Comparison · Updated September 5, 2026
RecordBeacon vs CaseGuard
Two real redaction products with different centers of gravity. CaseGuard is a desktop suite, strongest on video. RecordBeacon is a browser console for document and email records work. This page compares them row by row, using each company's own public pages, and says plainly where each is strong. Where CaseGuard wins a row, the row says so.
No card, nothing to install. Run a real response set through it today, or bring it to the call and we will.
What each one is
Different products, different centers of gravity.
CaseGuard
CaseGuard Studio is a Windows desktop application that redacts video, audio, images, and documents. Its document side claims AI detection of more than 30 categories of personal information, pattern and search redaction, OCR for scans, and email redaction for PST, msg, and eml files. Exemption logs and audit reports are named features, and its video tooling is the deepest in this comparison.
It is a serious product with real strengths, and this page treats it that way.
RecordBeacon
RecordBeacon is redaction and review for records work, built around the release decision and delivered in the browser. Detection flags what it finds and stops. Every flag carries the exemption that applies, a named reviewer approves or rejects every mark, and the release step refuses to run while anything is undecided.
It reads scans, phone photos, and whole email exports with every attachment split into its own record.
Row by row
The comparison, with the concessions left in.
Six rows, each verifiable on a public page today. Rows we could not verify on both sides were left out rather than guessed at.
| Dimension | RecordBeacon | CaseGuard |
|---|---|---|
| Deployment and setup | Browser based, nothing to install. A records clerk can sign up and run real documents the same day. No license keys, no install tickets, no per seat activation. | A desktop application. Their document page describes software installed directly on your local machine or network, not a cloud based or browser based tool. Their FAQ says it runs on Windows 10 and 11, that Mac or Linux users need a Windows virtual machine, and that offline license keys are often used in air gapped systems. Some IT shops genuinely prefer installed software. If you want to start today without an install ticket per seat, the browser wins. |
| Pricing and billing | Solo is $99 per month, billed monthly, with unlimited documents. Firm is $349 per month with three reviewer seats. The first fifteen documents are free, with no card. Dedicated is a single tenant instance and starts with a conversation. | Doc Suite, their document tier, is listed at $279 per user per month billed annually, about $3,348 per seat per year. Media Suite is $299 and Ultimate is $379 on the same terms. Their FAQ says all plans are billed annually. CaseGuard repriced in early 2026, and older pages and quotes still show a retired $99 plan, so check their live page. One Doc Suite seat costs about 2.8 times a full year of Solo. |
| Document AI and metering | AI analysis is unmetered on every plan. Detection runs on every page of every document with no credit balance to watch. Single documents run up to 500 pages on Solo and 2,000 on Firm. | Redaction is marketed as unlimited with zero file caps. Their FAQ separately describes document workflows as including 48,000 AI credits per year, where one page equals one AI credit, and says limits can be expanded. Email redaction for PST, msg, and eml files is a Doc Suite line item. 48,000 pages a year is real capacity that many offices will never exhaust. The difference is whether anyone has to watch a meter. Per CaseGuard's published pricing and terms, checked September 5, 2026. |
| Review and approval | Nothing is redacted automatically. A named reviewer approves or rejects every individual mark, can draw a box on anything detection missed, and the release step refuses to run while anything is undecided. | Review and edit before export is a plan line item, alongside auto generated audit reports. TeamSpace, listed with their Ultimate Suite, offers built in approval workflows and clear hand offs, and reviewers can be added to assigned tasks. Both products have a real review step. The difference is where the gate sits: CaseGuard routes work through team approval workflows, while RecordBeacon holds the release itself until every individual mark has been decided. |
| Exemption workflow | Every flag carries the exemption that applies, so the justification travels with the mark from detection through review into the release record. | FOIA exemptions and exemption logs are named capabilities. Their government page says exemption logs come ready with agency specific exemption codes, and their materials describe a legal justification tracked for each redaction in the audit log. Both products treat exemptions as first class. Read this row as close to even, and check which matches how your office actually cites exemptions. |
| Audio and video | RecordBeacon is focused on documents and email exports today. Audio support on our side is aimed at recordings that arrive in records requests, built around the same reviewed, exemption coded release. Video is not what we sell. | CaseGuard wins this row, plainly. Their video tools detect faces, license plates, screens, and people, track them through footage, and handle body camera, CCTV, and dash cam work in bulk. Their audio side is transcript driven: transcribe, then redact directly from the transcript. If your redaction workload is video first, choose CaseGuard. It is the strongest part of their product, and nothing on our side competes with it today. |
Comparison verified against CaseGuard's public pages on September 5, 2026. Their pricing changed in early 2026, so check their live pricing page before deciding. Tell us if something is out of date: support@recordbeacon.com
The honest split
Who should pick which.
Choose CaseGuard if
- Your workload is video heavy: body camera, CCTV, dash cam footage. It is the strongest video redaction suite in this comparison.
- You want a desktop suite on your own Windows machines, with license keys your IT department manages.
- You have air gapped requirements. Their FAQ describes offline license keys often used in air gapped systems, with some features unavailable offline.
Choose RecordBeacon if
- Your requests arrive as documents, scans, and email exports, and you want to start in a browser the same day with nothing installed.
- You want unlimited documents on a flat monthly price, with no annual commitment, no per seat install, and no AI credit meter to watch.
- Your office has a mandatory review step, and you want the release itself to refuse to run while any mark is undecided, with the exemption cited on every flag.
Questions people actually ask
Is there a CaseGuard alternative for document redaction?
RecordBeacon is built for document and email redaction: browser based with nothing to install, $99 per month billed monthly with unlimited documents, and a release gated on a named reviewer deciding every mark. The first fifteen documents are free, with no card. If your workload is video first, CaseGuard remains the stronger choice.
How much does CaseGuard cost compared to RecordBeacon?
CaseGuard's pricing page lists Doc Suite, their document tier, at $279 per user per month billed annually, about $3,348 per seat per year. RecordBeacon is $99 per month for Solo and $349 per month for Firm, billed monthly, with the first fifteen documents free and no card. CaseGuard repriced in early 2026 and older pages and quotes still show a retired $99 plan, so check their live pricing page.
Does CaseGuard require installation?
Yes, per their own materials. Their document page describes software installed on your local machine or network rather than a cloud based or browser based tool, and their FAQ says it runs on Windows 10 and 11, with a Windows virtual machine needed on Mac or Linux. RecordBeacon runs in the browser, with nothing to install.
Does CaseGuard limit how much you can redact?
CaseGuard markets unlimited redaction with zero file caps, a claim about redaction itself. Their FAQ separately describes AI document analysis as including 48,000 AI credits per year, where one page equals one AI credit, and says limits can be expanded. RecordBeacon's AI analysis is unmetered on every plan.
The honest way to choose is to run both.
Take a real response set, not a test file, and put it through each product. CaseGuard offers a 7 day trial with watermarked output; our first fifteen documents are free, with no card. Compare what comes back and what the release records. If you would rather see it live, book twenty minutes and bring the set.