Introduction
HTML to canvas solutions are libraries or tools that convert HTML elements to canvas or image formats. These solutions are essential for applications that need to capture and export visual representations of web content, such as screenshots, image exports, or generated graphics from HTML content. Common use cases include generating PDFs, taking screenshots of web components, creating shareable images, and data visualization exports.
This guide compares the most popular and effective HTML to canvas solutions available in 2025, including code examples and specific use cases for each.
Top HTML to Canvas Solutions
1. html2canvas
Overview: html2canvas is the most popular HTML to canvas conversion library in 2025, with over 2.6 million weekly downloads.
Features:
- Renders HTML elements to canvas by creating a representation
- Supports most CSS properties and styling
- Exports to PNG by default
- Well-documented with extensive community support
Pros:
- Highly popular with extensive community support
- Handles complex CSS layouts reasonably well
- Simple API for basic screenshot functionality
- Works with most modern browsers
Cons:
- Doesn’t support some advanced CSS features perfectly
- Can be slower with complex DOM structures
- May have rendering inconsistencies with some complex layouts
Example Usage:
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// Basic usage html2canvas(document.querySelector("#capture")).then(canvas => { document.body.appendChild(canvas); }); // Saving as PNG image html2canvas(document.querySelector("#capture")).then(canvas => { const imgData = canvas.toDataURL('image/png'); const link = document.createElement('a'); link.download = 'screenshot.png'; link.href = imgData; link.click(); }); // Converting to PDF using jsPDF html2canvas(document.querySelector("#capture")).then(canvas => { const imgData = canvas.toDataURL('image/png'); const pdf = new jsPDF(); pdf.addImage(imgData, 'PNG', 0, 0); pdf.save("download.pdf"); }); |
Best for: Web applications needing simple screenshot functionality with good browser compatibility.
Resources:
2. html-to-image
Overview: html-to-image is a fork of dom-to-image with improved maintainability and additional features, gaining significant popularity in 2025 with over 1.6 million monthly downloads.
Features:
- Multiple output formats (PNG, JPEG, SVG)
- Uses SVG’s foreignObject for rendering
- Better handling of web fonts
- More maintainable codebase than dom-to-image
Pros:
- Supports multiple output formats
- Better handling of fonts and styles
- More active development than dom-to-image
- Clean API design
Cons:
- Still has some limitations with complex layouts
- SVG-based approach can have issues with certain CSS properties
Example Usage:
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import * as htmlToImage from 'html-to-image'; // or specific functions import { toPng, toJpeg, toBlob, toPixelData, toSvg } from 'html-to-image'; // Convert to PNG htmlToImage.toPng(document.getElementById('my-node')) .then(function (dataUrl) { var img = new Image(); img.src = dataUrl; document.body.appendChild(img); }) .catch(function (error) { console.error('Error generating image:', error); }); // Convert to JPEG with quality setting htmlToImage.toJpeg(document.getElementById('my-node'), { quality: 0.95 }) .then(function (dataUrl) { var link = document.createElement('a'); link.download = 'my-image.jpeg'; link.href = dataUrl; link.click(); }); // Convert to SVG htmlToImage.toSvg(document.getElementById('my-node')) .then(function (dataUrl) { // Use SVG data URL }); |
Best for: Applications requiring multiple output formats and better font handling.
Resources:
3. dom-to-image and dom-to-image-more
Overview: dom-to-image was one of the original libraries for DOM-to-image conversion. dom-to-image-more is an enhanced fork with additional features and bug fixes.
Features:
- Converts DOM nodes to PNG, JPEG, or SVG images
- Uses SVG foreignObject for rendering
- dom-to-image-more adds fixes for various edge cases
- Lightweight approach with simple API
Pros:
- Lightweight library
- Simple API
- Handles basic conversions well
- dom-to-image-more fixes many issues from the original
Cons:
- Original dom-to-image is no longer actively maintained
- Less feature-rich compared to newer alternatives
- Some limitations with complex CSS
Example Usage:
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// Using dom-to-image import domtoimage from 'dom-to-image'; domtoimage.toPng(document.getElementById('my-node')) .then(function (dataUrl) { var img = new Image(); img.src = dataUrl; document.body.appendChild(img); }) .catch(function (error) { console.error('Error generating image:', error); }); // Get a PNG image blob and download it domtoimage.toBlob(document.getElementById('my-node')) .then(function (blob) { window.saveAs(blob, 'my-node.png'); }); // Using dom-to-image-more (similar API with enhancements) import domtoimage from 'dom-to-image-more'; // Same API usage as dom-to-image |
Best for: Simple conversion needs and projects already using dom-to-image that need bug fixes.
