Data Validation · head-to-head
PurgoMalum vs VATlayer
PurgoMalum is a free, keyless GET-only web service that strips or flags profanity and obscenity in a submitted text string, recognizing common character substitutions ("@" for "a", "$" for "s") and an internal profanity list that can be extended per-request with an `add` parameter of extra blocked words. Separate request-type paths return the cleaned text as plain text, XML, or JSON, or return just a "true"/"false" verdict via its `containsprofanity` endpoint, so callers pick the shape they need without content negotiation headers. It's a single-purpose text-moderation utility rather than a full profile of a company's platform — there is no dashboard, key, or paid tier.
vatlayer checks whether an EU VAT registration number is currently valid and, where the member state's VIES service exposes it, returns the registered company name and address alongside real-time and historical VAT/EU-VAT rate lookups by country. It's one of the apilayer family of JSON micro-APIs, sharing that group's account and billing platform. Requests are plain HTTPS GET calls authenticated with an `access_key` query parameter — no headers or OAuth handshake required.
| PurgoMalum | VATlayer | |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication | None | API Key |
| Pricing | free | freemium |
| Formats | JSON, XML, Plain Text | JSON |
| CORS | yes | yes |
| HTTPS | Yes | Yes |
PurgoMalum needs no API key, while VATlayer requires API Key — pick PurgoMalum to start without signup.