Is there a free face recognition API?

Yes. The Basic plan includes 30 requests a month for free, with every endpoint available: face analysis, face comparison and the face repository search. It is enough to test verification and 1:N search on your own photos before choosing a plan.

How much does the face recognition API cost?

Pro costs $12.99 a month for 5,000 requests, Ultra $22.99 for 10,000 (about $0.0023 per call) and Mega $92.99 for 50,000 (about $0.0019 per call). Every endpoint uses the same quota, so detection, comparison and search are billed alike.

How do I verify a selfie against an ID photo?

Send the ID portrait as source_image and the selfie as target_image to the /compare-faces endpoint. The response lists the target faces in matchedFaces (same person) or unmatchedFaces (someone else), so a single matched face means the identity is verified.

Can I search one face across thousands of people (1:N)?

Yes. Create a facial repository, save each person's face with your own ID as external_id, then call /search-face-in-repository with a new photo. The response returns the matching IDs with a Similarity score from 0 to 100. In our tests, new photos of enrolled people scored between 99.49 and 100, even when downscaled, blurred or rotated.

What can the Face Analyzer API detect in an image?

The Face Analyzer API detects faces and returns detailed facial attributes including age range, gender, smile, eyeglasses, sunglasses, dominant emotion, and 7 facial landmarks. It also supports celebrity recognition, face comparison between two images, and custom face re-identification repositories.

How does the face comparison feature work?

The face comparison endpoint accepts a source image and a target image, then identifies whether the same person appears in both. It returns matched and unmatched faces with bounding boxes, making it ideal for identity verification, access control, and attendance systems.

Can I build a facial recognition system with this API?

Yes. The Face Analyzer API provides facial repository endpoints that let you create custom face databases, store facial features with external IDs, and search for matching faces by similarity score. This enables scalable face re-identification workflows without managing your own ML infrastructure.

Computer VisionFree tier available

Face Recognition API: Detect, Compare and Search Faces

Face recognition API for developers: verify a selfie against an ID photo, compare two faces, search a face across your own database (1:N), and get age, gender, emotion and landmarks for every face. One REST call, no SDK or GPU.

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See It in Action

Real examples generated by the API. See the quality for yourself.

Face Verification (1:1)API Output

A source photo matched to a different photo of the same woman, and no match against another woman.

Features

Face Detection

Detect multiple faces in a single image with precise bounding boxes and 7 facial landmarks.

Age, Gender & Emotion

Estimate age range, gender, smile, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and dominant emotion for each face.

Celebrity Recognition

Identify celebrities in images with name and reference URLs. Separates recognized and unrecognized faces.

Face Comparison

Compare faces from two images to find matches, built for verification and identity confirmation.

Face Repositories

Create custom face databases to store, manage, and search facial features for re-identification.

Cloud-Based & Scalable

Low latency, high availability. Analyze large volumes of images without managing any infrastructure.

API Reference

10 endpoints, simple integration. Here's everything you need.

Supported Content Types

multipart/form-dataapplication/x-www-form-urlencoded

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/faceanalysis

Detect faces in an image with landmarks, gender, age range, smile, eyeglasses, sunglasses, and emotion estimation.

imagefilerequired

Image file to analyze, sent as multipart/form-data

urlstringrequired

Public URL of the image, sent as application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Send either image (file upload) or url, not both.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "faces": [
      {
        "boundingBox": { "topLeft": { "x": 0.28, "y": 0.12 }, "bottomRight": { "x": 0.72, "y": 0.85 } },
        "facialFeatures": {
          "Gender": "Male",
          "Smile": true,
          "Eyeglasses": false,
          "Sunglasses": false,
          "AgeRange": { "Low": 25, "High": 35 },
          "Emotions": ["HAPPY"]
        },
        "landmarks": {
          "eyeLeft": { "center": { "x": 0.38, "y": 0.40 } },
          "eyeRight": { "center": { "x": 0.62, "y": 0.40 } },
          "mouth": { "left": { "x": 0.40, "y": 0.70 }, "right": { "x": 0.60, "y": 0.70 } },
          "nose": { "center": { "x": 0.50, "y": 0.55 } }
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/celebrity-recognition

