Photon
Photon searches for image matches, including versions that have been altered, to help artists identify possible copyright or licensing violations.
What Photon is
Photon searches for image matches, including versions that have been altered, to help artists identify possible copyright or licensing violations. Its DejaVuAI-powered similarity search supports 1:N, N:1, and M:N searches. Listed formats include JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, RAW, HDR imaging, spherical dewarping, video, and floating-point image types. Photon Online lets users upload images for daily searches against a set of known sites, including Alibaba, Etsy, Redbubble, Walmart, and Target. Photon On Prem is intended for searching image libraries, with personal perpetual, personal subscription, and enterprise subscription options; those plans include more quality options. The product is listed for Linux, macOS, Windows, web, and self-hosted environments. Photon says it is under 90 MB and can run on CPUs from ARM boards such as Raspberry Pi to clusters or supercomputers. Its technology uses CPU, RAM, and cache without requiring a GPU or Tensor cores. Listed uses also include logo and product recognition, location identification, wayfinding, fake news identification, smart manufacturing, and photo identification. Pricing is available on request.
Good
- Supports multiple similarity-search configurations.
- Lists a broad range of image and video formats.
- Online searches cover named retail and marketplace sites.
- Can run without a GPU or Tensor cores.
- Offers personal and enterprise on-prem options.
Watch out
- Pricing is available only on request.
- Online searches are daily against a listed set of sites.
- No security certifications or compliance attestations are stated.
Who it suits
Photon may suit artists looking for possible unauthorized uses of their images, as well as teams searching image libraries. Its listed applications also include product recognition, wayfinding, and photo identification.
Verdict
Photon combines image-use searching with on-prem library search options and a broad set of listed applications. Check the pricing and deployment details with the provider to determine which option fits your use.
Plans and prices
From Photon's own pricing page, checked 4 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Photon Online | Priced on request | Standard quality rating search · individual users managing their own image portfolio |
| Photon On Prem — Enterprise Subscription | Priced on request | Enterprise use · searches an image library with more quality options |
| Photon On Prem — Personal Perpetual | Priced on request | Personal use · searches an image library with more quality options |
| Photon On Prem — Personal Subscription | Priced on request | Personal use · searches an image library with more quality options |
The facts
Each one read from Photon's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Deployment
- The technology page describes integration into computing environments, including near-sensor processing; the product page also describes board-level CPU and cluster or VM deployments.checked 4 Oct 2026
- GPU requirement
- The technology page says DejaVuAI relies on CPU, RAM, and cache and does not need a GPU or Tensor cores.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Image formats
- The site lists JPG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, RAW, HDR imaging, spherical dewarping, video, and floating point image types as supported.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Local and enterprise use
- Photon On Prem is described for searching image libraries, with personal perpetual, personal subscription, and enterprise subscription options.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Matching details
- The on-prem page says Photon automatically identifies scale and rotation of matched images and provides image registration.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Online searches
- Photon Online lets users upload images for daily searches against a listed set of known sites, including Alibaba, Etsy, Redbubble, Walmart, and Target.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Photon searches for uses of images, including altered versions, to help artists identify possible copyright or license violations.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Resource requirements
- The product page says Photon is under 90 MB and can run on CPUs ranging from an ARM processor such as Raspberry Pi to cluster computers or supercomputers.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Search modes
- Powered by DejaVuAI®, Photon supports 1:N, N:1, and M:N reverse image searches regardless of image adjustments.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Security and compliance
- The Photon pages opened do not state specific security certifications or compliance attestations.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Support
- Photon provides a contact form asking for the user's name, company, email address, and project details to submit an inquiry.checked 4 Oct 2026
- Use cases
- The site lists artist copyright protection, logo and product recognition, location identification, wayfinding, fake news identification, smart manufacturing, and photo identification as possible uses.checked 4 Oct 2026
Alternatives to Photon
- 1
Berify
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI8.0From $5.95 a month - 2
Ximilar Visual Search
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI7.9From $69 a month - 3
Pixsy
Free planWebAPI7.4From $209 a year - 4
ViSenze
AndroidiOSWebAPI7.3 - 5
Cloudinary
Free planWebAPIExtension7.2Free plan - 6
ImageRights Discovery
Free planWebAPImacOSWindows7.0Free plan