Research
Face Recognition API Pricing (2026): AWS Rekognition vs Azure Face vs SightRadar
A worked cost comparison of face recognition APIs — AWS Rekognition, Azure Face and SightRadar — at 10k, 100k, 1M and 10M photos a month, using each vendor's published rates and volume tiers.
Data as of 2026-11-05 · 300M+ photos processed · 180k+ collections created
Key findings
At 1 million photos a month, SightRadar batch indexing costs $620 — 38% less than AWS Rekognition's $1000 at its first-tier US rate ($0.0010/image, us-east-1).
Link to this findingAt 10 million photos a month, AWS Rekognition's volume tiers bring its effective rate to $0.00072/image ($7200 total), but SightRadar batch is still lower at $6200. Above roughly 37M photos a month, AWS Rekognition's blended cost drops below SightRadar's batch rate.
Link to this findingCompareFaces on AWS Rekognition bills one image (the source); SightRadar's /v1/compare bills both images ($0.00186 per comparison). For 1:1 verification, supply one side as a stored embedding to pay for one photo instead of two.
Link to this findingAzure Face charges per transaction, not per photo. A selfie-search workflow (Detect + Identify) costs two transactions per photo. At 100k single-operation calls, Azure costs $100 and SightRadar batch costs $62.
Link to this findingFace vector storage: SightRadar charges $6 per million stored faces per month; AWS Rekognition charges $10 — 40% less on SightRadar.
Link to this findingSightRadar has processed 300M+ photos and hosts 180k+ collections to date.
Link to this finding
Monthly cost by volume
All figures are USD, using published list rates with volume tiers applied. No negotiated or reserved pricing.
| Photos/month | SightRadar batch | SightRadar real-time | AWS Rekognition | Azure Face |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10k | $6.20 | $9.30 | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| 100k | $62.00 | $93.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 |
| 1M | $620.00 | $930.00 | $1000.00 | $1000.00 |
| 10M | $6200.00 | $9300.00 | $7200.00 | $7200.00 |
Boldface marks the lowest cost at each volume. SightRadar has no volume tiers; the per-photo rate is flat.
Per-photo rates
| Vendor | Rate | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| SightRadar (batch) | $0.00062 | Pricing, checked 2026-11-05 |
| SightRadar (real-time) | $0.00093 | Pricing, checked 2026-11-05 |
| AWS Rekognition | $0.00100 | AWS pricing, checked 2026-10-30 |
| Azure Face | $0.00100 | Azure pricing, checked 2026-10-30 |
Methodology
- All prices are published list rates in USD, not negotiated or reserved pricing.
- AWS Rekognition rates are Group 1 (face operations) in us-east-1. Volume tiers applied.
- Azure Face rates are Standard tier. Volume tiers applied.
- SightRadar has no volume tiers; the per-photo rate is flat.
- Storage: SightRadar $6/million faces/month; AWS $10/million faces/month.
- CompareFaces: AWS bills 1 image (source only); SightRadar bills both images.
Suggested citation
“Face Recognition API Pricing (2026).” SightRadar, 2026-11-05. https://sightradar.com/research/face-recognition-api-pricing-2026Try the pricing calculator
Plug in your own photo counts and see the exact credit cost.