hCaptcha

hCaptcha is the most widely adopted alternative to Google's reCAPTCHA, and its core value is simple: it does not route user behavioural data through Google's advertising network. For operators in regulated industries with explicit data minimisation requirements, or publishers who do not want to be part of that data exchange, the difference is material. The free tier is genuinely unlimited for most site volumes with no per-check cost, and the WordPress plugin handles basic integration without developer involvement. Enterprise analytics and SLAs come on paid tiers; the free offering covers the privacy protection use case completely.