Google reCAPTCHA pricing is based on a three-tier model, depending on the number of assessments per month. The monthly fixed costs for Google reCAPTCHA are calculated using the following formula:
Monthly cost = $8 + ((monthly assessments − 100,000) ÷ 1,000 × $1) + variable costs
Additional variable costs for reCAPTCHA may include Google Cloud services, paid support, Enterprise plans, or other Fraud Protection features, all of which can increase reCAPTCHA pricing.
Google reCAPTCHA is Google’s bot-protection solution for websites and mobile applications. Depending on the product tier and usage, Google reCAPTCHA may be available free of charge or billed based on monthly assessments. This article explains the assessment-based pricing model, Google Cloud billing requirements, and potential support costs in detail.
For a broader overview and other information about reCAPTCHA-related topics, including our in-depth guide to reCAPTCHA Enterprise, privacy considerations, and alternative solutions, please visit our reCAPTCHA Hub.
Google reCAPTCHA Pricing at a Glance
Google’s current pricing for reCAPTCHA is based on the number of assessments processed each month, meaning more precisely the number of assessments Google performs to analyze the response token and determine whether a request is likely to come from a real user or a bot.[1]
| Monthly assessments | Monthly price |
|---|---|
|
0-10,000 |
Free |
|
10,001-100,000 |
$8 flat fee |
|
More than 100,000 |
$8 plus $1 per additional 1,000 assessments |
Regardless of the reCAPTCHA key type or integration (reCAPTCHA v2, reCAPTCHA v3), such as checkbox, score-based, or Universal, the applicable free allowance and pricing are generally based on the number of assessments, rather than on page views or the total number of website visitors. It is important to understand that a single visitor can generate multiple assessments if reCAPTCHA, as part of Google Cloud Fraud Defense, protects several separate actions, such as signup, login, password reset, and checkout. Each protected action may generate a token that the backend submits for assessment.
How Much Does reCAPTCHA Cost?
reCAPTCHA costs are calculated according to the following three pricing tiers:
0-10,000 assessments
The first 10,000 assessments per month are free. The free allowance is calculated at Google Cloud project or billing-account level, so businesses should confirm how their projects and applications are grouped before estimating their costs or migrating reCAPTCHA.[2]
10,001-100,000 assessments
Once monthly usage exceeds 10,000 assessments, the monthly price is $8 for up to 100,000 assessments.
Examples:
10,000 assessments: $0
25,000 assessments: $8
50,000 assessments: $8
100,000 assessments: $8
This means that a website using 50,000 assessments does not pay $8 for every 50,000 assessments. It pays the flat monthly amount for the applicable tier.
More than 100,000 assessments
Above 100,000 assessments per month, Google charges $1 for every additional 1,000 assessments, in addition to the $8 charge for the first tier. Under the pricing model described here, usage above 100,000 assessments is calculated as an $8 base charge plus $1 for every additional 1,000 assessments.[3]
The basic calculation is:
Monthly cost = $8 + ((monthly assessments − 100,000) ÷ 1,000 × $1)For example, a website with 250,000 assessments would pay:
$8 + ((250,000 − 100,000) ÷ 1,000 × $1)
= $8 + $150
= $158 per month
Monthly Pricing Examples
| Assessments per month | Calculation | Estimated monthly cost | Use Case/site profile and characteristics |
|---|---|---|---|
|
10,000 |
Within free allowance |
$0 |
A small blog running one lightly used form |
|
25,000 |
Flat price up to 100,000 |
$8 |
A small business securing login and a contact form |
|
50,000 |
Flat price up to 100,000 |
$8 |
A growing website adding account creation alongside login and contact forms |
|
100,000 |
Flat price up to 100,000 |
$8 |
The ceiling of the flat-fee tier |
|
250,000 |
$8 + 150 x $1 |
$158 |
A mid-size SaaS product covering login and sign-up |
|
500,000 |
$8 + 400 x $1 |
$408 |
An online store handling login, checkout, and account recovery |
|
1,000,000 |
$8 + 900 x $1 |
$908 |
A fast-scaling platform expanding into multiple user -facing flows and seasonal traffic spikes |
|
2,000,000 |
$8 + 1,900 x $1 |
$1,908 |
A high-traffic platform juggling several protected flows under constant bot pressure |
These examples cover the assessment charges under the standard tiered pricing model of Google reCAPTCHA. Additional Google Cloud services, negotiated enterprise agreements or other fraud-protection products such as password leak detection may be billed separately.[4]
How to Estimate Your Monthly reCAPTCHA Cost
To estimate your costs, identify all user actions that require Google reCAPTCHA verification and enter the expected monthly volume. The following process provides an initial estimate:
Count the monthly login attempts.
