For Developer-led SaaS, marketplace, ecommerce, and API teams that want fraud controls inside product code.

reCAPTCHA Alternative for Faster Fraud Decisions

Use RequestGuard when you need a server-side fraud decision for signups, checkout, forms, and API traffic instead of another raw reCAPTCHA lookup.

reCAPTCHA challenges users. RequestGuard decides who should be challenged in the first place.

  • Score IP, email, domain, device, user, and behavior context in one request
  • Return an application-ready decision instead of another disconnected lookup
  • EU-made, SDK-first, with transparent monthly protected-request plans
Compare pricing Read SDK docs

Quick verdict

Choose based on when the fraud decision needs to happen.

Choose RequestGuard if your developers need one API response that says allow, challenge, review, or block.

Choose reCAPTCHA if your team mainly needs its native workflow, ecosystem, or enterprise package.

RequestGuard is not a full replacement for every reCAPTCHA feature. It is a better fit when you need challenge fewer humans while keeping automation costly.

Decision comparison

reCAPTCHA challenges users. RequestGuard decides who should be challenged in the first place.

Category
RequestGuard
reCAPTCHA
Best for
Challenging fewer humans while keeping automation costly
Bot challenges and CAPTCHA verification
When it runs
Before signup, checkout, form submission, or API access continues
At challenge time
Main signals
IP, email, domain, device, user, behavior, WHOIS, DNS, and CAPTCHA context
Challenge outcome and provider-specific bot signals
Decision output
allow, challenge, review, or block with score, reasons, confidence, and request ID
Challenge token and verification result
Developer setup
REST API, JavaScript SDK, dashboard lookups, and server-side policy logic
Vendor-specific setup and account configuration
Pricing model
Monthly protected requests with public self-serve tiers
Challenge or product-tier pricing
Best buyer type
Developer-led SaaS, marketplace, ecommerce, and API teams that want fraud controls inside product code.
Teams standardized around reCAPTCHA workflows

Want the decision before the downstream tool gets involved?

Start with the assessment API and keep reCAPTCHA where it already makes sense.

Read assessment docs

RequestGuard is best for

  • Signup scoring
  • Checkout scoring
  • API abuse prevention
  • Risk-based challenges

reCAPTCHA may be better if

  • You already use reCAPTCHA as a central fraud or intelligence workflow
  • You need a vendor-specific managed review process
  • Your team prefers bundled enterprise tooling over an API-first decision layer

Pricing comparison

Compare the billing unit, not just the price.

RequestGuard bills protected requests. reCAPTCHA bills challenge or product-tier pricing. Compare what event gets charged before comparing headline prices.

RequestGuard public plans

All core fraud signals included.

Free

$0/mo

25 reports / month

Hard-capped at 25 reports

Starter

$19/mo

500 reports / month

Buy report packs when you need more

reCAPTCHA public prices

Use vendor quotes for exact current pricing.

Entry path

Sales or usage based

Varies by package

Exact pricing usually depends on product bundle, contract terms, and usage tier.

Included signals

May require add-ons

Varies by tier

Equivalent IP, email, domain, device, CAPTCHA, and user-risk coverage can require separate products or higher tiers.

Cost control

Contract dependent

Varies by deployment

Pricing can be harder to compare when features, review tooling, or volume commitments are separated.

Best budget fit

Enterprise fit

Existing reCAPTCHA workflows

Best for teams already standardized around reCAPTCHA workflows or enterprise contracts.

50,000 checks/month

$29/mo Indie plan

Best for early checkout, signup, and trial-abuse gates.

250,000 checks/month

$99/mo Startup plan

Best for growing SaaS and subscription products.

1,000,000 checks/month

$249/mo Growth plan

Best when fraud checks run across multiple product flows.

Want predictable fraud pricing?

Compare RequestGuard's protected-request plans before adding another transaction-priced fraud layer.

Compare RequestGuard plans

Use cases

Turn signals into business outcomes.

The point is not to collect more risk data. The point is to decide faster, earlier, and with fewer gaps between tools.

Fake signups and disposable identities

Signal: Email, domain, IP, ASN, and behavior checks

Action: Challenge or block accounts before they enter your product.

