Dev Tools · 1h ago
Building your own CAPTCHA solver costs more than you think
A detailed cost analysis shows that running a self-hosted CAPTCHA-solving stack requires 1-3 engineer-months to build plus ongoing maintenance of 0.2-0.5 engineer indefinitely. Proxy and infrastructure costs often exceed what a commercial solving service would charge. The hidden expense is the maintenance treadmill as anti-bot vendors continuously update their systems.
Meridian48 take
The article makes a strong case that the fully-loaded cost of building in-house CAPTCHA solving is almost always higher than buying a service, especially when factoring in opportunity cost.
Read the full reporting
Build vs buy: what running your own CAPTCHA-solving stack actually costs →
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