Google Cloud Vision API vs Moderation API

Google Cloud Vision API provides image-analysis features that developers can integrate into applications through REST or RPC. Its capabilities include image labeling, face and landmark detection, text recognition, object localization, web detection, and explicit-content tagging. Text Detection reads text in images, while Document Text Detection supports dense text, handwriting, and PDF or TIFF files. Object Localization returns labels and bounding boxes for multiple recognized objects. Web Detection can return related web entities, matching image URLs and pages, visually similar images, and a best-guess label. Face Detection locates faces and facial landmarks and supplies likelihood ratings, but it does not recognize specific individuals. Documented workflows connect it with Cloud Storage, Cloud Functions, Pub/Sub, and Cloud Translation API. For Android and iOS development using Google Cloud Vision services, Google recommends ML Kit for Firebase. Limits include 20 MB per image, 10 MB per JSON request, 16 images per synchronous annotate request, and 2,000 images per asynchronous batch request. The first 1,000 units per feature each month are free; subsequent charges vary by feature and usage tier. The listed plan price is free, with Label Detection listed at 1.50 USD per 1,000 units for 1,001–5,000,000 units.

Moderation API is a content moderation service that combines an API with a review platform for text, images, video and audio. It supports more than 120 languages and offers over 20 pre-built detection models for issues such as toxicity, personal information, spam, self-harm, scams and hate speech. Teams can describe their own moderation rules in plain language; models apply them with explanations and confidence scores. Review queues and author moderation support human decisions, and the product says team reviews help train its AI. It also considers conversation history when assessing a message. The service lists integrations with tools including Discord, Airtable, Shopify, WordPress and Zapier, plus server-side SDKs for TypeScript/Node.js, Python, PHP and Ruby. A free Hobby plan includes 100 messages per month; Basic is $79 a month. Usage units depend on media: text costs one unit, audio two, images three, while video starts at three and varies with length and enabled models. The maker says content is not stored or accessed by people.