SightRadar

Face recognition API, Rekognition-compatible, pay per photo

Developer ToolsLaunched Oct 2026

The story

SightRadar is a high-accuracy face recognition API built as a drop-in replacement for AWS Rekognition. It uses the same request and response shapes (CreateCollection, IndexFaces, SearchFacesByImage, CompareFaces, DetectFaces), so you migrate by changing the endpoint URL. Find a person across thousands of photos from one selfie, run 1:1 verification with your own similarity threshold, or detect faces with confidence scores. Billing is per photo, never per face, with no subscription or minimums.

Overview

SightRadar is a face recognition API for teams that need face search, verification and detection at scale, without AWS Rekognition's pricing. It is Rekognition-compatible: point the AWS SDK (boto3 and others) at SightRadar's endpoint and your existing code keeps working.

What you get: - Face search: find one person across thousands of photos from a single selfie (event photos, media libraries, photo delivery) - 1:1 verification: compare two faces with a similarity threshold you choose - Face detection with confidence scores you can threshold on - Rekognition-compatible API: CreateCollection, IndexFaces, SearchFacesByImage, CompareFaces, DetectFaces and more - Photos with no faces return valid empty results, not errors - Per-photo billing, never per face: batch indexing from $0.00062 per photo, real-time $0.00093 per photo - Privacy by design: GDPR-ready with a Data Processing Agreement, face vectors isolated and encrypted per account, never used for model training - SDKs on npm and PyPI, plus a Rekognition shim for Python

Free to start with trial credits, no credit card required. Pay-as-you-go prepaid credits, no subscription and no minimums.

Key features

Rekognition-compatible API

Drop-in replacement for AWS Rekognition: same API shapes, change only the endpoint.

Face search from one selfie

Find one person across thousands of photos in your collections from a single selfie.

1:1 face verification

Compare two faces with a similarity threshold you choose.

Face detection

Detect faces with confidence scores you can threshold on.

Per-photo billing

Billed per photo, never per face. No subscription or minimums.

Privacy by design

GDPR-ready with a DPA. Face vectors encrypted per account, never used for training.

JavaScript and Python SDKs

SDKs on npm and PyPI, plus a Rekognition shim for Python.

Use cases

1
Event and wedding photographers
Deliver each guest's photos from one selfie.
2
Apps with identity verification
Add selfie-based verification for KYC and onboarding.
3
Media libraries and DAMs
Tag and search people across your own archives.
4
Teams on AWS Rekognition
Cut the face-API bill without rewriting code.

FAQ

How is SightRadar compatible with AWS Rekognition?

It uses the same request and response shapes as AWS Rekognition, so you point your existing AWS SDK (boto3 and others) at SightRadar's endpoint and your code keeps working.

How is pricing structured?

Billing is per photo, never per face: batch indexing from $0.00062 per photo, real-time $0.00093 per photo. Pay-as-you-go prepaid credits, no subscription, no auto-renewal and no minimums.

How is face data protected?

SightRadar is GDPR-ready with a Data Processing Agreement. Face vectors are isolated and encrypted per account and never used for model training.

What operations does the API support?

CreateCollection, IndexFaces, SearchFacesByImage, CompareFaces, DetectFaces and more. Photos with no faces return valid empty results, not errors.

Can I try SightRadar for free?

Yes. It is free to start with trial credits and no credit card required. There is a live demo on the homepage and a playground at https://sightradar.com/playground.