VPN, proxy, Tor, and hosting-network abuse

Signal: Connection type, geolocation, datacenter, and reputation signals

Action: Route suspicious sessions to review instead of treating every IP lookup as final.

Repeat abuse across sessions

Signal: Device context, user identifiers, and event metadata

Action: Slow down multi-accounting, coupon abuse, and API-credit abuse.

Unclear fraud reviews

Signal: Risk score, decision, reasons, confidence, and request ID

Action: Store the decision and explain later why a request was allowed, challenged, reviewed, or blocked.

Want to block abuse before the expensive step?

Use RequestGuard at the product boundary where the risky action begins.

Read the SDK docs

Implementation

How to add RequestGuard alongside reCAPTCHA.

  1. 1 User reaches a sensitive flow such as signup, checkout, coupon redemption, form submission, or API access.
  2. 2 Your backend sends IP, email, domain, user agent, device, user ID, session ID, and event metadata to RequestGuard.
  3. 3 RequestGuard returns a risk score, confidence, reasons, request ID, normalized signals, and a decision.
  4. 4 If the decision is allow, continue the flow.
  5. 5 If the decision is challenge or review, require verification or route the session to manual review.
  6. 6 If the decision is block, stop the flow before the downstream system receives the risky request.

Server-side assessment

import RequestGuard from "@requestguard/js";

const requestguard = RequestGuard({
  apiKey: process.env.REQUESTGUARD_API_KEY,
});

const assessment = await requestguard.assess({
  ip,
  email,
  domain,
  userAgent,
  userId,
  sessionId,
  event: "checkout",
  metadata: {
    checkoutAmount,
    billingCountry,
    shippingCountry,
  },
});

if (assessment.decision === "allow") {
  // Continue the flow, for example create the checkout session.
}

if (assessment.decision === "challenge" || assessment.decision === "review") {
  // Require verification or send the request to review.
}

if (assessment.decision === "block") {
  // Stop the risky request before it reaches the downstream system.
}

Ready to test this in your flow?

Create the assessment first, then decide whether the downstream step should happen.

Create your first assessment

Technical proof

See the decision your backend can enforce.

Decision payload

One response returns decision, risk score, confidence, reasons, signals, and request ID.

Signal coverage

IP, VPN, proxy, Tor, datacenter, email, domain, device, WHOIS, DNS, CAPTCHA, and user-risk checks.

Developer proof

Public REST API, JavaScript SDK, OpenAPI specs, dashboard lookups, and code examples.

Pricing proof

RequestGuard pricing is public; vendor pricing should be checked before purchase.

API docs SDK docs Pricing

Example response

{
  "request_id": "rg_req_01HZX...",
  "risk_score": 78,
  "decision": "review",
  "confidence": "high",
  "reasons": [
    "proxy_or_vpn",
    "disposable_email",
    "country_mismatch"
  ],
  "signals": {
    "ip": {
      "is_vpn": true,
      "is_proxy": true,
      "is_datacenter": true
    },
    "email": {
      "is_disposable": true,
      "domain_risk": "high"
    }
  }
}

FAQ

Questions buyers ask before switching.

Is RequestGuard a full reCAPTCHA replacement?

RequestGuard is not a full replacement for every reCAPTCHA feature. It is a better fit when you need challenge fewer humans while keeping automation costly.

Can I use RequestGuard with reCAPTCHA?

Yes. Many teams use RequestGuard before the sensitive action and keep reCAPTCHA for its native workflow later in the flow.

When should I call RequestGuard?

Call RequestGuard before signup, checkout, coupon redemption, form submission, API access, or any event where you need a server-side risk decision.

What signals does RequestGuard check?

RequestGuard checks IP and connection risk, email and domain risk, device and user context, behavior metadata, WHOIS, DNS, CAPTCHA fallback, and normalized risk reasons.

How is RequestGuard priced?

RequestGuard uses public monthly plans based on protected requests, starting with a free tier and scaling through paid plans with transparent overages.

Is RequestGuard built in the EU?

Yes. RequestGuard is EU-made and designed for teams that want transparent, developer-first fraud infrastructure.

What happens when RequestGuard challenges or blocks a request?

Your backend decides the next step. You can require verification, route the request to review, show a CAPTCHA fallback, or stop the flow entirely.