Recognize celebrities in an image. Returns celebrity names, info URLs, and facial features for each recognized face.

imagefilerequired

Image file to analyze, sent as multipart/form-data

urlstringrequired

Public URL of the image, sent as application/x-www-form-urlencoded

Send either image or url, not both.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "celebritiesFaces": [
      {
        "boundingBox": { ... },
        "facialFeatures": { ... },
        "landmarks": { ... },
        "celebrityName": "John Doe",
        "celebrityUrlsInfo": ["https://..."]
      }
    ],
    "unrecognizedFaces": [
      {
        "boundingBox": { ... },
        "facialFeatures": { ... },
        "landmarks": { ... }
      }
    ]
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/compare-faces

Compare faces from two different images. Returns matched and unmatched faces from the target image.

source_imagefilerequired

Source face image file, sent as multipart/form-data

source_image_urlstringrequired

Source face image URL, sent as form-urlencoded

target_imagefilerequired

Target image to search for matching faces, as a file upload

target_image_urlstringrequired

Target image URL to search for matching faces

Send either source_image or source_image_url, and either target_image or target_image_url.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "matchedFaces": [
      { "boundingBox": { ... }, "landmarks": { ... } }
    ],
    "unmatchedFaces": [
      { "boundingBox": { ... }, "landmarks": { ... } }
    ]
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/create-facial-repository

Create a custom facial repository to store facial features for re-identification.

repository_idstringrequired

Unique identifier for the new repository

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "message": "OK"
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/delete-facial-repository

Delete an existing facial repository and all its stored faces.

repository_idstringrequired

ID of the repository to delete

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "message": "OK"
  }
}

GEThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/list-facial-repositories

List all created facial repositories.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "FacialRepositoriesId": ["repo-1", "repo-2"]
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/save-face-in-repository

Save a face's features from an image into a repository for later re-identification.

imagefilerequired

Image containing the face, sent as multipart/form-data

urlstringrequired

Public URL of the image, sent as form-urlencoded

repository_idstringrequired

ID of the target repository

external_idstringrequired

External identifier for the face (e.g. person name)

max_facesnumberrequired

Maximum number of faces to save from the image

Send either image or url, not both.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "FacesId": ["face-id-1", "face-id-2"]
  }
}

GEThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/list-repository-faces

List all faces stored in a specific repository.

repository_idstringrequired

ID of the repository (query string parameter)

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "Faces": [
      { "FaceId": "...", "ExternalImageId": "..." }
    ]
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/delete-face-from-repository

Delete one or more faces from a repository.

repository_idstringrequired

ID of the repository

face_idsarrayrequired

Array of face IDs to delete

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "message": "OK"
  }
}

POSThttps://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/search-face-in-repository

Search for a face in a repository by providing an image. Returns matching faces with similarity scores.

imagefilerequired

Image containing the face to search, sent as multipart/form-data

urlstringrequired

Public URL of the image, sent as form-urlencoded

repository_idstringrequired

ID of the repository to search in

Send either image or url, not both.

Response Schema

{
  "statusCode": 200,
  "body": {
    "SearchedFaceBoundingBox": { ... },
    "FaceMatches": [
      {
        "FaceId": "...",
        "BoundingBox": { ... },
        "ExternalImageId": "...",
        "Similarity": 98
      }
    ]
  }
}

Response

200

Returns JSON with detected faces, facial features, landmarks, and endpoint-specific data (celebrity info, matches, repository entries).

Quick Start

Copy-paste code to get started in seconds. Replace YOUR_API_KEY with your RapidAPI key.

