Best Chart Image API in 2026 (QuickChart & Google Image Charts Alternatives)

If you have ever tried to drop a chart into an email, a PDF, or a Slack message, you know the problem: a live JavaScript chart won't render there. You need an image. That's what a chart image API does, and since Google shut down its free Image Charts endpoint in 2019, people have been hunting for a good replacement ever since.

This guide compares the chart image API options that actually matter in 2026, on the things that decide it: price, how many chart types you get, and whether the output looks good enough to ship.

What is a chart image apiWhat is a chart image API?

A chart image API turns data into a chart and returns it as an image, usually a PNG or SVG, from a URL or a single API call. Instead of a live widget that only works in a browser, you send your data and get back a static image you can embed anywhere: an email, a PDF, a Slack alert, an Open Graph card, or a report. No headless browser to run, no client-side library to load.

The options at a glanceThe options at a glance

The tools honestlyThe tools, honestly

QuickchartQuickChart

QuickChart is the go-to open-source chart image API. You pass a Chart.js configuration as a URL and it returns a PNG, SVG, or WebP. It's free on the public endpoint (rate-limited), and you can self-host it under a GPL license. It covers the full Chart.js type set plus plugin types like sankey and financial.

The catch is the experience. You hand-write JSON config inside a URL, and the defaults look like raw Chart.js, which reads as "a developer made this" rather than "ship it." There's no editor and no design polish. If you want an open-source engine and don't mind the styling, it's a solid pick. Don't reach for it if you want something that looks designed.

Image chartsImage-Charts

Image-Charts positions itself as the drop-in replacement for the deprecated Google Image Charts, using the same cht= and chd= URL syntax. That makes migration easy if you have old Google Charts URLs lying around.

Two things hold it back: the free tier stamps a watermark on every chart, and the chart-type range is a small legacy set. Paid plans that remove the watermark are enterprise-priced and billed annually. It's a fit for one narrow job, replacing old Google Image Charts URLs, and not much beyond it.

Chart imgChart-IMG

Chart-IMG is a different animal: it snapshots TradingView charts via an API. If you specifically need financial charts, candlesticks with indicators tied to real market symbols, it's purpose-built and good at that. But it's not a general chart image API. You can't feed it arbitrary data, and it's PNG only.

Szumszum

szum is a newer entrant that takes readable JSON (not cryptic URL params) and returns publication-quality SVG or PNG. Pro is $29 a month for 100,000 renders. It's a clean, config-driven API aimed at reports and emails. Still no visual editor, and a narrower type range than a full suite, but it's a reasonable modern option if config-first works for you.

ImejisImejis

Imejis is the one that pairs a visual editor with the API. You design a chart in the browser, download it as PNG or SVG, or mark it dynamic and POST fresh data to one endpoint to regenerate the exact same chart on every call. It ships 24 chart types, including ones the others skip entirely: sankey, chord, treemap, funnel, bullet, waffle, dumbbell, radar, calendar heatmap, and candlestick.

Pricing starts at $14.99 a month for 1,000 calls, with a permanent free tier of 100 calls a month, and the browser chart tools export unlimited PNG and SVG with no watermark and no signup. The trade-off is honest: if all you want is a bar chart from a URL and you love writing config, QuickChart is lighter. If you want charts that look designed, more types, and an editor, Imejis is built for that.

Which chart image api should you chooseWhich chart image API should you choose?

• You want free and open-source, and you'll write config: QuickChart.
• You're replacing old Google Image Charts URLs: Image-Charts (mind the watermark).
• You only need financial or TradingView charts: Chart-IMG.
• You want a clean config-first JSON API: szum.
• You want a visual editor, the most chart types, and output you can ship: Imejis.

For most people building report images, dashboards, or social cards, the deciding factor isn't "can it draw a bar chart," it's "does it look good and can a non-developer touch it." That's where the editor plus API combination wins.

How to generate a chart image with imejisHow to generate a chart image with Imejis

1. Design the chart in the visual editor, or start from one of the free chart maker tools like the sankey diagram maker or treemap generator.
2. Mark the chart component dynamic so its data can change per render.
3. POST your data to one endpoint:

POST https://render.imejis.io/v1/<design-id>
{ "sales_chart": { "data": [42, 68, 54, 88], "labels": ["Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4"] } }

4. Get the image back directly in the response, ready to embed in an email <img> tag, a PDF, or a Slack message.

You can browse every type on the components page, see live playgrounds, and copy the exact API call for each.

The bottom lineThe bottom line

Google Image Charts is gone, but the replacements are better than what it offered. QuickChart wins on open-source and price if you're happy with config and plain styling. Image-Charts is a narrow drop-in with a watermark tax. For most teams that want charts that look designed, more chart types, and a workflow a non-developer can use, Imejis is the strongest chart image API, and it's the only one where you can edit in the browser, download PNG or SVG for free, or embed the same chart via the API.

Try it with 100 free API calls a month, or make a chart right now with the free chart tools.