Add registration and account-recovery requests.
Add protected form submissions.
Add checkout, payment or other transaction assessments.
Include expected seasonal traffic and bot traffic.
Apply the applicable reCAPTCHA pricing tier.
Google reCAPTCHA Pricing: Practice Case
A domain such as an online store might estimate its monthly assessment volume as follows:
| Protected action | Assessments per month |
|---|---|
|
Login |
60,000 |
|
Registration |
15,000 |
|
Password reset |
5,000 |
|
Checkout |
40,000 |
|
Total |
120,000 |
At 120,000 assessments, the estimated cost would be:
$8 + ((120,000 − 100,000) ÷ 1,000 × $1)
= $28 per month
The most important planning factor is therefore not the number of website visitors, but the number of user actions that generate reCAPTCHA assessments. Unexpected spikes in these activities can consequently lead to higher-than-anticipated costs, which is one of the biggest concerns about reCAPTCHA pricing.
Does reCAPTCHA Require a Google Cloud Billing Account?
Google reCAPTCHA is set up in the Google Cloud Console and managed through a Google Cloud project. Companies generally need to create or select a project, set up reCAPTCHA keys, enable the required APIs, and configure billing. This also applies to the Enterprise version and pay-as-you-go features.
A Google Cloud project is required. Whether a billing account is also required when using the free tier depends on the product and Google’s current requirements. Companies should check this before implementation. The free assessment allowance does not automatically cover all costs. Additional charges may arise from other Google Cloud services, paid support, Enterprise agreements, or Fraud Protection features billed separately.
Additional Google Cloud and Support Costs
Google reCAPTCHA pricing can increase substantially with traffic and with the number of protected user actions. At higher volumes, the metered model becomes more significant:
100,000 assessments cost $8;
500,000 assessments cost approximately $408;
1 million assessments cost approximately $908;
2 million assessments cost approximately $1,908.
For organizations that need direct technical assistance beyond the initial reCAPTCHA implementation, Google Cloud support may need to be purchased separately from reCAPTCHA usage.
Google Support – An Often-Overlooked Cost Factor
Google Cloud offers several support tiers. Enhanced Support provides direct support cases, faster response targets, case escalation, and support in English, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and French. It has a minimum monthly charge of $500. Premium Support provides faster response targets, access to Google technical experts, and additional account-management services, including a Technical Account Manager. It has a minimum monthly charge of $15,000.[5]
| Usage | reCAPTCHA Pricing | + Enhanced Support | + Premium Support |
|---|---|---|---|
|
50,000 assessments |
$8 |
$508 |
$15,008 |
|
1,000,000 assessments |
$908 |
$1,408 |
$15,908 |
|
2,000,000 |
$1,908 |
$2,408 |
$16,908 |
Please Note: Paid Google Cloud support is optional. These figures illustrate minimum-cost scenarios based on the listed support charges; actual support costs may vary depending on the applicable plan, minimum fees and percentage-based pricing.
Consequently, the total cost of using reCAPTCHA can be significantly higher than its headline assessment-based pricing suggests, particularly for customers that require direct technical support or account management.
A Cost-Effective Alternative to reCAPTCHA
Businesses evaluating reCAPTCHA Enterprise usually compare more than the headline price. Important considerations include:
monthly assessment volume
cost predictability
implementation and maintenance effort
user experience
reCAPTCHA GDPR compliance and relation to ePrivacy directive
the level of protection required for high-risk workflows, and whether CAPTCHA security is robust enough.
