Google reduces recaptcha free tier

reCAPTCHA, a service by Google designed to protect websites from spam and abuse, has been predominantly free for most sites. While enjoying the free tier limits of 1 million assessments per month, leading to near-universal implementation on millions of websites, it appears that a change is imminent starting April 1st, 2024.

Google is set to reduce free assessments from 1 million to just 10,000 per month for both the reCAPTCHA enterprise service and the previously free reCAPTCHA service, representing a significant 100x reduction in allowances. The no-cost plan is now named reCAPTCHA lite, offering up to 10,000 assessments per month. Additionally, a new plan, reCAPTCHA standard, is introduced.