Comparison
Blindfold vs Private AI
Both detect PII with strong accuracy, but Blindfold is a managed API with a free tier while Private AI is a self-hosted container starting at ~$46K/year.
At a glance
| Feature | Blindfold | Private AI |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Managed API | Self-hosted container |
| Deployment | Cloud API (no infrastructure) | Docker container on your servers |
| PII methods | 7 (tokenize, redact, mask, hash, synthesize, encrypt, detect) | Detect, redact, synthesize |
| Reversible tokenization | Yes — tokenize + detokenize | No |
| Compliance policies | GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, strict | None built-in |
| Data residency | EU (Frankfurt) / US (Virginia) | Wherever you host the container |
| Languages | 18+ | 52+ |
| Audit logging | Built-in dashboard | None — build your own |
| Pricing | Free tier + usage-based | Starting ~$46,000/year |
| Setup | API key — 2 minutes | Docker deployment + GPU recommended |
Key differences
Managed API vs self-hosted container
Blindfold is a managed API — sign up, get a key, start making calls. Private AI is a Docker container you deploy on your own infrastructure. You manage scaling, updates, GPU allocation, and monitoring yourself.
Free tier vs $46K/year
Blindfold offers 1M free characters per month with no credit card required. Private AI starts at approximately $46,000/year for an annual license. This makes Blindfold accessible to startups and individual developers, not just enterprises.
Reversible tokenization
Blindfold supports tokenize + detokenize — protect PII before sending to an LLM and restore original values in the response. Private AI offers detection, redaction, and synthetic data generation, but no reversible tokenization.
Built-in compliance policies
Blindfold has pre-configured policies for GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS. With Private AI, you configure entity types manually and implement compliance logic in your application code.
When to choose each
Choose Blindfold when
- You need reversible tokenization for LLM workflows
- You want a managed service with zero infrastructure
- You need a free tier or usage-based pricing
- You want built-in compliance policies and audit logs
- You prefer API-key simplicity over container management
Choose Private AI when
- Data absolutely cannot leave your network
- You have the budget for an enterprise license (~$46K/year)
- You have DevOps capacity to manage container deployments
- You need on-premises GPU-accelerated processing
Code comparison
from blindfold import Blindfold # Managed API — no infra needed client = Blindfold() # Tokenize — reversible result = client.tokenize(text) safe = result.text # Restore after LLM call original = client.detokenize( response, result.mapping )
import requests # Self-hosted container required url = "http://localhost:8080" url += "/v3/process/text" resp = requests.post(url, json={ "text": [text], "link_batch": False, "entity_detection": { "accuracy": "high", } }) # No reversible tokenization
Try Blindfold free
1M free characters per month. No credit card required.