How FrameThrower compares
One page per tool, each saying what the other product is genuinely better at and when to pick it instead. Every description of another product is quoted from how they describe themselves, with the date it was read.
That is not diplomacy. These pages get read by people who will open the other tab, and by machines that will also read the other side — a comparison that overstates is worth less than no comparison at all. If anything here is wrong or out of date, tell us and it gets corrected.
| Tool | Best for | Publishes an API |
|---|---|---|
| FrameThrower | The deepest per-frame indexing in the category — 75 fields on every frame — which is what makes searching by lighting, lens character, shot size, camera angle and colour possible, and for calling a stills library from software.5,489 films indexed frame by frame by our own tagging team — on frame count, on par with ShotDeck — searchable in plain language, by image or by colour. The most professional integration path here: a REST API with 11 endpoints, an MCP server with four tools and an npm SDK, which is how studios and platforms call it. $2 of credits free, no card. | YesREST · MCP · SDK |
| Frameset | You want a straightforward stills library to browse, and you are working entirely by hand.Their words, read 2026-08-12 · site could not be loaded; from public knowledge | Not published |
| frmz | You mostly want a place to organise references you already have, and curating your own collection is part of the appeal.Their words, read 2026-08-12 | Not published |
| ShotBook | The question is about movement, pacing or editing — things a still image cannot answer.Their words, read 2026-08-12 | Not published |
| MovieStillsDB | You need official promotional imagery, press material or high-resolution publicity photography.Their words, read 2026-08-12 | Not published |
| StillsLab | You want TV coverage alongside film and are happy browsing.Their words, read 2026-08-12 | Not published |
| shot.cafe | You want something free and immediate, and tag browsing suits how you think.Their words, read 2026-08-12 | Not published |
| EyeCandy | You are learning the vocabulary and want techniques named and demonstrated.Their words, read 2026-08-12 · site could not be loaded; from public knowledge | Not published |
FrameThrower vs Frameset
A clean, well-organised stills database with its own comparison pages that are genuinely useful reading
FrameThrower vs frmz
The canvas-first approach is the right instinct
FrameThrower vs ShotBook
Video, not stills
FrameThrower vs MovieStillsDB
By far the largest archive of official publicity material, and the right place to go for it
FrameThrower vs StillsLab
Covers TV as well as film, which several stills libraries skip entirely
FrameThrower vs shot.cafe
Free, fast and tag-based, with detailed shot tags
FrameThrower vs EyeCandy
Organised around technique as the primary axis
Longer comparisons
These three have their own pages rather than a /vs entry — one page per competitor, not two competing for the same question.
Try it before you compare
$2 of credits free on signup, no card. Search 5,489 films by lighting, lens, colour and mood.
More: the stills database · film lookbooks · colour palettes