Film reference sites compared: FrameThrower, ShotDeck, Flim and more
FrameThrower is a curated film and animation reference library. It holds 1,362,742 frames and 928,267 clips, picked and tagged by our in-house team of film professionals. You can search by text, image or script. Below, it is compared with ShotDeck, Flim, FilmGrab, Frameset, StillsLab, MovieStillsDB and shot.cafe on library, features and price.
Short answer: FrameThrower has the largest curated library, about 50 data points on every film frame, a free plan, script search and the only API. ShotDeck has no free plan. Flim adds TV and AI generation. FilmGrab is free but browse-only.
Library
| Library | FrameThrower | ShotDeck | Flim | FilmGrab | Frameset | StillsLab | MovieStillsDB | shot.cafe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Library size (Frames + clips) | 2,291,009 (1,362,742 frames, 928,267 clips) | 1,792,426 (1,792,426 frames, No clips) | 1,910,000 (1,500,000 frames, 410,000 clips) | 234,823 (234,823 frames, No clips) | 100,000 (100,000 frames, No clips) | 75,610 (75,610 frames, No clips) | 1,810,000 (1,810,000 frames, No clips) | 24,321 (24,321 frames, No clips) |
| Data points per frame* (Frame details you can see or search by) | 50 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 5 |
| Library types (Top three, in order) | Movies, Ads, Animation | Movies, Series, Music videos | Movies, Ads, Music videos | Movies, Animation | Ads, Music videos, Movies | Movies, Series, Music videos | Movies, Series, Animation | Movies, Ads |
Features
| Features | FrameThrower | ShotDeck | Flim | FilmGrab | Frameset | StillsLab | MovieStillsDB | shot.cafe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search by text | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Search by image | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Search by script | Yes | No | Pro only | No | No | No | No | No |
| Search by colour | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Filter by lens, lighting, shot size | Yes | Yes | Shot size only | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Moodboard canvas | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Browse without logging in | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public API | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Works inside AI agents (MCP) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Pricing
| Pricing | FrameThrower | ShotDeck | Flim | FilmGrab | Frameset | StillsLab | MovieStillsDB | shot.cafe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly plan (Cheapest paid plan, billed monthly) | $14 | $12.95 | $16.73 | Free | $15.99 | $9 | Credits | Free |
| Yearly plan, per month (Cheapest paid plan billed yearly, shown per month) | $7 | $8.33 | $14.48 | Free | $10.99 | $7 | Credits | Free |
| Yearly plan, total (The same plan, billed once a year) | $84 | $99.95 | $173.99 | Free | $131.88 | $84 | Credits | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan includes (What you get without paying) | 10 searches/day, 5 downloads/week | No free plan | Unlimited search, 1 download/day | All free | Limited search, 1 set | 4K downloads, 3 image searches/day | 600px downloads | All free |
| Free trial (Try the paid plan before paying) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No |
How FrameThrower compares, tool by tool
In short, FrameThrower differs in five ways:
- A larger library. 2,291,009 frames and clips — up to 94 times larger than the others.
- Curated and deeply indexed. About 50 data points on every film frame, picked and tagged by our in-house film team.
- More ways to search. Text, image, colour, filters — and script, which no rival offers on a standard plan.
- Built for your tools. The only one with a moodboard canvas, a public API and MCP for AI agents.
- Free to start, cheaper to keep. Free plan, 5-day trial, $84 a year — ShotDeck $99.95, Flim $173.99.
Where others lead: TV series and music videos (ShotDeck, Flim, StillsLab), and AI generation (Flim). The cards below give the same six points for every tool.
FrameThrower vs ShotDeck↗
- Library
- Our library is 1.3× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 30 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · ShotDeck: No
- Features
- Only we have image search, script search, API, MCP +2 more
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · ShotDeck: $99.95/yr
- They have
- TV series and music videos
FrameThrower vs Flim↗
- Library
- Our library is about the same size as Flim's
- Detail*
- 50 vs 10 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · Flim: Yes
- Features
- Only we have script search, API, MCP, canvas +1 more
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · Flim: $173.99/yr
- They have
- TV series, music videos and AI generation
FrameThrower vs FilmGrab↗
- Library
- Our library is 10× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 8 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · FilmGrab: Yes
- Features
- Only we have image search, script search, API, MCP +3 more
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · FilmGrab: Free
- They have
- Everything free, no account needed
FrameThrower vs Frameset↗
- Library
- Our library is 23× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 20 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · Frameset: Yes
- Features
- Only we have script search, API, MCP, canvas
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · Frameset: $131.88/yr
- They have
- Music videos and short films
FrameThrower vs StillsLab↗
- Library
- Our library is 30× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 12 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · StillsLab: Yes
- Features
- Only we have script search, API, MCP, canvas
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · StillsLab: $84/yr
- They have
- TV series and free 4K downloads
FrameThrower vs MovieStillsDB↗
- Library
- Our library is 1.3× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 4 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · MovieStillsDB: Yes
- Features
- Only we have image search, script search, API, MCP +3 more
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · MovieStillsDB: Credits
- They have
- TV series and official publicity stills
FrameThrower vs shot.cafe↗
- Library
- Our library is 94× larger
- Detail*
- 50 vs 5 data points per frame
- Free plan
- Us: Yes · shot.cafe: Yes
- Features
- Only we have image search, script search, API, MCP +1 more
- Price
- Us: $84/yr · shot.cafe: Free
- They have
- Everything free, no account needed
When another tool fits better
For a few specific needs outside what FrameThrower covers, one of these may suit you.
