Shotstack renders video. Ditto runs the campaign.
Shotstack is a video rendering API: JSON timelines in, MP4 out. Ditto is the campaign delivered. Templates already built, audience already activated, video included, share built into the brief.
Start a Ditto campaignAt a glance
| Ditto | Shotstack | |
|---|---|---|
| Engagement model | Fully managed campaign service | Self-serve video rendering API |
| Template build | Built by Ditto's team | You define JSON timelines yourself (or use Studio editor) |
| Engineering required | None on your side | API integration plus distribution layer |
| Audience delivery | Email, SMS, social-ready. Audience becomes your distribution channel. | Production only. You handle distribution. |
| Brand QA and edge cases | Handled by our team | Your team's job |
| Volume per drop | Millions per campaign drop | Tier-capped render minutes per month |
| Pricing model | Per-campaign, from $5K (everything in) | Per render minute / monthly subscription, ~$39 to enterprise |
| Best for | Marketing teams shipping a named campaign moment | Engineering teams adding video rendering as a feature |
Video should be JSON-defined and cloud-rendered.
Shotstack proved a real thesis: video rendering belongs in the cloud, defined as data, not in After Effects on a designer's laptop. Same belief we hold. Templates as code, renders as API calls, scale with the data.
The disagreement is what comes after the render. Shotstack hands you a URL to an MP4. Ditto continues through to the audience, with brand QA, edge case handling, and delivery built into one campaign price.
Ditto when the campaign is the deliverable. Shotstack when video rendering is a feature you're building.
Shotstack is the right choice for engineering teams adding programmatic video rendering to their product. Ditto is for marketing teams shipping a named campaign that needs production, brand fidelity, and audience delivery handled.
Choose Ditto when:
- Your campaign is the deliverable, not a feature you're building
- You want the video templates built for you
- You don't want to staff API integration plus distribution
- You want brand QA and edge cases handled by someone else
- You'd rather pay one campaign price than per render minute
- You want delivery to your audience, not just an MP4 URL
Shotstack is the right call when:
- You're embedding programmatic video into your product
- Your team has engineering capacity to integrate the API
- Per-render-minute pricing fits your usage pattern
- You already have a distribution stack and just need rendering
- JSON timelines are how your team wants to author video
- You don't need brand QA or campaign service, just the renders
Different products. Different economics.
Shotstack starts free and scales by render minutes used. Ditto is per-campaign engagement starting at $5K with everything included. The honest framing: Shotstack costs include only the rendering. Ditto costs include the rendering, the templates, and the audience delivery.
Ditto
Per-campaign engagement. We bring the team and the render farm. You bring the brief and the data.
- CampaignFrom $5KSingle named campaign moment, end to end
- RecurringCustomMultiple drops per quarter, ongoing partnership
- EnterpriseCustomAnnual program with dedicated team
Shotstack renders video.
Ditto runs the campaign.
Shotstack
Free tier, then per-minute or subscription. You define timelines and run renders.
- Free / Sandbox$0Test integration, watermarked output
- Developer~$39 / moProduction renders, capped minutes
- EnterpriseCustomHigh-volume render contracts
Subscription pricing is rendering only. Engineering integration time and audience delivery are on your side of the line.
Ditto is not a render API.
Shotstack serves a real buyer Ditto isn't built for.
Ditto is not for:
- Embedding programmatic video rendering into your product
- Per-render-minute usage that scales with end-user activity
- Engineering teams who want to define video as JSON timelines themselves
- Self-serve workflows where a developer writes the integration
- Pure rendering with no template build, brand QA, or distribution included
Ditto vs Shotstack, answered.
Could I just use Shotstack for my campaign?
If you have engineering capacity to define the JSON timelines, integrate the API, build the data pipeline, and handle distribution, yes. The honest math: that's typically 2 to 6 weeks of engineering plus ongoing maintenance per template. Ditto bundles that work into one per-campaign price.
Does Ditto produce more polished video than a Shotstack-rendered output?
The render quality of both can be excellent. The difference is who designs and QAs the template. Ditto's team builds and brand-QAs each template. With Shotstack, that work is yours. The output looks as good as the JSON your team wrote.
What about audience delivery?
Shotstack stops at the rendered MP4 URL. You have to wire up email, SMS, social posting, and any share mechanics. Ditto includes all of that in the campaign price. You hand us the data; we hand you the campaign already in your audience's hands.
Is per-render-minute pricing cheaper than $5K per campaign?
For low-volume embedded use cases, yes, sometimes by a lot. For a one-time campaign drop with 10K-plus personalized videos plus the engineering to integrate, Ditto is usually cheaper all-in. We can mock up your specific numbers in a 30-minute call.
Does Ditto use Shotstack under the hood?
We don't disclose the rendering stack. What we will say is that the paradigm is similar: data-driven video rendered programmatically. The difference is who builds the templates, runs the brand checks, and ships the campaign.
Want the campaign, not just the render?
If your next campaign needs personalized video and you'd rather not write the JSON, integrate the API, and build distribution yourself, book a 30-minute call.
Start a Ditto campaign