Redacta vs RedactLaw

Redacta is a free, open-source web tool for redacting or pseudonymising sensitive information in PDF files from plain-language instructions. It can identify and permanently remove names, email addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, addresses, account numbers, and other personally identifiable information. It also detects embedded photos, signatures, logos, and screenshots for image redaction. Pseudonymisation replaces real names, addresses, and identifiers with fictional alternatives while keeping documents readable. Redacta says output PDFs retain their formatting, layout, fonts, and page structure. PDF parsing and redaction run in the browser through WebAssembly and MuPDF, and the site says files are not uploaded to a server. You provide your own Google Gemini or OpenAI API key, with requests sent directly to that provider. The free trial routes extracted text through a backend proxy. No signup, installation, watermarks, or usage limits are listed.

RedactLaw is an AI-powered document redaction platform made for law firms. It detects personal information and HIPAA identifiers, applies context-aware recognition, and assigns confidence scores to help users review proposed redactions. Reviewers can compare a detection with the original, approve or reject items individually, or handle flagged items in bulk. The product says it removes underlying data permanently and clears metadata and hidden layers from redacted files. It accepts PDF, DOCX, XLSX, JPEG, PNG, and TIFF files, including scanned documents through OCR, and produces redacted PDFs. Templates cover medical records, court filings, FOIA responses, financial discovery, employment records, and immigration files. Redaction decisions, users, and timestamps appear in an audit trail, with PDF and CSV exports. RedactLaw is available on the web, by API, and as self-hosted software. The free plan allows five documents a month, up to ten pages each, for one user; paid plans start at $39 a month.