unfurlr vs Microlink
Both return link-preview metadata for a URL. Microlink is a mature headless-browser platform; unfurlr is a small, free, metadata-only API. Here's an honest side-by-side.
| unfurlr | Microlink | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 500 requests/month, no card | 100 requests/month free with a key (per Microlink's pricing page) |
| Paid plans | None yet (free launch) | Pro from $49/month for 46,000 requests |
| Cache hits | Count as a request | Don't count against quota |
| JavaScript rendering | No, static HTML only | Yes, headless browsers |
| Screenshots / PDF | No | Yes |
| Proxies for blocked sites | No. Honest unfurlr-bot user agent, site-owner opt-out list | Automatic proxy resolution |
| Batch endpoint | Yes, 10 URLs per call | Not compared |
| Editor.js LinkTool endpoint | Built in (/v1/linktool) | Not built in |
| Field provenance | *_source, favicon_guess | Not compared |
| SLA | None, free hosting with cold starts | 99.9% on paid plans |
Choose Microlink if
- you need JS-rendered single-page apps, screenshots or PDFs;
- you need sites that block data-center bots;
- you need an SLA, invoices or a DPA.
Choose unfurlr if
- you need title, description, image, favicon and oEmbed from normal web pages;
- you want 5× Microlink's free monthly volume;
- you want a drop-in Editor.js backend or browser (CORS) calls.
unfurlr is new and runs on free hosting, so the first request after idle can take 30–60 s. X, Reddit and Meta sites aren't supported (they block preview bots).
Sources: Microlink pricing, microlink.io/pricing (Retrieved 2026-10-16). unfurlr: API docs.