hCaptcha
A weekend of work, and real gaps remain.
A bot check that shows a challenge when a request looks automated, positioned as a privacy-respecting replacement for the incumbent.
Try three cheaper defences before adding a challenge at all. THE ORDER THAT ACTUALLY WORKS - A honeypot field that must stay empty. Catches most naive bots - A signed timestamp: reject a submission faster than three seconds or older than two hours - Rate limiting per hashed address per endpoint per hour - Most sites never need anything beyond these three IF YOU STILL NEED A CHALLENGE - Cloudflare Turnstile is free and invisible for most visitors - A proof-of-work challenge is self-hostable and needs no third party at all WHAT A CAPTCHA COSTS YOU - Conversion. Every challenge loses real people - Accessibility. Always provide a path that does not require solving a puzzle MEASURE FIRST - Count the spam you actually receive before adding friction for everyone Include the three defences, the measurement and the fallback path.
What you lose
- A model trained on traffic across many sites, which is the only thing that distinguishes a bot reliably
- Challenges that stay ahead of solving services
- Accessibility paths for people who cannot complete a visual challenge
If you would rather not build
- Cloudflare Turnstile, free and mostly invisible
- A honeypot and a timestamp, which cost nothing
The escape hatch
open source · no votes, no paid placement
Altcha
$0A proof-of-work bot check with no third party and no puzzles.
altcha-org/altchafree · open source
Formbricks
$0Self-hosted forms with honeypot and rate limiting already built in.
formbricks/formbricksfree · open source
Why this verdict
our own opinion · changed only by a person
58/100
Verdict kinda at 58. Three cheap defences cover most spam; a real bot model is not reproducible, but most sites never needed one.
History
tracked since 10 Aug 2026 · nothing is ever overwritten
Nothing recorded yet. This chart fills in once the page has visitors, votes or prompt copies — it will not draw a flat line to look busy.
Questions about hCaptcha
answered from the record above
Is hCaptcha free?
No — the plan we track is $99 a month. Pro from around $99/month billed monthly; the basic tier is free.
Can you replace hCaptcha by building your own?
ALMOST. A weekend of work, and real gaps remain. Replacement score 58 out of 100, build time a weekend. Read what you lose before you decide.
How much does hCaptcha cost?
$99 a month on Pro — $1,188 a year. Recorded 10 Aug 2026.
What do you lose by replacing hCaptcha?
A model trained on traffic across many sites, which is the only thing that distinguishes a bot reliably; Challenges that stay ahead of solving services; Accessibility paths for people who cannot complete a visual challenge. If any of those carry weight for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to hCaptcha?
Yes: Altcha, Formbricks. The prompt on this page is for when you want it your way instead.
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