Embedly
Embedly provides API-first tools that let publishers and developers embed and extract rich media from 1,000+ content providers, monetized via freemium Cards and paid Pro API subscriptions, serving enterprise publishers and self-serve developers globally.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersBoston, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Embedly does
Embedly operates an API-first platform that enables developers and publishers to embed rich media content from more than 1,000 third-party providers (video, images, audio, polls, slideshows, GIFs, infographics) into websites and applications via a unified interface. Its core products are the Embed API (delivery of embedded content), Extract API (URL metadata extraction), Display API (image optimization and proxy/CDN delivery), and Cards (pre-built preview components), all built on the oEmbed standard. The platform also operates a self-serve provider submission portal that lets content owners join Embedly's official integration library.
Embedly monetizes via a freemium model: a free Cards tier supports basic embedding while paid Cards plans unlock features such as animated GIF rendering; the Pro API (pro.embed.ly and api.embed.ly) charges monthly subscription fees for higher call volumes, enhanced service levels, and priority support. Distribution is entirely self-serve through app.embed.ly, with no documented sales team and global geographic reach. The company is incorporated in Delaware as Embedly LLC, was founded in Boston in January 2010, and is backed by Y Combinator, Betaworks, SV Angel, Lowercase Capital, Social Leverage, Venture51, Hinge Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and individual angels.
Embedly's documented enterprise customers include NY Times, Microsoft, Medium, NPR, Reddit, AOL, CBS Interactive, MLB, The Guardian, MSNBC, The Atlantic, Disqus, Tint, and PublishThis, with usage outcomes cited at scale (8,300+ Reddit communities, 32 U.S. states covered by NPR's Local Stories, 40,000 brands via Tint). Headcount is reported at 1-10, suggesting a lean operation, and the platform remains actively maintained, with the most recent product change being a March 2026 decision to discontinue free-tier animated GIF support as part of infrastructure cost management.
Embedly firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Embedly
- Legal name
- Embedly LLC
- Website
- https://embed.ly
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Embedly provides API-first tools that let publishers and developers embed and extract rich media from 1,000+ content providers, monetized via freemium Cards and paid Pro API subscriptions, serving enterprise publishers and self-serve developers globally.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Embedly industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Content Embedding API Platform
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Content Discovery, Metadata Enrichment & EPG/Guide Services (MPAHAJAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Content Curation & Bookmarking/Read-Later Platforms (MPACAKAH)
Keywords
Where Embedly is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Boston
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Embedly business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Pro API Subscriptions: Monthly subscription plans for pro.embed.ly and api.embed.ly providing additional API calls, service levels, and consistent support beyond free tier offerings. Customers pay monthly fees for enhanced access.
- Paid Cards Plans: Premium paid plans for Cards product offering features beyond free tier such as animated GIF support. Free Cards product limits certain image types while paid plans provide full functionality.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Cards - Basic embedding with limitations |
| Subscription | Monthly | Pro API - Premium access with higher limits |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Embedly product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Embedly provides a unified API platform that enables developers to embed, extract metadata from, and display rich media content from over 1,000 third-party providers (video, images, audio, social posts) through a single integration. Its product suite consists of the Embed, Extract, and Display APIs plus pre-built Cards components, available via a freemium model and paid Pro subscriptions for higher-volume commercial use.
Product overview
Embedly is a unified platform for rich media embeds and content optimization, comprising four core products: Embed (for embedding content from 1000+ providers), Cards (pre-built preview components), Extract (for extracting metadata from URLs), and Display (for image optimization). The platform is built on APIs (Embed API, Extract API, oEmbed API) and offers tiered access through a free tier and paid Embedly Pro subscription. Customers integrate Embedly to automatically display rich media content including videos, images, audio, polls, slideshows, live video, forms, GIFs, and infographics from third-party sources.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Embed Core API product that allows developers to embed media from 1000+ content providers (video, images, audio, rich media) into websites and applications through a unified interface.
- Cards Pre-built card components that provide quick visual previews of embedded content including images, video, polls, slideshows, music, live video, forms, GIFs, and infographics, with a free tier and paid plans.