Resources:
- dom-to-image GitHub
- dom-to-image-more GitHub
- dom-to-image npm
- dom-to-image-more npm
- dom-to-image Codepen Example
- dom-to-image CodeSandbox Examples
- dom-to-image-more CodeSandbox Examples
- dom-to-image CDN
- dom-to-image-more CDN
4. Puppeteer (for server-side rendering)
Overview: While not strictly a client-side HTML-to-canvas solution, Puppeteer provides powerful server-side capabilities for capturing high-quality screenshots of web content.
Features:
- Uses real browser rendering (headless Chrome)
- Pixel-perfect rendering of complex layouts
- Can capture full-page, viewport, or element screenshots
- Supports PDF generation
Pros:
- Most accurate rendering of modern CSS and JavaScript
- Perfect for server-side screenshot generation
- Highly configurable with many options
- Great for automation and testing
Cons:
- Heavier resource requirements
- Server-side only (not for client browser use)
- More complex setup than client-side libraries
Example Usage:
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const puppeteer = require('puppeteer'); (async () => { // Launch a headless browser const browser = await puppeteer.launch(); const page = await browser.newPage(); // Navigate to the page await page.goto('https://example.com'); // Take a screenshot of the viewport await page.screenshot({ path: 'viewport.png' }); // Take a full-page screenshot await page.screenshot({ path: 'fullpage.png', fullPage: true }); // Screenshot a specific element const element = await page.$('#my-element'); await element.screenshot({ path: 'element.png' }); // Generate PDF await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf', format: 'A4' }); await browser.close(); })(); |
Best for: Server-side applications, high-quality rendering needs, automation, and testing.
Resources:
- Puppeteer Documentation
- GitHub Repository
- npm Package
- ZenRows Tutorial (2025)
- Bannerbear Guide
- DEV Community Tutorial
- Complete Guide
- ScrapFly Examples
Comparison Table
Feature | html2canvas | html-to-image | dom-to-image-more | Puppeteer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Weekly Downloads | 2.6+ million | 1.6+ million | ~200,000 | N/A (different use case) |
Output Formats | PNG | PNG, JPEG, SVG | PNG, JPEG, SVG | PNG, JPEG, PDF |
Browser Support | Modern browsers | Chrome, Firefox, Safari | Chrome, Firefox, Safari | N/A (uses Chrome) |
Rendering Accuracy | Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
Web Fonts | Limited | Better support | Limited | Perfect |
Complex CSS | Partial | Partial | Partial | Full |
Client/Server | Client | Client | Client | Server |
Resource Usage | Light | Light | Light | Heavy |
Active Maintenance | Yes | Yes | Moderate | Yes |
Performance with Many Elements | Moderate | Good | Good | Excellent |
Performance Considerations
When choosing an HTML to canvas solution, performance is a critical factor to consider. Here are some key performance insights based on recent benchmarks and research:
- DOM Element Count: All client-side solutions (html2canvas, html-to-image, dom-to-image) may struggle with very complex DOM structures containing thousands of elements. Puppeteer tends to handle these better as it uses an actual browser engine.
- Rendering Optimization: For client-side solutions, avoiding sub-pixel rendering can improve performance significantly. Using whole pixel values for positioning and dimensions helps avoid the performance cost of anti-aliasing.
- Image vs. Canvas Drawing: When rendering simple shapes, using canvas drawing methods directly is often more efficient than using images, but for complex graphics, pre-rendered images may provide better performance.
- Browser Variations: Performance can vary significantly between browsers. Chrome generally offers the best performance for canvas operations due to its optimized rendering engine.
For applications requiring high performance with many elements, consider using specialized canvas engines like PixiJS, which are optimized for handling large numbers of objects, or use Puppeteer for server-side rendering.
