ALTCHA

ALTCHA is operated by BAU Software s.r.o., a company based in Brno, Czechia, named as the contracting entity in its terms. It positions itself as a privacy-first CAPTCHA and bot protection product and states on its homepage that it is cookie-free and collects no personal data.

The product comes in three forms: the open-source widget, the self-hosted Sentinel platform for deployments on your own infrastructure, and the managed ALTCHA Cloud. A WordPress plugin works without calling an external service.

Self-hosted or managed

Sentinel can run in your own environment, including air-gapped setups, so verification data never leaves your network. ALTCHA Cloud is the managed route, with EU-only endpoints stated on the pricing page and frictionless and adaptive verification with real-time threat intelligence.

Open source and accessibility

The widget repository is published under the MIT licence on GitHub, so the client code can be inspected. The homepage states that the widget meets WCAG 2.2 AA, which matters for sites with accessibility duties.

Pricing structure

Cloud plans are priced by number of sites: €47 per month for up to 3 sites with a 30-day free trial, €137 for up to 10 sites and €187 for up to 50. Annual billing gives two months free. API capacity is described as fair use or a multiple (10x, 20x) without a stated number.

Limitations to Consider

The widget needs JavaScript. Sentinel and plugin prices are not on the pricing page, so the self-hosted cost cannot be compared. Cloud plans cap the number of sites, and API capacity is not stated as a figure. It is a CAPTCHA and does not replace traffic-level bot management such as Netacea.

Who Should Use ALTCHA

Developers and agencies that want an inspectable CAPTCHA with a self-hosted option, and EU-based sites that prefer a managed cloud with EU endpoints. Larger sites with scraping or account takeover problems should also look at Netacea.