- Extract API that extracts metadata and content features from URLs including titles, descriptions, images, videos, and structured data for content analysis and feature extraction.
- Display Image optimization and display service that ensures images are rendered properly across platforms and devices, including CDN delivery and image proxy services.
- Embedly Pro Premium paid subscription tier (pro.embed.ly and api.embed.ly) offering additional API calls, enhanced service levels, consistent support, and priority access to new features beyond the free tier.
- oEmbed API Implementation of the oEmbed standard specification for matching URLs to embeddable content through standardized endpoints, enabling reliable URL-to-content mapping.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 8,300 active Reddit communities use Embedly for media embedding
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Embedly
Customer profileNamed customers13 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Embedly technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature6 records
Embedly partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Embedly competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Microlink: Microlink provides an API that fetches and normalizes metadata, images, and embeds from any URL — a near-parallel API surface to Embedly's Extract/Embed products.
- Iframely: Iframely offers a developer API for URL-to-embed conversion and rich metadata extraction across a wide provider set, directly overlapping Embedly's core Embed and Extract APIs.
- LinkPreview.io: LinkPreview.io provides a URL-to-preview API generating titles, descriptions and images — closely comparable to Embedly's Extract/Card preview functionality.
- OpenGraph.io: OpenGraph.io delivers Open Graph and oEmbed-style metadata APIs for developers, competing in the same URL-to-rich-preview category as Embedly.
Others
- Apify: Apify is a web-scraping and data-extraction platform whose actor ecosystem targets many of the same URLs Embedly handles (YouTube, Instagram, etc.), giving developers an alternative path to the same data.
Emerging players
- Noembed: Noembed is an open-source oEmbed provider that resolves embeds across many providers, representing a free, lightweight alternative to Embedly's paid APIs.
- Pocket (Mozilla): Pocket is a content-curation and read-later platform that overlaps with Embedly's use case of helping publishers capture, preview, and re-surface rich media content.
Broad incumbents
- imgix: imgix offers image transformation and delivery infrastructure comparable to Embedly's Display/optimization feature set, aimed at developers handling media at scale.
- Cloudinary: Cloudinary's image and video optimization/delivery stack directly parallels Embedly's Display API, and it now also ships embed and metadata helpers — a larger incumbent with overlapping developer surface area.
- Contentful: Contentful is a headless CMS that increasingly owns the content-embedding and rich media workflow for digital publishers, an adjacent incumbent to Embedly on the publishing infrastructure stack.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Embedly social profiles
Digital presenceEmbedly financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Embedly leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Embedly funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Embedly M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Embedly
What does Embedly do?
Embedly provides a unified API platform that enables developers to embed, extract metadata from, and display rich media content from over 1,000 third-party providers (video, images, audio, social posts) through a single integration. Its product suite consists of the Embed, Extract, and Display APIs plus pre-built Cards components, available via a freemium model and paid Pro subscriptions for higher-volume commercial use.
Is Embedly a public or private company?
Embedly is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Embedly founded?
Embedly was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Embedly based?
Embedly is headquartered in Boston, United States, in the North America region.
How does Embedly make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Pro API Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are paid Cards Plans.
Who are Embedly's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Microlink, Iframely, LinkPreview.io and OpenGraph.io. Apify is listed as an others. Emerging players are Noembed and Pocket (Mozilla). Broad incumbents are imgix, Cloudinary and Contentful.
Does Embedly have an API?
Yes. Embedly provides APIs for converting URLs into rich previews and embeddable content. The Embedly API allows developers to embed content from 1000+ media providers including video, audio, images, and rich media. Key API products include the Embed API for delivering embedded content and the Extract API for mining specific features from sites. Access is available via pro.embed.ly and api.embed.ly with tiered service levels for paid subscribers. Developer documentation is at docs.embed.ly/reference.
What industry is Embedly in?
Embedly's product category is Content Embedding API Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHAJAJ, Content Discovery, Metadata Enrichment & EPG/Guide Services, with a secondary code of MPACAKAH, Content Curation & Bookmarking/Read-Later Platforms. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.