On 26 October 2026 NiftyImages redesigned its app and added a brand library so colours and fonts are one click away in the editor. Email agencies that run programmes for multiple clients will notice the change immediately.
This is a practical note for account managers and email marketers who already use (or are evaluating) open-time personalized images. It sticks to what NiftyImages published and what OKZest already offers. No invented features.
What NiftyImages shipped
From their What’s New page:
- A rebuilt Personalized Images editor with zoom, Ctrl+S, and undo that steps back one action at a time.
- Brands: save each brand’s colours and font, then find them in every colour and font picker.
- Themes for the interface (Default, Editorial, Forest or Terminal, light or dark).
- Rule Set Explain so you can see which rule matched and why, plus a “Try as” preview for time, place or device.
- A dashboard you can filter, sort and pin, with undo on moves and deletes.
- Account defaults so a unique ID merge tag fills in on every image tag you copy. Retina and Block Words can start on for new images.
- Retina on by default on plans that include it.
NiftyImages has long been strong on email-native widgets: countdown timers, maps, polls, charts, rule sets and, more recently, live weather and Slides animations. The October update makes the day-to-day editor and brand handling tighter, which matters when an agency juggles several client brands.
Where this helps agencies
Saving a client’s colours and fonts once and having them appear in every picker removes a small but constant friction. It is the kind of improvement that reduces “is this the right blue?” Slack messages.
Rule Set Explain and the better dashboard also help when a campaign uses time-, device- or location-based swaps and someone needs to debug why a particular subscriber saw a particular version.
NiftyImages remains the stronger choice if your core need is those email widgets (timers, maps, polls, weather, animated slides) and you are happy staying inside an email-first tool.
How OKZest approaches the same agency problems
OKZest is built for the same audience—email agencies and account managers running client programmes—but the emphasis is different.
- Projects and roles. Each client or programme can live in its own project. Roles include Administrator, Designer, Finance and Client. Clients get read-only review so they can approve designs without being able to edit or see other clients’ work. Permissions can be customised per user.
- Open-time images. Design once, paste a single image URL (with the ESP’s merge tags) into Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign or any other platform that accepts an HTML image. The image is generated when the email app requests it, so you can still update the design after the send until the image has been loaded.
- Fallbacks and screenshots. Set fallback text when a merge tag is empty. Add a live screenshot layer of a URL (for example the recipient’s own website) so the image stays relevant without manual updates.
- API and MCP on paid plans. The REST API is available on every paid plan. There is also an MCP server so AI assistants can discover designs, inspect parameters and generate personalized image URLs. Zapier is available for no-code automation.
- Pay-per-open style pricing. You are charged for images the email app requests, not for every send. Current published monthly tiers start at Micro $12 (500 images), Starter $47 (10,000), Professional $83 (100,000), Enterprise $479 (1,000,000). Free accounts receive 500 generated images that do not expire; they carry a small badge. Always check the live pricing page for the latest numbers.
OKZest does not try to be a full widget suite. If you need native countdown timers, geo maps or poll images, NiftyImages is the more complete option today. If you need multi-client roles, client approval flows, live website screenshots as layers, and the same template reused outside email (landing pages, certificates, DMs), OKZest is the closer fit.
Practical takeaway for account managers
| Need | NiftyImages (post-Oct 2026) | OKZest |
|---|---|---|
| Brand colours & fonts in the editor | New brand library | Projects + shared designs; roles control who can edit |
| Client approval without edit rights | Team features (check current plan) | Built-in Client role, read-only |
| Countdown timers, maps, polls, weather, animated slides | Core strength | Not the focus |
| Live screenshot of a URL inside the image | Not the product focus | Yes |
| Update the image after the email has been sent | Open-time model | Open-time model |
| Works with Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign via merge tags | Yes | Yes |
| API / MCP for agents | MCP for Data Stores; API on higher tiers | API on every paid plan; MCP for designs and image URLs |
| Pricing model | Opens-based | Images requested by the email app |
The October update makes NiftyImages smoother for agencies that already live in its widget set. It does not remove the need to decide whether you want an email-widget specialist or a multi-client, open-time image platform that also works outside the ESP.
If you are evaluating both, the fastest test is still to take one real client template, map the merge tags, and see how quickly you can get a working image URL into the ESP you already use.
Try it
OKZest’s free plan includes 500 watermarked generated images (they do not expire) with no credit card required. You can design a template, add merge tags and fallbacks, invite a client with the Client role, and paste the image URL into Mailchimp, Klaviyo or ActiveCampaign in a few minutes.
Start at okzest.com or see the full feature list and pricing for the latest details.