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Sohail Pathan
Sohail Pathan

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Exploring Video Watermarking APIs: ApyHub vs. api.video vs. Bannerbear vs. CloudConvert

Introduction

Video watermarking APIs allow users to add watermarks to videos, enhancing brand recognition and increasing security. More benefits of using watermarks include:

  • Discourage unauthorized use
  • Prevent copyright infringement
  • Brand promotion
  • Create authenticity

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Video watermark result - ApyHub

In this article, we will explore and compare some of the most popular watermarking APIs.

Features & Functionality

Input Format

ApyHub allows you to provide source input in both Text and Image. Similarly, CloudConvert and Bannerbear allow you to provide source input in both Text and Image. However, api.video only allows you to watermark using Image.

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Text watermark (left) & image watermark (right) in a video

Customization:

Whether it's an image watermark or a text watermark, proper alignment and positioning are important in order to ensure that the message of the image is not disrupted. ApyHub offers additional parameter options, such as the watermark's position, rotation angle, opacity, and size. api.video also allows for some customization, for watermark position ( left, right, top and bottom), Aspect ratio ( width & height ) and opacity. CloudConvert allows you to customize the size, position, opacity, margin and rotation of the watermark.

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api.video cURL Example

SDKs and Client Libraries

ApyHub provides the client code in 8 languages (C, C#, JavaScript, Go, NodeJS, Java, Python, and PHP) and SDKs in Node.js and Go. CloudConvert provides SDKs in about 7 different languages, including PHP, Node.js, Python, Ruby, Java, and .NET. api.video offer the Client Code in 3 languages ( Go, JavaScript and Python) and SDKs in Go, C#, Python, PHP and Nodejs. Bannerbear provides SDK in Ruby, NodeJS and PHP.

Documentation and Tutorials:

Apyhub APIs are supported with thorough documentation, including the Authentication method, Error Codes, HTTP Response Codes, and Request Examples. CloudConvert also has rich language-specific documentation but does not include an error and response code. Bannerbear has universal documentation for the developers. Api.video has provided documentation in the form of step by step guide which is easily understandable.

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Bannerbear Tutorials Page

API Testing

Most of the providers let you test the APIs right from a terminal in the platform. ApyHub also has an API Playground where you can test the APIs in the UI plus you can see the snippet of the provided input in cURL. Cloudconvert, api.video and Bannerbear doesn’t seem to have any API Playground, although they provide you with cURL to test APIs in tools Postman/Hopscotch.

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ApyHub API Testing Playground

Availability

ApyHub has served *99.99% of uptime. api.video, Bannerbear, and Status also claim to have high uptime.

Pricing

This is subject to change but at the time of writing, all providers offer a subscription-based tiered model including a free plan. The most generous free plan is from ApyHub, offering 2 Million API calls per month for free, CloudCovert offers 25 calls per day, so 750 calls per month, Bannerbear offers free 30 API Credits for a lifetime without a credit card. Api.video doesn’t offer any free API Calls.

Community Support

Most of the providers offer dedicated channels such as Discord, Slack, or Chatbot Agent to their users to ask support questions. ApyHub has a dedicated Discord Server, which lets you interact directly with the support team in addition to email support. Whereas CloudConvert and Bannerbear have email-based support. api.video offers a chatbot to customers and a dedicated forum for resolving questions.

Below is a summary of the comparison of the providers I looked at.

Provider # Calls (Free) Input Format Customization File Size Pricing ( Paid ) Throttling
ApyHub 2M calls in the free plan Image & Text position, rotation angle, opacity, size 50 MB Starting from 10 EUR/month. Custom pricing plan for Enterprises. 1 call/s in the free plan
CloudConvert 25 calls Per Day Image & Text size, position, opacity, margin rotation angle. 1 GB Starting from 8.5 EUR/month 1 call/in the free plan
Bannerbear 30 Calls in the free plan Image & Text size, position, opacity, margin and rotation of the watermark. N/A Starting from 49 EUR/month Custom pricing plan for Enterprises. 1 call/in the free plan
api.video No Calls in Free Plan. Only Encoding is free. Only Image. position aspect ratio, opacity N/A Starting from 13 EUR/month Custom pricing plan for Enterprises. 1 call/in the free plan

Conclusion:

While all the providers offer video watermarking APIs, each has its own strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, the best API for your specific requirements will depend on factors such as the level of customization needed, developer support, and budget constraints. We recommend exploring each provider's offerings in more detail to determine the best fit for your needs.

Do you agree with our list of the above API Providers? What do you think is the best watermarking API? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

This is the second article I wrote on the subject of watermarking. Read here to see my comparison for the top Image watermarking providers.

*Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. The opinions expressed are solely based on the research and may vary based on individual experiences and preferences.

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