OKZest is a Templated alternative for agencies and email marketers - ESP merge tags, open-time dynamic image URLs across Mailchimp, Klaviyo and ActiveCampaign, plus a full editor, REST API and Zapier/Make. Free plan to start.
Templated (templated.io) is an image generation platform with an API. Teams use it to generate creatives from templates through its REST API, no-code tools and an MCP integration. If developers or automation tools already drive your image pipeline, Templated can be a good fit.
OKZest is a Templated alternative for marketing agencies and email marketers who want personalized images with usage counted as images served. OKZest personalizes email images with ESP merge tags. It works across Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and ActiveCampaign. It supports open-time / dynamic image URLs, so creatives can update when a recipient opens the email - even after send. When you need automation, OKZest still has a REST API plus Zapier and Make - but most email campaigns are a single dynamic URL in the template.
Design in a full visual editor, map merge fields, paste the image URL into the email, and each recipient gets their own creative. Add live website screenshots as layers, use fallback text when data is missing, and share templates with your team on plans with multiple seats.
Try before you pay. Templated gives you a free trial of 50 credits, no card. OKZest's free plan gives you 2,500 watermarked images every month, with no card and no time limit. The free images are for testing only: they carry a heavy watermark, so they let you try OKZest in your email platform but aren't meant for live sends. Remove the watermark by moving to a paid plan.
Choose Templated if you want a general-purpose template-to-image API driven by developers or automations. Choose OKZest if you run personalized email campaigns across ESPs and want an editor, merge tags, and open-time images.
| Feature | OKZest | Templated |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple merge tags per image (name, date, location…) | Dynamic layers via API | |
| REST API for programmatic image generation | ||
| Zapier & Make automation | ||
| MCP / AI agents (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor) | MCP server: agents browse and search your designs, see what each accepts, and build a personalised image URL | Listed on all plans |
| Open-time / dynamic image URLs for ESPs (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign) | Not listed on their pricing or API pages | |
| Live website screenshot capture as an image layer | Not listed on their pricing or API pages | |
| Free option - no credit card required | (watermarked, testing only) | 50-credit trial |
| How usage is counted | Images served (each request) | Credits per render |
Templated information checked on 29 October 2026 from templated.io. Where we couldn't find it there, we say so rather than guess. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it. Templated is a trademark of its owner; OKZest is not affiliated with or endorsed by Templated.
Templated prices checked on 29 October 2026. Prices change; check Templated and OKZest before you buy. All prices are in US dollars.
| Plan | Templated | OKZest |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 50-credit trial, no card | 2,500 images/month, heavily watermarked (testing only), no card |
| Entry | Starter: $39/month ($29/month billed yearly), 1,000 credits | Micro: $12/month, 500 images |
| Mid | Scale: $99/month ($79/month billed yearly), 5,000 credits | Starter: $47/month ($40 billed yearly), 10,000 images |
| High | Enterprise: $229/month ($179/month billed yearly), 25,000 credits | Professional: $83/month ($70 billed yearly), 100,000 images |
| Top | Custom: from $500/month | Enterprise: $479/month ($400 billed yearly), 1,000,000 images |
| Annual billing | Monthly or annual billing; annual is $10 to $50 a month cheaper | 2 months free |
Plans are matched by position, not by features. This assumes one standard image per send. For Templated, an image costs one credit; PDFs cost one credit per page and video costs more.
| Images a month | Templated | OKZest |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | $39/month (Starter, exactly 1,000 credits) | $47/month ($40 billed yearly), Starter plan |
| 5,000 | $99/month (Scale) | $47/month ($40 billed yearly), Starter plan |
| 25,000 | $229/month (Enterprise) | $83/month ($70 billed yearly), Professional plan |
Images served, not sends. OKZest builds the image when the email app requests it and counts those requests. That can be more or fewer than the emails you send, for example when an email app prefetches or caches images. Compare how each tool counts usage on their pricing pages.
OKZest personalizes email images with ESP merge tags and supports open-time / dynamic image URLs - so each recipient sees their data, and creatives can still update after the email is sent.
Insert a dynamic image URL into Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ActiveCampaign, HubSpot or any ESP with one line of HTML. Paste one URL into the template and send.
OKZest's editor lets you build bespoke templates from scratch, or start from a ready-made design - with full control over every layer, font, color, and layout.
Marketers design in the editor. When you need CRM or pipeline automation, the same templates are available via REST API, Zapier and Make.
Capture a live screenshot of any URL and embed it directly into a template layer - powerful for product previews and personalized landing pages.
The free plan includes 2,500 watermarked images per month for testing - no credit card needed. Upgrade to a paid plan priced by images served.
Moving from Templated to OKZest for email personalization can be a simplification, not a rebuild.
You can validate a like-for-like email campaign on the free plan before cutting over production sends.
Yes. OKZest is a Templated alternative for agencies and email marketers who need merge-tag images across ESPs, plus a full editor and optional API.
Yes. OKZest personalizes email images with ESP merge tags so each recipient sees their own data in the creative.
Yes. OKZest supports open-time / dynamic image URLs, so creatives can update when the recipient opens the email.
Yes. OKZest works across Mailchimp, Klaviyo, and ActiveCampaign - and other ESPs that accept a standard image URL.
Yes. OKZest has a REST API plus Zapier and Make. Use them when you want automation from your CRM or data warehouse - not as a requirement for every email send.
If you manage clients on different ESPs and want reusable templates, multi-seat team plans, and email-native personalization, OKZest is built for that. Templated remains a fit for developer-led, multi-channel creative generation.
Join hundreds of marketing teams already sending personalized images that get results.
Free plan includes 2,500 watermarked images/month · No credit card required
Take a look at OKZest versus the competition and learn how awesome we are.