# Face Analysis
curl -X POST "https://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/faceanalysis" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-host: faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -F "image=@photo.jpg"

# Celebrity Recognition
curl -X POST "https://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/celebrity-recognition" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-host: faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -d "url=https://example.com/celeb.jpg"

# Compare Faces
curl -X POST "https://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/compare-faces" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-host: faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -F "source_image=@person1.jpg" \
  -F "target_image=@group.jpg"

# Search Face in Repository
curl -X POST "https://faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com/search-face-in-repository" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "x-rapidapi-host: faceanalyzer-ai.p.rapidapi.com" \
  -F "image=@person.jpg" \
  -F "repository_id=my-repo"

What Developers Build with This Face Recognition API

Each use case below has a step-by-step tutorial with working Python code and real API responses.

Face Verification

Confirm that two photos show the same person in one call: selfie against ID photo, today's check-in against the enrolled photo.

Face comparison tutorial

eKYC Onboarding

Match a user's selfie to the portrait on their ID document and read the document fields in the same flow.

Selfie and ID verification guide

Duplicate Account Detection

Search every new signup selfie in your face index and hold repeat users for review before they claim a second bonus.

Duplicate account guide

Attendance and Access Control

Enroll staff once, then identify each check-in photo with a 1:N search and a similarity score.

Attendance system tutorial

Event Photo Search

Index a wedding, race or conference gallery once, then let each guest find every photo they appear in with one selfie.

Event photos by selfie guide

Face Blurring for GDPR

Pixelate every face in a photo or folder before you publish it, or blur everyone except the person who asked for a copy.

Blur faces in Python guide

Photo Library by Person

Sort a photo library into one album per person, then file every new photo in the right album as it is uploaded.

Group photos by face guide

Migrate from Kairos or Betaface

Keep the enroll, recognize and verify calls of your app with a drop-in Python module, and re-enroll your people in minutes.

Kairos and Betaface alternative guide

Age Verification

Estimate an age range from a selfie and gate adult content or age-restricted products in about a second.

Age verification guide

JavaScript and Node.js

Replace face-api.js with plain fetch calls from Node.js 20: detection, comparison and labeled face search without model files.

face-api.js alternative guide

Choosing a Provider

Cost at 10,000 calls a month, free tiers and the status of each face recognition API in 2026.

Face recognition APIs compared

Pricing

Start free, scale as you grow. All plans include full API access with no credit card required for the free tier.

Free

Basic

$0Free

30 requests/mo

Full API access
All endpoints
Standard support

Pro

$12.99/mo

5,000 requests/mo

Full API access
All endpoints
Standard support

Recommended

Ultra

$22.99/mo

10,000 requests/mo

Full API access
All endpoints
Standard support

Mega

$92.99/mo

50,000 requests/mo

Full API access
All endpoints
Standard support

View Full Pricing on RapidAPI

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free face recognition API?: Yes. The Basic plan includes 30 requests a month for free, with every endpoint available: face analysis, face comparison and the face repository search. It is enough to test verification and 1:N search on your own photos before choosing a plan.
How much does the face recognition API cost?: Pro costs $12.99 a month for 5,000 requests, Ultra $22.99 for 10,000 (about $0.0023 per call) and Mega $92.99 for 50,000 (about $0.0019 per call). Every endpoint uses the same quota, so detection, comparison and search are billed alike.
How do I verify a selfie against an ID photo?: Send the ID portrait as source_image and the selfie as target_image to the /compare-faces endpoint. The response lists the target faces in matchedFaces (same person) or unmatchedFaces (someone else), so a single matched face means the identity is verified.
Can I search one face across thousands of people (1:N)?: Yes. Create a facial repository, save each person's face with your own ID as external_id, then call /search-face-in-repository with a new photo. The response returns the matching IDs with a Similarity score from 0 to 100. In our tests, new photos of enrolled people scored between 99.49 and 100, even when downscaled, blurred or rotated.
What can the Face Analyzer API detect in an image?: The Face Analyzer API detects faces and returns detailed facial attributes including age range, gender, smile, eyeglasses, sunglasses, dominant emotion, and 7 facial landmarks. It also supports celebrity recognition, face comparison between two images, and custom face re-identification repositories.
How does the face comparison feature work?: The face comparison endpoint accepts a source image and a target image, then identifies whether the same person appears in both. It returns matched and unmatched faces with bounding boxes, making it ideal for identity verification, access control, and attendance systems.
Can I build a facial recognition system with this API?: Yes. The Face Analyzer API provides facial repository endpoints that let you create custom face databases, store facial features with external IDs, and search for matching faces by similarity score. This enables scalable face re-identification workflows without managing your own ML infrastructure.

