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Best Open-Source CAPTCHA Options in 2026 ​

Short answer: Cap is a free, open-source, self-hosted CAPTCHA alternative licensed under Apache 2.0 that uses proof-of-work and instrumentation challenges instead of visual puzzles. The other serious open-source options are ALTCHA (minimal PoW library), mCAPTCHA (PoW, pre-1.0 and slow-moving), and Anubis (PoW scraper wall for whole sites rather than forms).

What makes a CAPTCHA open source? ​

A public widget repo on its own doesn't qualify. For bot protection, "open source" only means something when you can audit and run the parts that make decisions:

  • Client and server code published under an OSI license, so the challenge logic isn't a black box.
  • Self-hostable verification, so passing or failing a user never depends on a vendor's API being up, honest, or affordable.
  • No hidden phone-home, which you can verify because you can read the code.

Several commercial CAPTCHAs open-source their client integrations while keeping the server proprietary (FriendlyCaptcha, for example). That's source-available convenience, not an open-source CAPTCHA: the decision engine is still a black box you rent.

Why self-host CAPTCHA? ​

  • Privacy you can prove. Visitor data never reaches a vendor, which makes GDPR/CCPA answers simple. See Compliance.
  • No quotas or per-request fees. Traffic spikes and bot floods don't turn into invoices.
  • No vendor risk. No surprise pricing changes, no deprecations, no acquisition rugs.
  • Control. You set challenge difficulty per site key instead of trusting a remote model's verdict on your users.
  • Availability. Your forms don't break when a third-party challenge endpoint has an outage.

The options ​

Cap ​

Cap is a full open-source CAPTCHA stack under Apache 2.0: a ~20 KB web-component widget plus Cap Standalone, a small Docker deployment (one container plus Valkey) exposing a REST API, a dashboard with multi-site-key management, and a /siteverify endpoint compatible with reCAPTCHA's API shape.

Protection comes from two independent layers: GPU-resistant HashWX proof of work and dynamic instrumentation challenges that verify the environment is a real browser. Defeating one layer doesn't defeat the other.

If you'd rather embed than deploy, capjs-core is Cap's stateless server library: it generates and verifies challenges inside your own service and runs on Cloudflare Workers, Lambda, and other edge environments with no persistent storage.

  • License: Apache 2.0, client and server
  • Mechanism: proof-of-work + instrumentation
  • Deployment: Docker container + CDN or self-hosted widget
  • Best for: teams that want a turn-key, self-hosted CAPTCHA service with real UX

ALTCHA ​

ALTCHA is a minimal, well-maintained proof-of-work widget (MIT) you wire into your own backend. No dashboard, no standalone server in the open-source tier; the ML-based second layer is part of the paid Sentinel product.

  • License: MIT (widget)
  • Mechanism: proof-of-work
  • Best for: developers who want a small library and are happy to build the server side themselves

Full comparison: Cap vs ALTCHA →

mCAPTCHA ​

mCAPTCHA pioneered the same variable-difficulty PoW idea. It's fully open source (the core is AGPL-3.0; client libraries use permissive licenses), but it is still pre-1.0 with a slow release cadence, and its widget bundle is larger than Cap's or ALTCHA's. Fine to study, but weigh the maturity before building on it.

Anubis ​

Anubis is an open-source proof-of-work scraper wall: it gates an entire site or path at the reverse-proxy level, mainly against AI crawlers. It's not a form CAPTCHA and doesn't ship a standalone verification server, but it pairs well with one. You can run Anubis in front of a site and Cap on the high-value forms inside it.

Full comparison: Cap vs Anubis →

Side by side ​

CapALTCHAmCAPTCHAAnubis
LicenseApache 2.0MIT (widget)AGPLMIT
Actively maintained✅✅🟨 pre-1.0, slow releases✅
MechanismPoW + instrumentationPoWPoWPoW
ScopePer-action (forms, APIs)Per-actionPer-actionWhole-site gate
Standalone server + dashboard✅❌✅❌
reCAPTCHA-compatible siteverify✅❌❌❌
Widget size~20 KB~34 KBlargern/a (transparent)
GPU-resistant PoW option✅ HashWX❌❌❌

How to choose ​

  • Want a service you deploy once and manage in a dashboard? Cap. Quickstart →
  • Want the smallest possible dependency and you'll own the backend glue? Cap's capjs-core library, or ALTCHA.
  • Fighting scrapers across a whole site, not form spam? Anubis, optionally with Cap on the forms.
  • Migrating off reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha? Cap's compatible siteverify makes it a URL swap. Migration guide →

FAQ ​

What is the best open-source CAPTCHA? ​

Cap, if you want a complete stack: two verification layers, dashboard, compatible siteverify API. ALTCHA, if you want a minimal library.

Can I self-host CAPTCHA? ​

Yes, and it's easier than it sounds. Cap runs as one Docker container plus Valkey, fits on a $5 VPS, and takes about five minutes to set up.

Is Cap free? ​

Completely. Apache 2.0, no quotas, no paid tier, at any volume.

Is Cap better than ALTCHA? ​

Cap ships more (instrumentation layer, standalone server, dashboard, progress UX, smaller widget); ALTCHA ships less on purpose. Pick by how much you want to build yourself.

Does open-source CAPTCHA protect privacy? ​

It makes privacy auditable instead of promised. Self-hosted PoW needs no fingerprinting, no behavioral profiling, and no third-party calls, and you can read the code to confirm it.

See also ​