What is Sightengine?
Sightengine is an API-based service for content moderation and image analysis. Developers send photos, videos, text or audio to its endpoints and receive results in real time, such as classification of nudity, violence, hate, drugs, weapons and other categories, along with flags for personal information, external links and spam. The platform also offers AI content detection, identifying AI-generated images, video, speech and music, as well as deepfake and face-swap detection.
In practice, a platform can use Sightengine to automatically screen user uploads, detect near-duplicate or spammy content, verify profile pictures for a clear and real face, run face liveness checks during onboarding, transcribe and flag profanity in audio, and assess image quality. Plans are priced by monthly operations, with a free tier for testing and higher tiers adding video, live-stream and audio moderation, custom lists and age estimation.
Key features
- Image moderation with 120+ classes covering nudity, violence, hate, drugs and weapons
- Video and live-stream moderation (on higher plans)
- Text and audio moderation, including profanity detection and transcription
- AI-generated image, video, speech and music detection
- Deepfake and face liveness detection
- Image and video near-duplicate search and spam detection
Who is it for
- Developers building user-generated content platforms
- Trust and safety teams at social networks and marketplaces
- Companies running identity verification or KYC onboarding
Pros and cons
- Fast results and scalable API for automated moderation
- Broad coverage of moderation classes and AI content detection in one service
- Live-stream moderation and larger video files require higher-priced plans
- Pricing is based on operation volume, with extra charges beyond plan limits
Sightengine pricing
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Free Tier | 0 USD / month | 2,000 operations/month, max 500/day; basic moderation and AI detection |
| Starter | 29 USD / month | 10,000 operations/month, +0.002 USD per extra op; visual and text moderation, AI image/video detection, deepfake detection; video up to 50MB, no live-stream |
| Pro | 99 USD / month | 40,000 operations/month, +0.002 USD per extra op; adds advanced video and live-stream moderation (up to 500MB), audio moderation, custom search, liveness, recapture, age estimation, AI music detection |
Prices copied from Sightengine pricing, checked October 12, 2026. Currency as shown by the vendor; taxes may apply.
Is Sightengine free?
Yes, there is a free plan. Free Tier: 2,000 operations per month (max 500 per day) with basic content moderation and AI detection.
Sightengine alternatives
| Tool | Price from | Free plan | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
 Replicate | 0.025 USD | trial | APIs & models |
 Google AI Studio | 0,75 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 fal | 0.05 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 OpenAI Platform | 0,10 USD | ? | APIs & models |
 DeepAI | 9.99 USD/mo | yes | APIs & models |
 Hive Moderation | 3.00 USD | trial | APIs & models |
All alternatives to Sightengine →
FAQ
What is Sightengine used for?
API for moderating and analysing images, videos, text and audio, plus detecting AI-generated media, for platforms that need automated content filtering.
Is Sightengine free?
Yes, there is a free plan. Free Tier: 2,000 operations per month (max 500 per day) with basic content moderation and AI detection.
How much does Sightengine cost?
The cheapest paid plan is 29 USD/mo (vendor pricing, October 12, 2026).
What are the best Sightengine alternatives?
Closest alternatives: Replicate, Google AI Studio, fal, OpenAI Platform, DeepAI.
Data checked October 12, 2026 on the vendor website (sightengine.com).