Both services turn a text prompt in a URL into an AI image. Pollinations is a general generative AI platform with dozens of image models and pay-as-you-go credits, and its current API requires an API key. placeholdr.dev does one job: placeholder images you can put straight into an <img> tag, with no key.
placeholdr.dev/600x400/white%20sneaker?seed=2We requested the same prompt from Pollinations without a key on October 23, 2026. Its current endpoint answered 401 Unauthorized. Its older endpoint returned a 600×400 image from its smaller Sana model with a pollinations.ai logo in the corner, and refused another request for 45 seconds.
Side by side
| Pollinations | placeholdr.dev | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A generative AI platform for text, images, audio and video | A placeholder image service for websites and apps |
| API key | Required by the current API | Not needed |
| Image URL | gen.pollinations.ai/image/{prompt}?model=…&width=…&height=…, with the key in an Authorization header | placeholdr.dev/{width}x{height}/{prompt}?style=…&seed=… |
| Without a key | Older endpoint image.pollinations.ai: 1 image every 45 seconds per IP, smaller model, logo in the corner | 30 new images a day per IP address and per live domain; saved images load without limit |
| Models | Dozens, including FLUX, GPT Image, Gemini and Seedream; Z-Image Turbo by default | One FLUX model, with photographic, digital art and anime styles |
| Pricing | Pay-as-you-go credits called Pollen | Free, or Pro at $9 a month for 500 new images a day on your domains |
| Keys in the browser | Secret keys must stay on a server; browser apps sign users in with Pollinations' OAuth flow | Nothing secret in the URL |
| Same URL, same image | Seeds are supported by some models | Always: an image is saved once and served from Cloudflare's CDN |
| First request | Waits until the image is generated | Returns a temporary SVG at once, and the finished image after a few seconds |
When Pollinations is the better choice
- You need a particular model, image editing, transparent backgrounds, or video and audio too.
- Images are generated on your server, where an API key can stay secret.
- You generate at volume and want to pay per image.
When placeholdr.dev is the better choice
- You want plain image URLs in HTML, Markdown or JSX, with no key to manage or leak.
- Prototypes, demos and sites built by AI coding tools, where each image should match its section.
- Stable URLs: once generated, an image never changes and loads from the CDN.
Switching from Pollinations
https://image.pollinations.ai/prompt/white%20sneaker?width=600&height=400&seed=2
https://placeholdr.dev/600x400/white%20sneaker?seed=2- Move width and height into the path as
600x400, between 64 and 2048 px. - Keep prompts under 120 characters, and use seeds 1, 2 or 3.
- Drop
model,nologoandenhance. Model choice and image editing have no equivalent. - The first request for a new URL returns a temporary SVG while the image is generated. Reload after a few seconds.
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Try placeholdr.dev in the demo, or read the full API reference. Spotted something out of date? Write to hello@placeholdr.dev.