# ImageKit vs Sharp

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** ImageKit

| Attribute | ImageKit | Sharp |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 78.3 (76% (high)) | 59.5 (48% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 27 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 178,353 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 32,744 |
| content.faq | - | `[{"answer":"A Node.js library that efficiently transforms images between multiple formats—JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, AVIF, and TIFF—supporting operations like resizing, rotation, and compositing with optimized memory usage and multi-core processing. It is indexed under Image Optimization.","source":"https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com","question":"What is Sharp?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Sharp is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the Apache-2.0 licence. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com","question":"Is Sharp free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Sharp supports Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com","question":"What platforms does Sharp support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Sharp can be deployed self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com","question":"Can Sharp be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Sharp is published under the Apache-2.0 licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp","question":"Is Sharp open source?","confidence":0.95}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | A unified service for real-time image and video processing, transformation, and delivery at scale. It provides URL-based APIs for media optimization, an AI-powered digital asset management system, and integrations with existing CDNs and storage solutions. | A Node.js library that efficiently transforms images between multiple formats—JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, AVIF, and TIFF—supporting operations like resizing, rotation, and compositing with optimized memory usage and multi-core processing. |
| features.capabilities | `{"iso_27001":true,"soc2_type_ii":true,"pricing_model":"freemium_basic","architecture_model":"managed_cloud_api_cdn","ai_smart_crop_face_detection_centering":true,"global_cdn_edge_delivery_network_included":true,"watermarking_and_text_overlay_via_url_api":true,"video_transcoding_and_gif_to_mp4_conversion":true,"on_the_fly_url_parameter_resizing_and_cropping":true,"auto_webp_avif_format_negotiation_via_browser_headers":true}` | `{"architecture_model":"local_cli_compression_utility","lossless_and_perceptual_lossy_compression_algorithms":true}` |
| integrations.count | 20 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Next.js","native":true},{"name":"Astro","native":true},{"name":"Node.js","native":true},{"name":"Go","native":true},{"name":"Contentful","native":true,"category":"cms"},{"name":"Sanity","native":true,"category":"cms"},{"name":"Strapi","native":true,"category":"cms"},{"name":"Magento","native":true,"category":"ecommerce"},{"name":"Netlify","native":true},{"name":"AWS S3","native":true,"category":"storage","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Google Cloud Storage","native":true,"category":"storage","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Azure Blob Storage","native":true,"category":"storage","direction":"bidirectional"}]` | - |
| language.primary | - | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | - | Apache-2.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | - |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` | `{"cli":true,"mac":true,"linux":true,"windows":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"freemium","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Forever Free","summary":"Free with usage limits","features":["image delivery","video processing","AI features","cache purging"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"bandwidth":"~1 million images/month","ai_extensions":"65 background removals or 650 image tags/month","video_processing":"500 seconds SD or 250 seconds HD/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$9/month plus metered overages","features":["unlimited transformations","automatic AVIF optimization","phone and Slack support","custom SLAs","5 user logins"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":9,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.5,"currency":"USD"},{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"GB"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.1,"currency":"USD"},{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"additional user","amount":9,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"storage":"~30,000 files","bandwidth":"~2 million images or 2000 minutes HD video/month","ai_extensions":"400 background removals or 4000 image tags/month","video_processing":"5000 seconds SD or 2500 seconds HD/month"}}],"summary":"Free tier available. Paid plans from $9/month with transparent metered overages for bandwidth and storage.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://imagekit.io/plans/","retrievedAt":"2026-09-16T15:30:46.544Z","startingPrice":{"amount":9,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"open_source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com","retrievedAt":"2026-09-01T16:05:43.141Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | low | free |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":9,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | - |
| release.cadence_days | - | 1 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.5","date":"2026-09-27T13:44:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.5-rc.1","date":"2026-09-27T08:56:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.5-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.5-rc.0","date":"2026-09-22T14:20:13Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.5-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.4","date":"2026-08-26T09:38:44Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.4-rc.0","date":"2026-08-25T23:00:37Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.4-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.3","date":"2026-07-01T11:27:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.3-rc.2","date":"2026-06-30T12:01:23Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.3-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.3-rc.1","date":"2026-06-27T12:12:55Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.3-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.2","date":"2026-06-19T13:46:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.2-rc.2","date":"2026-06-18T10:15:24Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.2-rc.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.2-rc.1","date":"2026-06-18T09:11:26Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.2-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.2-rc.0","date":"2026-06-16T16:08:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.2-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.1","date":"2026-06-11T17:09:31Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.1-rc.1","date":"2026-06-11T12:46:14Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.1-rc.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.1-rc.0","date":"2026-06-11T08:00:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.1-rc.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.0","date":"2026-06-10T17:06:02Z","type":"stable","version":"v0.35.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.0-rc.8","date":"2026-06-10T13:53:45Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.0-rc.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.0-rc.7","date":"2026-06-10T08:59:00Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.0-rc.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.0-rc.6","date":"2026-06-07T09:47:31Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.0-rc.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/lovell/sharp/releases/tag/v0.35.0-rc.5","date":"2026-04-21T21:09:04Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v0.35.0-rc.5"}]` |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"ISO 27001","status":"active","auditor":"independent third-party accreditation body","evidenceUrl":"https://imagekit.io/security-and-trust"},{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active","auditor":"independent third-party auditors","evidenceUrl":"https://imagekit.io/security-and-trust"}]` | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.iso27001 | yes | - |
| security.scorecard | - | 6.6 |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.trust_center | https://imagekit.io/security-and-trust | https://sharp.pixelplumbing.com/security |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":5,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=sharp&per_page=100","last_12m":3,"max_severity":"HIGH"}` |

## Capabilities (Image Optimization)

| Capability | ImageKit | Sharp |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Architecture model | Managed cloud API CDN | Local CLI compression utility |
| On the fly URL parameter resizing and cropping | ✓ | - |
| Auto webp avif format negotiation via browser headers | ✓ | - |
| AI smart crop face detection centering | ✓ | - |
| Lossless and perceptual lossy compression algorithms | - | ✓ |
| Global CDN edge delivery network included | ✓ | - |
| Watermarking and text overlay via URL API | ✓ | - |
| Video transcoding and gif to mp4 conversion | ✓ | - |
| Svg sanitization and optimization | - | - |
| Dashboard analytics for bandwidth cache hit ratio | - | - |
| SOC2 type ii | ✓ | - |
| ISO 27001 | ✓ | - |
| Pricing model | Freemium basic | - |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-17T10:10:50.991Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*