Optery vs Incogni 2026: Which Data Removal Service Is Worth Paying For?

Published: October 21, 2026 Category: Data Brokers, Comparison, Privacy Reading time: ~11 minutes Meta description: Optery vs Incogni compared for 2026: real prices from both vendors, what 420+ vs 625+ sites actually means, refund terms, and which one to pick.

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"Optery vs Incogni" is the comparison we get asked about more than any other, and it is the one where most published reviews are quietly out of date. Optery rebuilt its pricing around a free tier and three paid levels. Incogni moved its annual discount and added a custom-removal tier. Both now advertise far bigger coverage numbers than they did a year ago.

So instead of repeating a table written in 2024, we pulled both vendors' public pricing pages on October 21, 2026 and compared what is actually on them: what you pay, how many sites the cheapest plan reaches, what happens when a broker ignores the request, and where each service simply cannot help you.

One thing up front, because it matters more than any table: both companies report their own coverage numbers, and neither publishes an audited methodology. "420+ sites" and "625+ sites" are not measured the same way, so treat them as marketing estimates rather than like-for-like specs. We say so again below where it counts.

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The 60-second verdict

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First, the thing that makes this comparison harder than it looks

Both services sell the same core loop: you hand over your name, addresses, phone numbers and emails, they find listings on data broker and people-search sites, they file opt-out and deletion requests, and they re-run the process as data reappears.

The differences are in the edges — how many sites the *cheapest* plan actually reaches, whether a human looks at failed requests, whether you can ask for a specific URL to be removed, and whether the service even operates in your country.

What "420+" and "625+" really mean

Incogni advertises 420+ data broker sites on every plan, from Standard upward. The Unlimited and Family Unlimited plans add custom removals covering 3,000+ additional sites — but that is request-based work done by their privacy specialists, not automated recurring coverage of 3,420 sites.

Optery splits coverage by tier, and it has a second variable most reviews miss: an Expanded Reach setting. With it enabled, the tiers cover 375+, 555+ and 625+ sites. With it off, the same tiers cover 150+, 325+ and 400+. That toggle exists because Expanded Reach relies on broker opt-outs that require broader data disclosure, and some users deliberately leave it off.

The practical consequence: Optery's headline coverage depends on a setting you control, while Incogni's does not. If you are the kind of person who reads the settings screen, that is a feature. If you want to set it and forget it, it is a way to accidentally end up on the smaller number.

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Pricing, with the annual plans done properly

Both vendors advertise a low monthly figure that only exists on annual billing. Here is the same information with the actual annual total next to it.

Prices as published on optery.com/pricing and incogni.com/pricing on October 21, 2026. Taxes may apply.

Three things fall out of that table:

1. The entry prices are not comparable products. Optery Core at $39/year is genuinely cheap, but it is a 375-site plan with one name and one city/state per user, and it is self-service on the free tier above it. Incogni Standard at $95.88/year is 420+ sites with recurring removals and multiple emails, addresses and phone numbers. You are comparing a starter tier to a mid tier. 2. The monthly plans are punitive on both sides. Incogni's Standard doubles from $7.99 to $15.98 a month if you pay monthly. Optery's yearly saving is smaller (about 17%), so month-to-month is less of a penalty there. 3. Cost per covered site is not a useful metric. At list prices, Optery Core works out to roughly $0.10 per site per year and Incogni Standard to roughly $0.23. But a site you are not actually on is worth nothing, and neither vendor will tell you which of their list you appear on before you pay — except Optery, whose free tier will show you.

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Free tiers, refunds, and how you get out

The refund terms are, unusually, identical in length: 30 days on both. The difference is what you can do before paying. Optery's free tier is a real product — it lets you run the self-service opt-outs yourself and watch for new listings. Incogni's free offering is a scanner that shows you exposure and then asks you to subscribe.

If your instinct is "I want to see whether this actually works before I hand over a card", Optery's structure is the better fit. If you already know you want automation and you are choosing on coverage per dollar, Incogni's Standard plan is the more complete product at its price.

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Automation versus a human in the loop

This is where the two services diverge most, and it is under-covered in most comparisons.

Incogni is automated by default. Standard runs the recurring removal cycle with monthly progress reports and 24/7 chat support. The human element appears on Unlimited: privacy specialists handle custom removal requests for sites outside the standard list, plus live phone support.

Optery sells the human element as an upgrade. Core is explicitly "fully automated, no human Privacy Agent assigned for QA". From Extended upward you get the "humans + machines" approach — automated removals plus an assigned Privacy Agent for QA and special circumstances. Ultimate adds removal reports with before-and-after screenshots roughly every 90 days, an outdated-content removal tool for Google and Bing results, and the option to blur your home on Google and Apple Maps.

That last set is not cosmetic. Google and Bing "results about you" removal is a different mechanism from data broker opt-outs, and it is the one that actually changes what a stranger sees when they search your name. If search-result suppression is your real goal rather than broker-database cleanup, Optery Ultimate is doing something Incogni's standard plans do not.

