit)
• Top images based on request & bandwidth
• Top image transformations
• Country reports
• Referral reports

Imgix also has all the necessary reports.

Infrastructure comparison

ImageKit has a multi-region core processing network, which decreases the response time for new transformations and increases overall uptime.

ImageKit was the first one to offer multi-region co-located storage.

Pricing comparison

ImageKit has a predictable and simple to understand pricing model. In most cases, your monthly cost depends on viewing bandwidth. If you use advanced features such as video manipulation or extensions, you pay as per actual usage.

Few good points about ImageKit pricing:

• Forever free plan option.
• Small overage unit. It means your cost increases proportionally to your site traffic.
• Unlimited master images.
• Unlimited image transformations.
• Unlimited thumbnail storage.

Apart from bandwidth inclusions, the difference between free and paid plan is:

• One custom domain name e.g. images.example.com.
• One time 30 min consultation call where we will cover how you can improve website performance and user experience.
• Media library backup.
• Automated performance monitoring and alerting.
• Live chat support.
• User management.

Imgix doesn't have a forever free plan. The minimum billing is $10 per month. Then you pay $3 per 1000 master images and $0.08 per GB of bandwidth.

Here ImageKit has a clear advantage. Not only in terms of simplicity and staring cost but also how the cost will grow in the future. Let's understand that with examples.

How will your cost increase in the future?

It is crucial to understand how the costing will grow in the future when your team starts using a service for different use-cases. You should avoid being in a situation where you are stuck with a third party solution and paying more than a reasonable amount of money every month.

For example, let's say you implemented one of the solutions on a news website. Now new images are being added every month. Old photos are still being requested, but very rarely. Now with ImageKit, you only pay for the viewing bandwidth. But in Imgix, you will also have to pay for the master image, even if that master image is accessed only once.

Integration comparison

ImageKit is built to integrate with the existing setup in minutes.

A few advantages of ImageKit are:

• No URL change required - setup the same custom domain and start delivering optimized images. It comes with a paid plan, which is $49 per month.
• Connect with any object storage - Native integration with Amazon S3, DigitalOcean Spaces, Google Cloud Storage, Akeneo, Firebase, Ali storage, Wasabi, and other S3-compatible storages. Available on all plans.
• Integrate with any web server - Attach any public server or load balancer e.g. Magento, WordPress, Shopify, AWS EC2 or ELBs. Available on all plans.
• Fetch any remote URL - Optimize & transform any public image through ImageKit using Web Proxy origin. Available on all plans.
• Manage multiple websites in the same account - Add multiple external storage and access them on unique URL endpoints. Available on all plans.
• Use in-built AWS CloudFront or your CDN - Integrate with Akamai, CloudFlare, Fastly, Azure, Google CDN, Alibaba Cloud CDN or Limelight. It comes with a minimum monthly billing of $300.

Imgix also offers native integration with S3 and HTTP server.

Uptime comparison

ImageKit has had fewer downtimes in the past. 6 image processing regions act as a failover for each other if one region goes down. This type of distributed architecture not only improves the TTFB for first image fetch but also make ImageKit more available. ImageKit is committed to expanding its infrastructure in other regions in the future.

Also, based on the status pages, ImageKit seems to be more transparent about past incidents. You will be able to see recent uptime reports for different regions from a single view without further digging.

Support comparison

ImageKit offers live chat support. You can initiate a conversation with us from the dashboard, docs, or any page on the website. You will get expert advice from actual engineers.

Here is a screenshot of our Intercom's conversation ratings.

ImageKit SDKs

ImageKit offers SDKs for all popular programming languages.

You can quickly implement URL generation and file upload with a few lines of code.

// In order to use the SDK, you need to provide it with a few configuration parameters. 
// The configuration parameters can be applied directly to the IKImage component or using 
// an IKContext component.

<IKContext
	publicKey="your_public_key"
	urlEndpoint="your_url_endpoint"
	transformationPosition="path"
	authenticationEndpoint="http://www.yourserver.com/auth"
>

	// Image component
	<IKImage path="/default-image.jpg" transformation={[{
		"height": "300",
		"width": "400"
	}]} />

	// Image upload
	<IKUpload fileName="my-upload" />
</IKContext>

// In order to use the SDK, you need to provide it with a few configuration parameters. 
// The configuration parameters must be passed to the ImagekitioAngularModule module 
// in your app.module.ts file.

@NgModule({
    declarations: [
        AppComponent
    ],
    imports: [
        BrowserModule,
        AppRoutingModule,
        ImagekitioAngularModule.forRoot({
            publicKey: "your_public_key", // or environment.publicKey
            urlEndpoint: "your_url_endpoint", // or environment.urlEndpoint
            authenticationEndpoint: "http://www.yourserver.com/auth" // or environment.authenticationEndpoint
        })
    ],
    providers: [],
    bootstrap: [AppComponent]
})

// Image render using path
<ik-image path="/default-image.jpg" transformation={[{
	"height": "300",
	"width": "400"
}]}></ik-image>

// Simple upload
<ik-upload fileName="my-upload" /></ik-upload>

// Upload using callbacks and other parameters of upload API
<ik-upload 
	fileName="test_new" 
	[useUniqueFileName]="false" 
	[isPrivateFile]="true"
	(onSuccess)="handleUploadSuccess($event)"
	(onError)="handleUploadError($event)"
></ik-upload>

// In order to use the SDK, you need to provide it with a few configuration parameters. 
// The configuration parameters can be applied directly to the IKImage component or using an IKContext component.