Tutorials & Guides

Learn how to integrate this API with step-by-step tutorials and real-world use cases.

GuideOct 29, 2026

Kairos and Betaface API Alternative: Drop-in Python Code

Kairos moved to identity verification and the public Betaface API is down. Replace enroll, recognize and verify with drop-in Python code, tested live.

Read article

GuideOct 27, 2026

Group Photos by Face in Python: One Album per Person

Group photos by face in Python: detect every face, match it in a face repository and sort a photo library into one album per person. Real results inside.

Read article

GuideOct 26, 2026

Blur Faces in Photos Automatically with Python (GDPR)

Blur faces automatically in Python: detect every face with one API call, pixelate it with Pillow and strip GPS data. Batch script and GDPR tips included.

Read article

GuideOct 23, 2026

face-api.js Alternative: Face Recognition in Node.js

face-api.js has not shipped a release since 2020. Replace it with a face recognition API in Node.js: detection, comparison and FaceMatcher-style search, tested.

Read article

GuideOct 22, 2026

Find Event Photos by Selfie with a Face Search API

Let guests find their event photos with one selfie: index every photo with a face search API and return each guest's matches in Python. Real results inside.

Read article

GuideOct 20, 2026

Detect Duplicate Accounts with a Face Search API

Stop multi-accounting and bonus abuse at signup: search each new selfie in a face index and flag repeat users. Python code, real similarity scores, GDPR notes.

Read article

GuideOct 17, 2026

Best Age Verification APIs in 2026: Pricing Compared

Compare age verification APIs in 2026: facial age estimation vs ID checks, liveness, cost at 10,000 checks a month, and a Python age gate with a safety buffer.

Read article

GuideOct 7, 2026

Best Face Recognition & Comparison APIs in 2026 (Pricing)

Compare face recognition APIs in 2026: face comparison (1:1), face search (1:N), free tiers, cost at 10,000 calls a month, and which APIs went offline.

Read article

GuideJun 6, 2026

Add eKYC to Your SaaS: Selfie-to-ID Face Verification API

Build an eKYC onboarding step that matches a user's selfie to their ID document. Combines a face comparison API and an OCR API, with Python and a decision flow.

Read article

GuideMay 13, 2026

Emotion Detection: Face Analyzer API vs DeepFace

Compare a cloud face analysis API with DeepFace open source for emotion detection. Side-by-side tests on 3 images, accuracy results, and code examples.

Read article

TutorialApr 2, 2026

Face Recognition Attendance System with REST API (Python)

Build a face recognition attendance system in Python using a REST API for face detection and comparison. Step-by-step tutorial with Flask source code.

Read article

TutorialMar 30, 2026

Build a Face-Based Age Verification System with API

Learn how to build a face-based age verification system using the Face Analyzer API in Python. Comply with age-gate regulations for ecommerce and delivery apps.

Read article

Deep DiveMar 22, 2026

Face Matching in 5 Lines of Python: Detect, Encode, Compare

How face matching works under the hood and how to implement it in 5 lines of Python. Covers face detection, embedding vectors, and similarity comparison with real test results.

Read article

TutorialMay 28, 2025

KYC Selfie Verification with a Face Comparison API

Check a KYC selfie against an ID photo with a face comparison API. Python code and real results, plus profile verification and fraud prevention.

Read article

TutorialMay 25, 2025

Face Comparison API: Match and Verify Two Faces in Python

Compare two faces with a face comparison API: match a selfie to an ID photo in Python, cURL or JavaScript and turn the response into a clear verify decision.

Read article

TutorialMay 4, 2025

Building a Face Detection App with a REST API

Step-by-step tutorial for building a face detection application using a REST API. Includes cURL, Python, and JavaScript code examples with the Face Analyzer API.

Read article

Start Using Face Analyzer Today

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