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The geography question that decides it for a lot of readers

Incogni's pricing page states availability for residents of the United States (including Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands), Canada, the EU, Switzerland, the UK, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

Optery's pricing page lists United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in its region selector.

If you are in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands or anywhere else in the EEA, that difference is not a preference — Incogni is the only one of the two that sells you a plan at all. Conversely, if you are in Australia, New Zealand or South Africa, Optery is the one with local pricing.

Coverage claims are also jurisdiction-bound in a way the marketing rarely spells out. A US broker that never collected data on an EU resident is not a removal you need; an EU data broker that holds your file is not on a US-centric list. The countries each vendor supports are a rough proxy for which broker universe they actually work in.

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Where both services fall short

Being honest about the limits is more useful than another feature grid:

• Removal is not permanent. Brokers re-list. Both services re-run their cycles, but the interval differs (Incogni's recurring cycle, Optery's monthly scans and removals) and neither will tell you your personal re-listing rate before you subscribe.
• Coverage numbers are self-reported. No third party audits either list. "625+ sites" counts sites, not successful deletions.
• A request is not a deletion. Brokers can ignore, delay or reject requests. Both services escalate, but the escalation is a process, not a guarantee. If you want to know how a given broker behaves, the only reliable method is to check whether the listing is gone in 30 to 90 days.
• Neither removes what you published yourself. Your own website, your public social profiles, court records and news coverage are outside the scope of broker opt-outs.
• Free options exist and are legitimate. California residents can use the state's DROP platform to send one deletion request to registered data brokers at no cost — it is slower and covers only registered brokers, but it is free and statutory. Manual opt-out guides cover the rest.

If you want the full manual route, we maintain a step-by-step walkthrough in our complete data broker removal guide and a list of the highest-value sites to opt out of first.

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Which one should you actually pick?

Choose Optery if: you want to verify exposure for free before paying, you are in the US/Canada/AU/NZ/ZA, you care about Google and Bing search-result removal, or you want a named human reviewing failed requests without paying the top-tier price of a bigger brand.

Choose Incogni if: you are in the UK or EU, you want one plan that also takes "please remove this specific URL" requests, you are covering a family of up to five, or you want the broadest standard-plan coverage at a mid-tier price.

Choose neither, yet, if: you have never checked what is actually out there. Run the free checks first — Optery's free tier, Incogni's scanner, and our own free scan at cyberforget.com/data-removal — then decide whether automation is worth $40 to $250 a year to you. For a lot of people with a common name in a densely populated state, it is. For people with thin public footprints, manual opt-outs plus a yearly re-check may be enough.

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Where CyberForget fits

We are a data removal service too, so treat this section as the biased one. What we will say plainly:

CyberForget is $9.99/month or $59.99/year ($4.99/month) with a 5-day free trial — you pay $0 today, a card is required, and you can cancel in one click. That puts us at roughly half of Incogni's annual price and above Optery's cheapest tier.

We are not going to claim a coverage number in a comparison post and ask you to trust it, because we have just spent 2,000 words explaining why vendor-reported coverage numbers are not comparable. What we will do is point you at our pricing page for current coverage and limits, and at our free scan so you can see your own exposure before any of these three services gets a card number.

If you are weighing all four options including DeleteMe, our full 2026 service comparison covers that ground.

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FAQ

Is Optery or Incogni cheaper? Optery, at the entry level: $39/year for Core versus $95.88/year for Incogni Standard. Per site covered, Incogni Standard is the better value at roughly $0.23 per site per year against Optery Core's $0.10 — but Optery Core covers a smaller list and is a self-service-first product.

Does Incogni have a free trial? No. Incogni offers a free exposure scanner but no free trial of the removal service. Both Incogni and Optery offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Does Optery work in the UK or EU? Optery's pricing page lists the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Incogni explicitly lists the EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. If you are in the UK or EU, Incogni is the one that sells you a plan.

Which removes more data, Optery or Incogni? Impossible to answer honestly from vendor numbers. Incogni advertises 420+ sites on every plan; Optery advertises 375+ to 625+ depending on tier and on whether Expanded Reach is enabled. Neither publishes an audited methodology, and coverage counts sites rather than confirmed deletions.

Can I just do this myself for free? Yes, and for some people that is the right answer. Every broker has an opt-out process, California residents have the free DROP platform, and our free removal guide walks through it. Automation buys you time and re-checking, not access.

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Sources

• Optery pricing — plan tiers, Expanded Reach site counts, free Basic plan, 30-day guarantee, region list (checked October 21, 2026)
• Incogni pricing — plan tiers, 420+ site coverage, custom removals, family plans, 30-day guarantee, availability list (checked October 21, 2026)
• California Privacy Protection Agency — DROP — free statutory deletion requests to registered data brokers
• FTC — Data Brokers — background on the broker industry and regulatory actions

*Prices and plan terms change without notice. Verify on each vendor's site before subscribing. This article is informational and is not legal advice.*