Tisane API

Tisane API is a text-moderation service for teams that need to interpret user-generated language rather than simply flag keywords. It is strongest for gaming and multilingual products, but its text-only scope rules it out as a complete moderation stack for mixed media.

Overview

Tisane Labs develops natural-language processing products for content moderation and law enforcement applications. The RESTful API returns detailed results in milliseconds and pairs moderation decisions with human-readable explanations. Deterministic outputs that can be traced and debugged are useful when teams need to understand why a text item was flagged and tune their response.

Custom policies extend the text-moderation use case, but there is no built-in human-review workflow, and Tisane does not moderate images, audio, or video. Teams that need media coverage or an escalation queue will need another product or an additional service.

Key features

The API handles algospeak, slang, and misspellings, and can tailor analysis to contexts such as usernames and search queries. That focus on how text is used is valuable for community platforms, where the same words can carry different meanings in different fields. It can also translate foreign content while preserving original profanities and slurs, and detect topics, entities, and sentiment.

Gaming-adapted moderation distinguishes in-game violence references from criminal activity, and can detect scammers, groomers, and trolls. That makes Tisane a more targeted option for game communities than a general text filter, though it still does not replace broader media moderation or human review.

Deployment can be through public cloud, an on-premises installation, or Tisane Embedded as an in-process library. On-premises deployment addresses privacy needs and air-gapped environments; the embedded option may suit teams that want processing inside an application rather than through a public service. Integrations include Slack, Minecraft, Webex, Discord, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, as well as Zapier, Make, and n8n.

Pricing

The Community plan costs nothing and includes 50,000 requests, but its 10 hits per minute limit is restrictive for live products with concentrated traffic. It has no technical support, CORS support, LM Direct Access, or customization, so it is best for evaluation or low-throughput use rather than a production service that needs responsive support.

Small costs $99 a month for 100,000 requests and 120 hits per minute, with limited technical support. It removes the Community plan’s severe rate ceiling, but still has no CORS support, LM Direct Access, or customization. Medium costs $159 a month and raises the allowance to 400,000 requests at the same 120 hits per minute; it adds technical support, CORS support, and LM Direct Access, while customization remains unavailable.

Medium Burstable costs $349 a month for the same 400,000 requests and support features as Medium, but raises the rate limit to 2,000 hits per minute. It is the better fit when bursts matter more than monthly volume; the higher fee buys throughput, not a larger request quota. Large costs $899 a month and includes 2,500,000 requests, 2,000 hits per minute, technical support and integration assistance, plus limited customization.

Enterprise has custom pricing and is billed by server license. It provides unlimited requests subject to machine capacity, no rate limits, technical support and integration assistance, CORS support, LM Direct Access, full customization, private or public cloud deployment, and native Linux and Windows versions. It is the relevant tier for organizations that need deployment control or full customization; smaller teams should weigh its custom terms against the fixed monthly plans.

Platforms

Tisane supports API use and lists Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted platforms. The deployment choices extend from public cloud to on-premises and an embedded library, making it unusually adaptable for teams with infrastructure or privacy constraints.

Who it's for

Choose Tisane for text-heavy communities, especially gaming products, or for services that need language-aware analysis and explainable moderation decisions. Its strongest case is a team that values context, traceability, and deployment flexibility. It is a poor fit for teams seeking image, audio, or video screening or an integrated human-review process.

Pros and cons

Pro: Human-readable, deterministic explanations make moderation decisions easier to trace and debug.

Pro: Handling of slang, misspellings, algospeak, and gaming context is suited to informal community text.

Pro: Public cloud, on-premises, and embedded deployment options accommodate different privacy and infrastructure needs.

Con: No image, audio, or video moderation means text-only coverage for moderation workloads.

Con: No human-review workflow leaves escalation and adjudication to another process.

Con: The free plan's 10 hits per minute limit is low for production traffic, and the first paid tier lacks CORS support and customization.

Alternatives

For alternatives, start with the AI Content Moderation Software category if you want to compare services across the field. WebPurify is a paid option with a free trial and platforms including Android and iOS; consider it if those platforms matter. CleanSpeak offers custom solutions with cloud or self-hosting and startup and nonprofit discounts, making it worth considering when those terms fit your organization.

PicPurify has a free plan and a $19 a month Starter plan, so it is an alternative for teams comparing a lower-priced entry point. Sightengine offers a free tier and a $29 a month Starter plan; its free tier excludes video processing and live-stream support. Google Cloud Vision API has a free tier and pay-as-you-go pricing, which may suit teams that prefer per-image billing.

Hive Moderation is a paid service with free credits for developers who add a payment method. Moderation API starts at $79 a month and includes video and audio moderation, so it is a more natural fit when media coverage is a priority. Amazon Rekognition Content Moderation offers a free tier lasting 12 months from account creation, an option for teams evaluating a time-limited free allowance.

Verdict

Tisane API is the right choice for teams moderating text in gaming or multilingual communities that need explainable decisions and deployment flexibility. Its language-aware analysis and traceability are the main reasons to choose it. Look elsewhere if your moderation needs include media, human review, or a broader all-in-one workflow.