Placehold.co API

Free placeholder image API with no key: generate images at any size with custom colours, text and format straight from a URL. No JSON needed. Tested example.

No API key requiredCORS enabledHTTPSFree tier

Endpoint tested and returned HTTP 200 on 19 Aug 2026

What is the Placehold.co API?

Placehold.co is a free, key-free placeholder image API that generates a solid-colour image at any dimensions from a URL, with customisable background, text colour, caption and output format.

This is the classic grey-box placeholder, generated on demand from the URL. Unlike photo-based placeholder services it produces a plain image with the dimensions written on it, which is exactly what you want when checking layout and aspect ratios rather than evaluating real imagery.

It supports SVG output, which is worth using during development: an SVG placeholder is a fraction of the size of a PNG, renders instantly, and scales without blurring.

Quick facts

Base URL: https://placehold.co
Authentication: No API key required.
Rate limit: No published limit.
Pricing: Free, including commercial use.
CORS: Enabled — callable directly from browser JavaScript
Official docs: Read the docs

How to use the Placehold.co API

Every request below was executed against the live API on 19 Aug 2026, and the response shown is the real body it returned — not an illustration.

1. Generate a placeholder image

GET https://placehold.co/600x400/png

curl

curl 'https://placehold.co/600x400/png'

JavaScript (fetch)

const res = await fetch("https://placehold.co/600x400/png");
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`Request failed: ${res.status}`);
const data = await res.json();
console.log(data);

Python (requests)

import requests

res = requests.get("https://placehold.co/600x400/png", timeout=20)
res.raise_for_status()
print(res.json())

Response — HTTP 200

# This endpoint returns image/png, not JSON.
# The response body is the image itself, so it can be used directly as an
# <img src="..."> or saved to a file — there is nothing to parse.
#
# Verified: HTTP 200, Content-Type: image/png

Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`<width>x<height>`	path	Required	Dimensions. A single number produces a square. `600x400`
`<bg>/<fg>`	path	Optional	Background and text colours as hex without the hash. `000000/FFFFFF`
`<format>`	path	Optional	png, jpg, gif, webp or svg as a file extension. `png`
`text`	string	Optional	Custom caption. Use + for spaces. `Hello+World`
`font`	string	Optional	Font family for the caption. `roboto`

Response fields

(image)image: The response body is the generated image, not JSON.

What you can build with the Placehold.co API

Block out layouts and check aspect ratios during development
Fill wireframes and mockups with correctly sized boxes
Test responsive image behaviour at specific dimensions
Generate lightweight SVG placeholders that load instantly

Common errors and how to fix them

Text not appearing

Spaces were not encoded.

Fix: Use + or %20 for spaces in the text parameter.

Colours ignored

Hex values included a # character.

Fix: Pass colours as bare hex, e.g. /000000/FFFFFF.

Placehold.co API — frequently asked questions

Is there a free placeholder image API?

Yes. Placehold.co generates placeholder images at any size directly from a URL, with no API key and no signup.

Can I customise the colours and text?

Yes. Put background and foreground hex colours in the path without the hash, and pass a `text` parameter with + for spaces.

Should I use SVG or PNG placeholders?

SVG during development — it is far smaller, renders instantly and scales cleanly. Use PNG only if something in your pipeline cannot handle SVG.

How is this different from Lorem Picsum?

Placehold.co generates plain coloured boxes with the dimensions written on them, which is better for checking layout. Lorem Picsum returns real photographs, which is better for judging a design's final feel.

Tools that pair with this API

Image Cropper

Crop images online to an exact rectangle with pixel-precise x, y, width and height inputs or aspect-ratio presets. Free, private and browser-based.

Color Picker

Pick any color and get its HEX, RGB and HSL values instantly. Free online color picker with shades, tints and one-click copy for designers and developers.

Alternatives to Placehold.co API

If Placehold.co does not fit, these photography & design apis cover similar ground. Every one was called before publishing, and each links to its own reference page with a working curl command and the response it returned.

API	What it does	Auth	CORS	Last verified
Metropolitan Museum of Art	Free Metropolitan Museum of Art API with no key: 470,000+ artworks with high-resolution public-domain images, artist data and full object metadata. Tested.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
Art Institute of Chicago	Free Art Institute of Chicago API with no key: 130,000+ artworks with IIIF images, colour data, artist info and rich metadata. Well documented. Tested example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
Cleveland Museum of Art	Free Cleveland Museum of Art API with no key: 60,000+ artworks with open-access images, provenance, exhibition history and full metadata. Tested curl example.	No key	No	19 Aug 2026
DiceBear Avatars	Free avatar generator API with no key: deterministic SVG or PNG avatars from any seed, in 30+ styles with customisable colours. Tested curl example.	No key	Yes	19 Aug 2026
PlaceKeanu	Free novelty placeholder service with no key: dimensions in the path return a Keanu Reeves placeholder, with greyscale and young-Keanu variants. Tested example included.	No key	No	21 Aug 2026
Readme Typing SVG	Free animated SVG API with no key: generate a typing-and-deleting text animation from URL parameters, embeddable anywhere an image works. Tested example included.	No key	No	21 Aug 2026

All Photography & Design APIs

Placehold.co is an independent third-party service and is not affiliated with ByteTools or ByteVancer. Details on this page were verified on 19 Aug 2026; always check the official documentation before relying on this API in production, as terms and limits can change.