# Nolgard vs Fingerprint, Turnstile, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha and Castle | Nolgard

> How Nolgard compares with Fingerprint, Cloudflare Turnstile, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha and Castle on repeat signups, puzzles, trial grants and price. Every cell sourced, checked on 2026-10-26.

Source: https://nolgard.com/compare/
Last updated: 2026-10-26

[Nolgard](https://nolgard.com/) / Nolgard vs Fingerprint, Turnstile, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha and Castle

Compare

# Nolgard vs Fingerprint, Turnstile, reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha and Castle

**Short answer.** Turnstile, reCAPTCHA and hCaptcha check that a visitor is human. Fingerprint gives you a device id and you build the rule. Castle scores user risk per request. Nolgard links a new signup to earlier accounts by device and mailbox and returns how many trial credits to give. Many teams run a human check and Nolgard together.

Competitor cells checked on 2026-10-26 against each vendor's official pages, linked in every cell. "Not stated" means we did not find it on those pages; it does not mean the product lacks it. Last updated 2026-10-26.

## Side by side

| Question | Fingerprint | Cloudflare Turnstile | Google reCAPTCHA | hCaptcha | Castle | Nolgard |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Main job | Device identification: a `visitorId` per request. [docs](https://docs.fingerprint.com/) | Human check on a form widget. [docs](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/) | Bot scores, visual challenges, account and transaction defense by tier. [tiers](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Human check with passive and visual modes. [docs](https://docs.hcaptcha.com/) | Risk and Filter API for user behaviour, devices and risk scores. [pricing FAQ](https://castle.io/pricing) | Repeat signups and bots at signup, with a suggested trial grant. [docs](https://nolgard.com/docs/) |
| Free tier | Up to 1,000 API calls a month. [source](https://fingerprint.com/pricing/) | Free plan, up to 20 widgets per account. [source](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/plans/) | Essentials free up to 10,000 assessments a month, per organization. [source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Basic free up to 10,000 requests a month. [source](https://www.hcaptcha.com/plans) | $5 of API usage, about 1,000 Risk and Filter requests; no overages. [source](https://castle.io/pricing) | 1,000 new accounts a month, no card. [pricing](https://nolgard.com/pricing/) |
| Entry paid plan | Pro Plus from $99 a month for 20,000 API calls, then $4 per 1,000. [source](https://fingerprint.com/pricing/) | Enterprise, contact sales. [source](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/plans/) | Premium: $8 flat for 10,001 to 100,000 assessments, then $1 per 1,000. [source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Pro and Enterprise; price not stated on the plans page. [source](https://www.hcaptcha.com/plans) | Pro includes $200 of usage, about 40,000 requests, then $0.005 each. [source](https://castle.io/pricing) | Pro $99 for 15,000 new accounts; Business $299 for 75,000. Repeat checks of one account are free. [pricing](https://nolgard.com/pricing/) |
| Shows a puzzle to users | No. [docs](https://docs.fingerprint.com/) | Can show a managed challenge; invisible and non-interactive modes exist. [source](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/) | Visual bot challenges on all tiers. [source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Yes when unsure; passive modes on paid plans. [source](https://docs.hcaptcha.com/pro) | Not stated | Never. Step-up is your own email confirmation. |
| Links a new signup to earlier accounts | You get an id and build the rule. [source](https://docs.fingerprint.com/) | Free: no. Enterprise Ephemeral IDs give a short-lived device id. [source](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/additional-configuration/ephemeral-id/) | Related accounts API on Enterprise only. [source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Not in the documented response. [docs](https://docs.hcaptcha.com/) | Not stated | Yes. Device, browser visitor id and normalized email, per site, 30 days. [details](https://nolgard.com/features/repeat-accounts/) |
| Suggests how many trial credits to give | Not stated | No. Pass or fail. [docs](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/) | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes. `grant.share` and `grant.credits`. [docs](https://nolgard.com/docs/#trial) |
| Email alias and disposable checks | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated | Yes. Alias folding, disposable and new domains. [docs](https://nolgard.com/docs/#account-signals) |
| Native iOS and Android SDKs | Yes. [source](https://fingerprint.com/pricing/) | Not stated | Yes, on all tiers. [source](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers) | Yes. [source](https://docs.hcaptcha.com/mobile_app_sdks) | Not stated | No. Browsers only. |

## Where they are better

- **Fingerprint** returns a stable `visitorId` you can use anywhere in your stack, and has iOS and Android SDKs. Nolgard has no per-response visitor id and no mobile SDK. [Fingerprint pricing](https://fingerprint.com/pricing/)

- **Cloudflare Turnstile** has a free plan If your only problem is scripted form posts, it may be all you need. [Turnstile plans](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/plans/)

- **reCAPTCHA** gives 10,000 free assessments a month, mobile SDKs, and paid tiers with password, SMS, carding and chargeback defense that Nolgard does not offer. [reCAPTCHA tiers](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers)

- **hCaptcha** gives 10,000 free requests a month and can show a challenge when it is unsure, which Nolgard never does. [hCaptcha plans](https://www.hcaptcha.com/plans)

- **Castle** prices per request with a Pro plan that includes about 40,000 Risk and Filter requests for $200, and offers SLAs and MTU-based pricing on Enterprise. [Castle pricing](https://castle.io/pricing)

- Nolgard has no SOC 2 report and no SLA. See [security](https://nolgard.com/security/).

## Which to pick

- Only scripted spam on a form: a free human check such as Turnstile, reCAPTCHA Essentials or hCaptcha Basic.
- You want a raw device id to build your own rules, including on mobile: Fingerprint.
- Real people taking your free trial or credits again with new emails: Nolgard, next to a human check if you already have one. Test it in Observe mode first; see the [methodology](https://nolgard.com/methodology/) for what we miss.

## One-to-one comparisons

- [Fingerprint vs Nolgard](https://nolgard.com/compare/fingerprint/)
- [Turnstile vs Nolgard](https://nolgard.com/compare/turnstile/)
- [hCaptcha vs Nolgard](https://nolgard.com/compare/hcaptcha/)
- [Migrating from reCAPTCHA](https://nolgard.com/docs/recaptcha-migration/)
- [Guides](https://nolgard.com/guides/)

[Read the docs](https://nolgard.com/docs/)[Start free](https://nolgard.com/app/#/signup)

## Sources

- [Fingerprint pricing](https://fingerprint.com/pricing/)
- [Fingerprint docs](https://docs.fingerprint.com/)
- [Cloudflare Turnstile plans](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/plans/)
- [Cloudflare Turnstile Ephemeral IDs](https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/additional-configuration/ephemeral-id/)
- [Google reCAPTCHA tiers compared](https://docs.cloud.google.com/recaptcha/docs/compare-tiers)
- [hCaptcha plans](https://www.hcaptcha.com/plans)
- [hCaptcha developer docs](https://docs.hcaptcha.com/)
- [Castle pricing](https://castle.io/pricing)