<IKContext
	publicKey="your_public_key"
	urlEndpoint="your_url_endpoint"
	transformationPosition="path"
	authenticationEndpoint="http://www.yourserver.com/auth"
>

	// Image component
	<IKImage path="/default-image.jpg" transformation={[{
		"height": "300",
		"width": "400"
	}]} />

	// Image upload
	<IKUpload fileName="my-upload" />
</IKContext>

import com.imagekit.android.ImageKit;

ImageKit.init(
	context = applicationContext,
	publicKey = "your_public_key",
	urlEndpoint = "your_url_endpoint",
	transformationPosition = TransformationPosition.PATH,
	authenticationEndpoint = "http://www.yourserver.com/auth"
)

// your_url_endpoint/default-image.jpg?tr=h-400.00,ar-3-2
ImageKit.getInstance()
        .url(
            path = "default-image.jpg",
            transformationPosition = TransformationPosition.QUERY
        )
        .height(400f)
        .aspectRatio(3, 2)
        .create()

// File upload
ImageKit.getInstance().uploader().uploadImage(
    file = bitmap!!
    , fileName = filename
    , useUniqueFilename = false
    , tags = arrayOf("nice", "copy", "books")
    , folder = "/dummy/folder/"
    , imageKitCallback = this
)

import com.imagekit.android.ImageKit;

ImageKit.Companion.init(
    getApplicationContext(),
    "your_public_key",
    "your_url_endpoint",
    TransformationPosition.PATH,
    "http://www.yourserver.com/auth"
);

// your_url_endpoint/default-image.jpg?tr=h-400.00,ar-3-2
ImageKit.Companion.getInstance()
        .url(
            "default-image.jpg",
            TransformationPosition.QUERY
        )
        .height(400f)
        .aspectRatio(3, 2)
        .create()

// File upload
ImageKit.Companion.getInstance().uploader().uploadImage(
    bitmap,
    filename,
    false, // useUniqueFilename
    new String[]{"nice", "copy", "books"}, // tags, 
    "/dummy/folder/", 
    imageKitCallback
)

// SDK initialization

var imagekit = new ImageKit({
    publicKey : "your_public_key",
    urlEndpoint : "your_url_endpoint",
    authenticationEndpoint : "http://www.yourserver.com/auth",
});

// URL generation
var imageURL = imagekit.url({
    path : "/default-image.jpg",
    transformation : [{
        "height" : "300",
        "width" : "400"
    }]
});

// Upload function internally uses the ImageKit.io javascript SDK
function upload(data) {
    var file = document.getElementById("file1");
    imagekit.upload({
        file : file.files[0],
        fileName : "abc1.jpg",
        tags : ["tag1"]
    }, function(err, result) {
        console.log(arguments);
        console.log(imagekit.url({
            src: result.url,
            transformation : [{ height: 300, width: 400}]
        }));
    })
}

# SDK initialization

from imagekitio import ImageKit
imagekit = ImageKit(
	private_key='your_private_key',
	public_key='your_public_key',
	url_endpoint='your_url_endpoint'
)

// SDK initialization

var ImageKit = require("imagekit");

var imagekit = new ImageKit({
    publicKey : "your_public_key",
    privateKey : "your_private_key",
    urlEndpoint : "your_url_endpoint"
});

# Add this code to config/initializers/imagekitio.rb

ImageKitIo.configure do |config|
  if Rails.env.development?
    config.public_key = 'your_public_key'
    config.private_key = 'your_private_key'
    config.url_endpoint = 'your_url_endpoint' # https://ik.imagekit.io/your_imagekit_id
  end
  config.service = :carrierwave # replace with ':active_storage' if using ActiveStorage for uploads
  # config.constants.MISSING_PRIVATE_KEY = 'custom error message'
end
#make sure to replace the your_public_key, your_private_key and your_url_endpoint with actual values


# following sections only apply if you're  using the ActiveStorage functionality

# run the following commands on terminal in your project directory
rails active_storage:install
rails db:migrate

# add the following to config/storage.yml
imagekitio:
    service: ImageKitIo

# add the following to config/environments/development.rb
config.active_storage.service = :imagekitio

// Create a config.properties file inside src/main/resources of your project. 
// And put essential values of keys (UrlEndpoint, PrivateKey, PublicKey), no need to use quote
// in values. Then you need to initialize ImageKit with that configuration.

// UrlEndpoint=your_url_endpoint
// PrivateKey=your_private_key
// PublicKey=your_public_key

import io.imagekit.sdk.ImageKit;
import io.imagekit.sdk.config.Configuration;
import io.imagekit.sdk.utils.Utils;

class App {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
       ImageKit imageKit=ImageKit.getInstance();
       Configuration config=Utils.getSystemConfig(App.class);
       imageKit.setConfig(config);
   }
}

// SDK initialization

use ImageKit\ImageKit;

$imageKit = new ImageKit(
    "your_public_key",
    "your_private_key",
    "your_url_endpoint"
);

// SDK initialization

using Imagekit;

Imagekit.Imagekit imagekit = new Imagekit.Imagekit("your_public_key", "your_private_key", "your_url_endpoint", "path");

Here is what our customers have to say:

Conclusion

If you scrolled too quickly, here is what you need to know:

• Choose ImageKit for image & video manipulation, optimization, storage & delivery.
• Choose Imgix if you have very few master images and you are sure that these images will not be accessed infrequently in any given month.

Please reach out to us at support@imagekit.io, in case you have any questions.