DeepFace
DeepFace is a free Python framework for face recognition and facial attribute analysis, including age, gender, emotion, and race.
What DeepFace is
DeepFace is a free Python framework for face recognition and facial attribute analysis, including age, gender, emotion, and race. Its functions cover face verification, finding identities in a folder, image analysis, and generating face embeddings. The library wraps recognition models such as VGG-Face, FaceNet, OpenFace, DeepFace, DeepID, ArcFace, Dlib, SFace, GhostFaceNet, and Buffalo_L. Detection options include OpenCV, SSD, Dlib, MTCNN, RetinaFace, MediaPipe, YOLO, YuNet, and CenterFace, with configurable alignment and an optional anti-spoofing module. DeepFace can be served through REST or gRPC, and its API includes verification, attribute analysis, vector representation, registration, and search. It can be installed from PyPI or source with TensorFlow, PyTorch, or ONNX Runtime backends. The MIT-licensed library can be self-hosted; a managed API is also available through deepface.dev. The repository cautions that wrapped models may have separate licenses, which should be checked for production use.
Good
- Supports verification, image analysis, and embeddings
- Offers multiple recognition and detection models
- Can be served through REST or gRPC
- Includes optional anti-spoofing
- Free MIT-licensed Python library
Watch out
- Wrapped models may have separate licenses
- Hosted API has monthly call limits on free access
- Hosted ArcFace use may require a separate commercial license
Who it suits
DeepFace suits developers building face-recognition or facial-analysis workflows who want a Python library, API, or managed service. Teams choosing models for production should review the separate licensing conditions that may apply to wrapped models.
Verdict
DeepFace offers a broad set of face-analysis functions and deployment options, from self-hosting to a managed API. Review model licenses and hosted-service limits before selecting an implementation.
Plans and prices
From DeepFace's own pricing page, checked 21 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Anonymous trial | Free | 10 API calls monthly · one standard API key |
| deepface.dev free access | Free | 10 free calls per month anonymously · 50 free calls per month with a full account · 100 free calls per month with an active saved card |
| deepface.dev free allowance | Free | 50 API calls monthly for confirmed accounts · 100 with a saved card |
| DeepFace open-source package | Free | MIT-licensed Python library · self-hosted |
| Open-source DeepFace | Free | MIT-licensed Python library |
| deepface.dev Enterprise | Priced on request | Higher rate limits · dedicated queue capacity · SLAs · custom privacy controls · Custom contracts |
The facts
Each one read from DeepFace's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Accepted image inputs
- The API accepts uploaded files, local paths, URLs and base64-encoded image data.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Anti-spoofing
- Face extraction and streaming can optionally enable anti-spoofing checks to distinguish real faces from spoof inputs.checked 21 Oct 2026
- API options
- DeepFace can be served through REST or gRPC, and its API covers verification, facial attribute analysis, vector representation, registration, and search.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Attribute analysis
- The analyze function predicts age, gender, emotion and race attributes.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Database integrations
- Database-backed registration and search support PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Weaviate, Neo4j, PGVector and Pinecone, with additional backends listed in the project README.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Detection and alignment
- Available detector backends include OpenCV, SSD, Dlib, MTCNN, RetinaFace, MediaPipe, YOLO, YuNet, and CenterFace, and alignment can be configured.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Detector choices
- Documented detector backends include OpenCV, SSD, MTCNN, RetinaFace, MediaPipe, YOLO variants, Dlib, YuNet, CenterFace and FastMTCNN.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Documentation depth
- Independent documentation indexes installation, quick start, core APIs, database integrations, models, REST deployment, Docker, benchmarking and testing.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Embeddings
- The represent function converts faces into multidimensional embedding vectors.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Face search
- The find function searches for an input face inside a file-based image database and returns matched identities.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Face tasks
- Its functions support face verification, finding identities in a folder, image analysis, and producing face embeddings.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Face verification
- The verify function determines whether two supplied face images belong to the same person and returns a verification result with distance information.checked 21 Oct 2026
- gRPC API
- A gRPC service is available with a protobuf contract covering the same core operations as the REST service.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosted API
- deepface.dev provides a managed API for verification, embedding generation and vector comparison while handling hosting, scaling and model updates.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosted API authentication
- The managed service uses account-created REST or MCP keys and exposes its REST gateway at api.deepface.dev.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosted API endpoints
- The managed public API documents POST /verify, POST /represent, POST /compare and GET /capabilities.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosted API request controls
- The hosted quickstart documents API keys, model allowlists, optional remote URL fetching checks and an x-request-id for troubleshooting.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Hosted inputs and access
- The hosted API accepts files and base64 by default, provides REST and MCP access, and offers self-serve signup, API keys, usage, and billing.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Hosted model limits
- The hosted service excludes VGG-Face because its released weights are restricted to non-commercial research use and says InsightFace-based ArcFace models require a separate commercial license.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Installation
- The primary installation method is pip from PyPI, with optional TensorFlow and PyTorch extras and ONNX as the default backend in the current release.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Install options
- The library can be installed from PyPI or source code with TensorFlow, PyTorch, or ONNX Runtime backends.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Latest release
- PyPI lists DeepFace 0.0.102 as released on October 9, 2026, with one maintainer identified as Sefik Ilkin Serengil.checked 21 Oct 2026
- Licence
- DeepFace is distributed under the MIT licence.checked 21 Oct 2026
- License and model caveat
- DeepFace is MIT licensed, but the repository cautions that wrapped models can carry separate licenses that should be checked for production use.checked 4 Oct 2026
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