Resources on Performance:
- Canvas Engines Performance Comparison
- MDN: Optimizing Canvas
- Web.dev: Improving Canvas Performance
- LogRocket: When to Use HTML5 Canvas
Use Case Recommendations
For basic screenshot functionality in web apps:html2canvas is the most reliable choice due to its widespread adoption and community support.
When you need multiple output formats:html-to-image offers the best balance of features and modern development.
For legacy applications using dom-to-image:Consider upgrading to dom-to-image-more for bug fixes while maintaining similar API.
For pixel-perfect rendering or server-side applications:Puppeteer provides the most accurate rendering but requires server-side implementation.
For high-volume or performance-critical applications:Consider html-to-image which generally offers better performance than html2canvas for complex DOM structures.
Conclusion
The HTML to canvas landscape in 2025 offers several solid options depending on your specific needs. html2canvas remains the most popular solution with the largest community support, while html-to-image provides a modern alternative with multiple output formats. For server-side applications, Puppeteer delivers superior rendering quality at the cost of higher resource usage.
When choosing a solution, consider factors such as rendering accuracy, performance, output format requirements, and whether you need client-side or server-side implementation. For most web applications, html2canvas or html-to-image will satisfy common screenshot and image export requirements, while more demanding use cases might benefit from Puppeteer’s comprehensive capabilities.
FAQ
What is html2canvas?
HTML2Canvas is a JavaScript library that allows you to take “screenshots” of webpages or specific elements directly in the user’s browser. It works by traversing the DOM and building a representation of the page based on the elements it finds, rather than taking an actual screenshot.
How do I save an image created with html2canvas?
To save an image created with html2canvas, you can use the following approach:
How do I handle cross-origin (CORS) issues with html2canvas?
Cross-origin issues occur when html2canvas tries to access images from a different origin. There are several approaches to resolve this:
- Add the crossorigin attribute to images: Set
crossorigin="anonymous"on your image elements. - Configure proper CORS headers on your server: Set
Access-Control-Allow-Originheaders for your image resources. - Use a proxy: Configure html2canvas to use a proxy for loading cross-origin images.
- Convert images to base64: Use base64-encoded images instead of URLs to avoid CORS restrictions.
Example of using the proxy option:
Why is html2canvas slow when capturing large pages?
HTML2Canvas performance is heavily dependent on the size and complexity of the DOM being captured. For large pages, it can become slow because it needs to process and render each element. To improve performance:
- Capture only necessary elements: Instead of the entire page, capture only the specific container or element needed.
- Reduce DOM complexity: Simplify the HTML structure where possible before capturing.
- Use a smaller scale: Setting a smaller scale can improve performance.
- Consider using a loading indicator: Show a spinner or loading message during processing.
Example with scale and performance options:
How do I create a PDF from html2canvas output?
To create a PDF from html2canvas output, you can use the jsPDF library along with html2canvas:
Why are images not showing in my html2canvas output?
Images might not appear in your html2canvas output due to several reasons:
- Cross-origin restrictions: Images from different origins require proper CORS headers.
- Images not loaded yet: Images might not be fully loaded when html2canvas processes them.
- SVG or Canvas issues: Special handling is required for SVG elements or other canvas elements.
Try this approach to ensure images are loaded before capturing:
How do I capture a full-page screenshot including content outside the viewport?
To capture the entire page, including content outside the viewport, you need to set the appropriate width and height in the html2canvas options:
Which CSS properties are supported by html2canvas?
Html2canvas supports many common CSS properties but not all. Some of the supported properties include:
- Background colors and images
- Borders and border radius
- Margin and padding
- Text styling (color, size, font-family, etc.)
- Position (relative, absolute, fixed)
- Opacity and visibility
- Basic transforms
However, there are limitations with complex CSS like animations, some advanced transforms, shadows, and filters. Each CSS property needs to be manually coded to render correctly, so html2canvas will never have full CSS support.
How do I capture content from iframes?
Capturing content from iframes with html2canvas is challenging due to browser security restrictions. For same-origin iframes, you can try this approach:
Note that cross-origin iframes may be impossible to capture due to browser security restrictions unless you control both domains and implement proper CORS policies.
How do I use html2canvas with React or other frameworks?
Using html2canvas with React is straightforward. First, install the package using npm or yarn:
Then, in your React component:
The approach is similar for other frameworks, with the main difference being how you reference the DOM elements to capture.