You need stills from TV series
ShotDeck · StillsLab
You need music-video references
Flim · Frameset · ShotDeck
You want AI image and video generation in the same app
(Running generative tools on copyrighted film frames is not an approach we take or endorse.)
Flim
Different job: video and canvas tools
Often listed next to stills libraries, but they answer a different question.
- EyeCandy eyecannndy.comTechnique GIFs (dolly zoom, whip pan) — how a shot moves. FrameThrower is for how a shot is lit, framed and coloured.
- ShotBook shotbook.artTagged video references for editors — pacing and transitions. FrameThrower is a frame library you search by what is in the shot.
- frmz frmzspace.comA canvas for references you collect yourself. FrameThrower comes with the library already picked and tagged.
Not included in this comparison
These libraries are machine-scraped: frames are cut or grabbed automatically, with little or no human checking, so image quality is lower and less consistent. The best reference libraries are curated and tagged by people — which is why these sit outside the table.
- Film Vibes filmvibes.ioStates 4M+ shots, but most are short clips cut automatically from Vimeo uploads — ads, music videos and personal work — rather than frames selected from films.
- Movie-Screencaps.com movie-screencaps.comA screencap archive: frames grabbed in bulk from whole films, not shots chosen for reference.
- Fancaps fancaps.netA screencap archive of films, TV and anime, captured in bulk rather than selected.
How we compared
Our aim is the fairest comparison we can make: the same questions asked of every tool, answered from what each one actually offers — including where another tool is the better fit.
We hold paid subscriptions to several of these tools, and our staff and tagging team — three full-time people with film backgrounds — use others day to day. We are actual users of them, and we support their work where we can. Alongside that hands-on use, every tool's homepage, pricing page and help pages are checked again every month.
Descriptions are quoted in each tool's own words. Yes means the tool has the feature; No means it does not — checked on the site itself, its help pages and its pricing.
Library size adds frames and moving clips as each site states them. Prices are the published list prices, in US dollars; Flim charges in euros and is converted at the current rate.
* How data points are measured. Data points per frame counts the details about the frame itself — lighting, lens, framing, angle, colour, mood — and leaves out film-level credits such as cast and crew, for every tool including ours. FrameThrower's number is measured in our index (film frames). For the others, it is the details each site shows on a frame or offers as a search filter; their AI may store more behind the scenes.
If something here is wrong or out of date, email contact@framethrower.ai and it gets corrected.
Questions
Is there a free alternative to ShotDeck?+
Yes. FrameThrower has a free plan with 10 searches a day and 5 downloads a week, a 5-day free trial of Pro, and free access for students and film and animation schools. ShotDeck has no free plan — only a 2-week trial, then $12.95 a month or $99.95 a year.
Is FrameThrower free for students and film schools?+
Yes. On top of the standard free plan, students get a larger education quota, and FrameThrower is free of charge for film and animation schools — for their students and teaching staff. ShotDeck sells discounted education plans; FrameThrower gives schools access for free. Students and schools can get set up by emailing student@framethrower.ai.
Which film reference site has the largest library?+
FrameThrower holds 2,291,009 references: 1,362,742 frames and 928,267 clips. Flim states 1,910,000 (1,500,000 stills and 410,000 video cuts), MovieStillsDB 1,810,000 publicity stills, and ShotDeck about 1,792,426 stills.
Which film reference site has the most detailed tagging?+
FrameThrower describes every film frame with about 50 data points — lighting, lens, framing, angle, colour and mood — plus a written shot description of about 100 words. ShotDeck tags images in 30+ categories, Frameset offers about 20 visual filters, and shot.cafe averages about 5 tags per shot.
Which film reference sites let you search by image or by script?+
Search by image: FrameThrower, Flim, Frameset and StillsLab. Search by script: FrameThrower, where you upload a PDF script and get references back; Flim offers a similar script-to-board tool on its Pro plan. ShotDeck, FilmGrab, MovieStillsDB and shot.cafe search by text and filters only.
Which film reference sites include animation and commercials?+
FrameThrower covers movies, ads and animation, with 972,934 animation frames and 928,267 playable clips. Flim also carries animation and ads; Frameset and shot.cafe include commercials. ShotDeck, StillsLab and MovieStillsDB focus on movies and series.
How much do film reference sites cost?+
Paid plans run from $7 to $14.48 a month on yearly billing: FrameThrower and StillsLab $7 ($84 a year), ShotDeck $8.33 ($99.95), Frameset $10.99 ($131.88) and Flim $14.48 ($173.99). FilmGrab and shot.cafe are free.
Which film reference tool works with AI agents?+
FrameThrower is the only one compared here with a public API and an MCP server, so Claude, ChatGPT and other AI agents can search and pull frames directly. None of the other sites offers an API.
Are FrameThrower frames just automatic screencaps?+
No. FrameThrower is curated: frames are picked and tagged by our in-house tagging team — three full-time staff with film backgrounds — working with cinematographers and filmmakers, then every frame is indexed by AI across lighting, lens, framing, colour and mood. Sites that grab frames in bulk are listed separately under "Not included".
ShotDeck, Flim, FilmGrab, Frameset, StillsLab, MovieStillsDB, shot.cafe, EyeCandy, ShotBook, frmz, Film Vibes, Movie-Screencaps.com and Fancaps are trademarks of their owners. FrameThrower is not affiliated with any of them. Descriptions, prices and library sizes are quoted from each site; if something has changed or is wrong, email contact@framethrower.ai and we will correct it.