kitio.aiDigitalOcean vs Sightengine
A side-by-side look at pricing plans, free tiers, features, pros and cons, updated for 2026. DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Sightengine starts at $29/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Moderation and AI-content detection APIs for images, video, text and audio
Freemium · $29/moAt a glance
Best for
Category
Pricing model
Starting price
Free plan
Made by
Based in
Rating
Key features
- Hosted model inference
- Managed Agents
- Sandboxes for coding agents
- Action Gateway for tools
- Managed databases
- Containers and storage
- Image and video moderation
- Text and audio moderation
- AI-generated image and video detection
- Deepfake detection
- Age estimation and liveness checks
- OCR and duplicate search
| Feature | DigitalOcean | Sightengine |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production | Moderation and AI-content detection APIs for images, video, text and audio |
| Category | Models & APIs | Models & APIs |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium |
| Starting price | See pricing page | $29/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Made by | DigitalOcean | Sightengine |
| Based in | United States | France |
| Rating | No ratings yet | No ratings yet |
| Key features |
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Pricing compared
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Sightengine starts at $29/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Free plan
Cheapest paid plan
Top plan
Free trial
3 plans
Inference
From $0.05 / M tokens
- Hosted AI models
- Single API
- No infrastructure to manage
Action Gateway
$0.10 / 1,000 calls
- 16,000+ tools
- Credentials kept from the model
- Retries and rate limits
Harness Runtime
From $0.0535 / hour
- Isolated microVM sessions
- Pause, resume and fork
4 plans
Free
Free
- 2,000 operations per month
- Basic moderation
- AI detection
Starter
$29/mo
- 10,000 operations per month
- Deepfake detection
- Videos up to 50 MB
Pro
$99/mo
- 40,000 operations per month
- Live-stream and audio moderation
- Custom image search
Enterprise
Contact sales
- Enterprise SLAs
- Dedicated support engineer
Prices in USD, checked Nov 5, 2026 or later. Plans change often, so confirm on each tool's site before you buy.
Pros and cons
DigitalOcean
- Inference through a single API
- Usage-based pricing is stated openly
- AI and standard cloud in one account
- Managed Agents is still a public preview
- No free plan listed
- Smaller catalog than the largest clouds
Sightengine
- Free tier with no time limit
- Moderation and AI detection in one API
- Covers images, video, text and audio
- Live-stream moderation needs the Pro plan
- Overage fees per extra operation
- Starter limits video uploads to 50 MB
Which one should you choose?
Choose DigitalOcean if you want:
- Inference through a single API
- Usage-based pricing is stated openly
- AI and standard cloud in one account
Watch out: managed agents is still a public preview.
Choose Sightengine if you want:
- Free tier with no time limit
- Moderation and AI detection in one API
- Covers images, video, text and audio
Watch out: live-stream moderation needs the pro plan.
DigitalOcean vs Sightengine FAQ
What is the difference between DigitalOcean and Sightengine?
DigitalOcean: Cloud for running AI inference, agents and apps in production. Sightengine: Moderation and AI-content detection APIs for images, video, text and audio. Both are models & apis tools.
Is DigitalOcean or Sightengine cheaper?
DigitalOcean starts at See pricing page and Sightengine starts at $29/mo. Check both pricing pages for current plans.
Do DigitalOcean and Sightengine have free plans?
DigitalOcean: No. Sightengine: Yes.
Who makes DigitalOcean?
DigitalOcean is made by DigitalOcean, based in United States.
Who makes Sightengine?
Sightengine is made by Sightengine, based in France.
Which should I choose, DigitalOcean or Sightengine?
Choose DigitalOcean if you value inference through a single api and usage-based pricing is stated openly. Choose Sightengine if you value free tier with no time limit and moderation and ai detection in one api.