Google is rolling out a major change to its popular reCAPTCHA service, and it’s something every business owner using the tool should know about.
If your business website uses Google reCAPTCHA to protect your contact forms or login areas, this post is for you. We’ll break down what’s changing, when it’s happening, how it could affect your site and budget, and what you can do to stay protected and avoid unexpected fees.
What’s Happening to Google reCAPTCHA?
Until now, Google’s reCAPTCHA (particularly reCAPTCHA v2 and v3) has offered generous free tiers to help websites stop spam and bot attacks. But Google is making some major changes:
- All reCAPTCHA keys must be migrated to the Google Cloud Platform (GCP) by the end of 2025.
- The free usage limit is dropping significantly—from 1 million free assessments per month down to just 10,000.
- Any usage over the free limit will now incur monthly charges starting at $8 for up to 100,000 assessments, and $1 for every additional 1,000 after that.
This isn’t just a pricing change. Google is also consolidating reCAPTCHA into its Enterprise offering, meaning all users—big or small—will be on the same platform with billing enabled for anything beyond minimal usage.
When Do These Changes Take Effect?
While the migration deadline is officially the end of 2025, Google has already started encouraging users to move their reCAPTCHA setup to GCP. Once your account is migrated, the new pricing and usage rules apply.
So even though the final cutoff may seem far away, these changes are already impacting users who cross the 10,000 assessment threshold and haven’t set up billing. Once you hit the free limit, reCAPTCHA will simply stop working unless you’ve enabled billing.
Why This Matters to Our Clients
If you’re one of our WordPress hosting or care plan clients and currently use reCAPTCHA, this change could affect you in three key ways:
- Unexpected Charges: If your forms or login pages are accessed often (by visitors, clients, or bots), you could hit the 10,000 limit faster than you expect and end up with monthly charges.
- Service Interruptions: Without billing enabled, reCAPTCHA will stop functioning once the limit is exceeded. That means no protection—and your forms or logins may stop working properly.
- Administrative Headaches: Migrating to GCP requires account setup, billing configuration, and potential code changes. For many businesses, it’s one more task in an already long to-do list.
A Better Option: Move to Cloudflare Turnstile
To help clients avoid the hassle and cost of this change, we are now offering a migration service to Cloudflare Turnstile—a modern, privacy-focused alternative to reCAPTCHA.
For a one-time fee of $100, we will:
- Install and configure the Turnstile plugin on your WordPress site
- Generate and install the required API keys
- Enable Turnstile protection on all compatible login and form areas
- Remove any existing Google reCAPTCHA plugins from your site (does not include any necessary form edits to remove reCAPTCHA blocks)
This service ensures your site stays protected from spam and bots without the new reCAPTCHA billing headaches.
Why Choose Turnstile?
Turnstile is developed by Cloudflare, a trusted leader in internet security. Here’s why it’s worth switching:
- Completely free with no usage limits or hidden fees
- No user friction – no image challenges, checkboxes, or annoying puzzles
- Respects user privacy, with no tracking or data harvesting
- Easy integration with popular WordPress form plugins and login systems
And importantly, Turnstile offers the same level of bot protection without tying your site into a growing list of Google Cloud services.
Why You Should Act Now
Waiting to switch could result in a service interruption, especially if your site traffic pushes you past Google’s new limits. Making the move now ensures:
- Continued protection against spam and automated attacks
- No surprise bills from Google
- One less technical task to worry about as the deadline gets closer
It also means you can start benefiting from Turnstile’s simpler, smoother user experience today.
Why Work With Us?
We’ve been building and managing hosting infrastructure for over 33 years, and we don’t resell big-box hosting. All of our hosting—shared, VPS, or dedicated—is done on Canadian-based servers we manage ourselves. No third-party access unless absolutely necessary. That means:
- Faster troubleshooting
- Greater reliability and uptime
- Better security and data control
We also offer WordPress, Shopify, and BigCommerce website development, and provide maintenance plans to keep your site secure and up to date. Learn more here:
And if you’re planning a redesign or new site build, we’re happy to provide free estimates and offer limited custom programming—just reach out with your project details.
Final Thoughts
This change to Google reCAPTCHA isn’t just a technical shift—it’s a pricing and policy shift that could affect thousands of small to mid-sized business websites across Western Canada.
If you’re a business in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, or beyond and rely on reCAPTCHA to protect your forms and logins, now is the time to consider moving to a more reliable, more affordable solution.
We’re ready to help you make the switch to Cloudflare Turnstile quickly and smoothly. Just click here to order your migration!