Sanitext vs Strac: a self-serve PII redaction alternative
Sanitext is the better Strac alternative when you want a developer-first PII redaction API with flat, public pricing, a free tier, and EU data residency. Strac is a broad DLP and DSPM suite sold by sales reps with custom quotes. Pick Sanitext for fast, self-serve text redaction without a contract.
Strac is a YC-backed DLP and DSPM platform that scans data across SaaS apps, endpoints, and cloud, and includes a redaction API for text, documents, and audio. Sanitext does one thing: detect and redact PII in text through a self-serve API. This page compares the two so you can pick the right fit.
Sanitext vs Strac at a glance
| Sanitext | Strac | |
|---|---|---|
| Product focus | Focused PII detection and redaction API for text | Broad DLP and DSPM suite with redaction as one feature |
| Pricing model | Flat, public plans (29 to 499 dollars/mo) plus usage overage | Custom quote by data volume and user count |
| Free tier | Yes, one-time 300K characters, no card, never resets | No public free tier (30-day trial) |
| Self-serve | Yes, sign up to API key in about 60 seconds | Sales-led, demo and quote required |
| Languages | 30+ languages | Varies by configuration |
| Redaction output | Spans (label, offsets, score) or text masked as [LABEL] | Redacted text, documents, and audio |
| Data residency | EU residency option, DPA on Enterprise, no raw-text retention | US-hosted |
What is the difference between Sanitext and Strac?
Strac is a full data loss prevention (DLP) and data security posture management (DSPM) platform. It connects to apps like Slack, Zendesk, and Google Drive, scans for sensitive data across your stack, and offers a redaction API as one feature inside a larger suite. Pricing is custom, based on data volume and user count, and you talk to a sales team to get started.
Sanitext is a focused PII redaction API. You send text to two endpoints, /v1/detect and /v1/redact, and get back entity spans or masked text. There is no agent to deploy and no platform to configure. You sign up, pay through Stripe, get an API key, and run a curl command in about 60 seconds.
The core trade-off: Strac covers a wide DLP problem with sales-led onboarding. Sanitext covers the narrow text-redaction problem with transparent pricing and instant access.
Sanitext vs Strac feature and price comparison
The table below compares the two on the points that matter most for a redaction project: how you pay, what you get back, and where your data lives.
When Strac is the better choice
We will be honest. Strac is the stronger pick in several cases, and you should choose it when these fit your needs.
If you need full DLP and DSPM coverage, not just text redaction, Strac is built for that. It discovers and monitors sensitive data across SaaS apps, endpoints, email, and cloud storage. Sanitext does not do discovery or posture management.
If your redaction needs span audio files and complex document formats handled end to end inside one platform, Strac covers more file types as a managed product. Sanitext is text-first.
If you are a larger enterprise that prefers a sales-led rollout with a dedicated account team, custom volume pricing, and procurement-friendly contracts, Strac is set up for that motion. Sanitext is built for developers who want to start without a call.
Where Sanitext wins
Sanitext wins on speed, price clarity, and data control.
Self-serve in 60 seconds. No demo, no sales call, no quote. Sign up, add a card on paid plans, copy your API key, and call the API. There is a free tier of 300,000 characters with no card required.
Flat, public pricing. Plans run from Hobby at 29 dollars a month (12M characters) to Pro at 149 dollars (120M), Scale at 499 dollars (450M), and custom Enterprise. Overage is 0.35 to 0.60 dollars per 1M characters, up to about 2x cheaper than metered hyperscalers. You can see the full price before you sign up.
Zero per-token AI cost and no third-party LLM. We own the open-weights model (Apache-2.0, from the OpenAI privacy-filter family) and run it on our own Cloudflare infrastructure. Your text never goes to an outside LLM. We log counts and timings only, not raw text.
EU data residency and a DPA on Enterprise. Strac is US-hosted. If you need your data processed in the EU, Sanitext offers that option.
30+ languages out of the box, detecting names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, dates, URLs, account and card numbers, and secrets like API keys and tokens.
How to switch from Strac to Sanitext
Migrating a text-redaction workload is quick because the API surface is small.
First, sign up at sanitext.app and grab your API key from the dashboard. The free 300,000 characters let you test with real data before you pay.
Second, point your redaction calls at POST /v1/redact for masked text, or POST /v1/detect if you only need the entity spans (label, byte offsets, score, and matched text). Map your existing Strac label handling to Sanitext labels: FIRSTNAME, LASTNAME, EMAIL, PHONE, ADDRESS, DATE, URL, ACCOUNT, SECRET, and PREFIX.
Third, run both systems side by side on a sample set, compare the masked output, and confirm coverage for your languages and entity types. When you are happy, cut over and cancel your Strac contract. There is no agent to uninstall on the Sanitext side.
One honest note: Sanitext is a redaction and data-minimization aid, not an anonymization or compliance guarantee. Review output for your own risk and regulatory needs.
bash
curl -X POST https://api.sanitext.app/v1/redact \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $SANITEXT_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"text": "Email Dr. Jane Smith at jane@acme.com or call 415-555-0132."}'
# Response:
# {
# "text": "Email [PREFIX] [FIRSTNAME] [LASTNAME] at [EMAIL] or call [PHONE]."
# }FAQ
Is Sanitext a good Strac alternative?+
Yes, if you need text PII redaction without a sales process. Sanitext gives you flat public pricing, a free 300K-character tier, 30+ languages, and an EU data residency option. Strac is a broader DLP and DSPM platform with custom quotes, so it fits wider data-security programs better.
Does Strac have a free tier?+
No. Strac does not publish a free tier; it offers a 30-day trial and custom pricing through a sales team. Sanitext offers a permanent free tier of 300,000 characters with no credit card required, so you can test redaction on real text before paying.
Is my data sent to a third-party LLM with Sanitext?+
No. Sanitext runs its own open-weights model (Apache-2.0) on its own Cloudflare infrastructure. Your text is never sent to an outside LLM provider. Sanitext logs counts and timings only, not raw text, and offers EU data residency plus a DPA on Enterprise plans.
Can Sanitext fully replace Strac?+
For text redaction, yes. For full DLP and DSPM, no. Strac discovers and monitors sensitive data across SaaS apps, endpoints, and cloud, which Sanitext does not. If you only need to detect and mask PII in text via an API, Sanitext covers that completely.
Is Sanitext a compliance guarantee?+
No. Sanitext is a redaction and data-minimization aid, not an anonymization or compliance guarantee. It helps you mask PII before storage, logging, or sending text to an LLM, but you should review output against your own regulatory and risk requirements.
Redact PII in 60 seconds, no sales call
Start free with 300,000 characters, no card needed. Sign up, copy your API key, and call /v1/redact today. See full flat pricing on the pricing page or test it live in the playground.
Get your free API key