If you’re unsure which version of reCAPTCHA does what, check out our v2 vs v3 comparison, and our guides on reCAPTCHA v3 and Invisible reCAPTCHA.
Friendly Captcha Pricing: Transparent and Fair
Unlike Google reCAPTCHA, Friendly Captcha offers transparent, predictable pricing with no hidden fees or complex pricing structures. The volume-based plans allow customers to budget confidently with a fixed monthly fee, while personal technical support is always included.
The Starter plan is available for $9 per month and includes protection for one domain and up to 1,000 requests per month. The Growth plan costs $39 per month and supports up to 5,000 requests across five protected domains. For $200 per month, organizations can protect up to 50,000 requests across as many as 50 domains.
For Enterprise customers, Friendly Captcha offers customized plans based on individual requirements and request volumes. A fixed monthly fee is agreed upon in advance, providing a cost-effective alternative to reCAPTCHA – particularly for organizations with high request volumes. Enterprise plans also include advanced features for security such as Risk Intelligence, compliance, support, and scalability.
Contact our team for a non-binding, customized quote!
Pricing Compared for Bot Protection: reCAPTCHA vs. Friendly Captcha
Let’s compare the two CAPTCHA solutions in terms of pricing and support. How does Friendly Captcha perform in each of these areas?
| Usage | Friendly Captcha incl. Customer Support | reCAPTCHA + Google Cloud Enhanced Support | reCAPTCHA + Google Cloud Premium Support |
|---|---|---|---|
|
50,000 assessments / month |
$200 / month |
$508 / month |
$15,008 / month |
|
1,000,000 assessments / month |
individual plan |
$1,408 / month |
$15,908 / month |
|
2,000,000 assessments / month |
individual plan |
$2,408 / month |
$16,908 / month |
Friendly Captcha offers transparent, scalable pricing, with predictable Enterprise plans for an agreed number of domains and requests. Direct technical support and dedicated contacts are included – no separate support package is required.
reCAPTCHA Pricing: Why Migrating to Friendly Captcha Makes Sense
Our comparison shows that Friendly Captcha offers website operators a transparent and competitive alternative to Google reCAPTCHA. Choosing the right solution and plan can help reduce costs while delivering strong value for money.
Although reCAPTCHA has long been considered the industry standard for protecting websites, Friendly Captcha offers a modern alternative with transparent pricing, included support, strong data protection, and an accessible user experience. The best solution is not defined by price alone, but by the overall combination of security, reliability, compliance, and usability.
Contact our team today to find the right plan for your website.
FAQ
reCAPTCHA Essentials is free for up to 10,000 assessments per month, which is appropriate for a small website with modest traffic. For example, 10,000 assessments equate to one verification every four minutes. Bear in mind that 10,000 assessments do not equate to 10,000 visitors; rather, they represent the number of assessments required by reCAPTCHA to verify and secure access. These assessments can be triggered by logins, transactions, or password resets.Therefore, assessing your needs depends not simply on traffic, but primarily on the number of activities performed on the site.
If you exceed the 10,000 assessment limit and have not linked a valid Google Cloud Billing account and credit card, reCAPTCHA will return a ‘Resource Exhausted’ error (429).
In 2026, reCAPTCHA would costs $8 per month for 50,000 assessments, which falls under Google’s Premium (Pay-as-you-go) plan. It is compulsory to link a valid Google Cloud Billing account.
No, reCAPTCHA is priced per assessment request. Depending on the implementation, one visitor may generate multiple assessments.
An assessment is a verification or risk analysis performed when a user takes a protected action, such as:
Logging in
Creating an account
Submitting a form
Completing a transaction
Resetting a password
Therefore, one visitor may generate several assessments during a single visit. For example, if someone logs in, completes a purchase, and resets their password, that could count as three assessments – not one visitor.
Yes. reCAPTCHA pricing may change over time, and the amount you pay can also change as your monthly number of assessments increases. Since pricing is based on assessments rather than visitors, costs depend on both Google’s current pricing model and the number of protected activities performed on your website.
For a current customer, it is best to check Google’s official pricing page or contract, since prices, free allowances, and product tiers can be revised.
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