Optery vs PrivacyHawk (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Optery: it is first in our ranking of data removal services, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 1.8.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Optery grades higher on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Optery
Data broker removal with a free exposure report and screenshot proof
PrivacyHawk
Mobile app that removes your data from brokers and old accounts
Which one is for you
Pick Optery if
- Fits if you want to see where you're listed, with screenshots, before paying anything
- Works for one adult with one name and one city, on Core at $39 a year
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you've lived in several places, as Core covers one name and one city only; more starts at $149 a year
- Not for you if you live outside the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, or in Quebec
- Skip it if you want to try removals for free: there's no trial, only a 30-day money-back guarantee, and none on business accounts
- Pricey if you're buying for a family: each member needs a plan, and the discount reaches 30% only at 4 plans
- Watch out: the free plan removes nothing and rescans only about every 3 months
Pick PrivacyHawk if
- Fits if you want removals handled from your phone
- Works for families, with plans covering up to 4 people
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you pay monthly: $19.99 against $74.99 for the year
- Skip it if you want to try first, as nothing is free
- Not for you if you prefer a computer, as only the phone apps are listed
- Watch out: identity theft cover and credit alerts are Platinum, in US terms
- Watch out: the Premium list and the FAQ disagree on where ID theft protection sits
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAOpteryGood | 1.8GPAPrivacyHawkWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BCore is $3.25 a month billed yearly at $39, the second-lowest price in this category, and Optery says it covers 375+ sites. But it's one name and one city and state only. Past addresses, name variations and a human agent need Extended, at $149 a year. | B$74.99 a year, about $6.25 a month, below the $7.99 that opens the cheaper quarter of the category. Monthly billing is $19.99. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree Basic gets you an exposure report with screenshots, a scan of Google and Bing results and do-it-yourself opt-out tools, rescanned about every 3 months. What it won't do is remove anything for you, and that's the job you'd be paying for. | FNo free plan and no trial listed; the page says to ask support in the app about offers. |
| Features | BRemovals Optery says run monthly, at 375+ sites on Core and 625+ on Ultimate, before-and-after screenshot reports, custom requests on Ultimate, map blurring and a family admin. Nothing in the core job is missing, though custom requests, map blurring and the human agent sit on the dearer plans. | CBroker removal, footprint cleanup, email unsubscribe and monitoring. The listing shows a gap: the pricing page contradicts itself about where identity theft protection is included. |
| Ease of use | BNo App Store rating on record, but there's next to nothing to set up. You sign up, look through the report with its screenshots and links, and a paid plan files the opt-outs for you from then on. | CNo store rating on record. Sign-up happens in the app, and you connect accounts. |
| Platforms and integrations | BThe web plus iPhone and Android apps. There's no computer app and no integrations on record, so it stops at B. Personal plans are only for adults in the US, Canada outside Quebec, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. | CPhones only: iPhone and Android, with no web, desktop or integrations listed. |
| Best for | a free exposure report, then paid removals | a phone app that asks data brokers to remove you |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Optery and PrivacyHawk. How we grade
Price against what you get
Optery starts at $3.25 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PrivacyHawk starts at $6.25 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.0.
Optery scores higher and starts $3 a month lower. Of the other data removal services on the chart, none scores higher than Optery for less, and 2 score higher than PrivacyHawk for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Optery also covers reports.
At a glance
| Optery | PrivacyHawk | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $3.25 per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly) | $74.99 per year, billed yearly ($19.99 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Free Basic: an exposure report with screenshots, a scan of Google and Bing results and self-service opt-out tools. Optery rescans free accounts about every 3 months and removes nothing for you. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Optery | PrivacyHawk, Inc. |
| Price read from | optery.com | privacyhawk.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Optery
- Personal plans are for residents of the US, Canada (excluding Quebec), Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and only for adults aged 18 and over.
- Core removes profiles for one name and one city and state only; unlimited name variations, past cities and a human agent start on Extended.
- There is no free trial; Optery offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on individual accounts instead, not on business accounts.
- Each account covers one person, so a family buys a plan for each member; the family discount reaches 30% only at 4 plans or more.
PrivacyHawk
- Sign-up and plan choice happen in the iOS or Android app; the site describes it as a mobile app.
- The pricing page says to ask support in the app about trial offers; it lists none.
- The Premium comparison list also names ID Theft Protection, while the FAQ places identity theft insurance in Platinum.
- Identity theft coverage and credit alerts are described in US terms.
Key features
Optery
- Exposure report with screenshots
- The free account gets a report of where your name, address and phone number appear, with a screenshot and link for each profile found and a scan of Google and Bing results.
- Monthly automated removals
- Paid plans scan and file opt-outs at least once every 30 days, Optery says, and are opted out of newly supported brokers automatically. Core says it covers 375+ sites, Extended 555+ and Ultimate 625+.
- Removals reports
- Extended and Ultimate send a report about every 90 days with before-and-after screenshots showing which profiles were taken down, and assign a human Privacy Agent for cases the automation cannot handle.
- Custom removal requests
- Ultimate accepts unlimited requests for sites outside the automated list, 940+ sites in all by Optery's count, after your first 30 days. It also submits outdated pages to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo.
- Map blurring
- Extended and Ultimate request that your home be blurred on Google Maps and Apple Maps street imagery.
- Family administration
- One administrator can invite relatives and friends, see each person's exposure and removal counts, and manage their plans and billing, while each person's detailed reports stay private to them.
PrivacyHawk
- Data broker removal
- The pricing page says it removes data from 300+ brokers and 10,000+ companies, and removes it again if it returns.
- Digital footprint cleanup
- Finds accounts and exposures tied to you and asks the companies behind them to delete the data.
- Email unsubscribe
- Premium lists an AI-driven unsubscribe tool for marketing email.
- Identity theft coverage
- Platinum adds $5M identity theft insurance, SSN and credit alerts and restoration support.
- Dark web monitoring
- Platinum monitors the dark web for your information.
Plans
Optery
Free Basic$0
Exposure report with screenshots and self-service removal tools, with unlimited name variations and past cities for doing it yourself.
Core$3.25
per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly)
Automated monthly removals from 375+ sites by Optery's count (150+ without Expanded Reach), for one name and one city and state, with no human agent.
Extended$12.42
per month, billed yearly at $149 ($14.99 billed monthly)
Says it covers 555+ sites, with unlimited name variations and past cities, an assigned human Privacy Agent, removal reports about every 90 days and map blurring.
Ultimate$20.70
per month, billed yearly at $249 ($24.99 billed monthly)
Says it covers 625+ sites automatically, plus unlimited custom removal requests for 940+ sites in all after 30 days, and priority email support.
PrivacyHawk
Premium$74.99
per year, billed yearly ($19.99 billed monthly)
Automatic monthly removals, monitoring, digital footprint cleanup, spam reduction and email unsubscribe.
Platinum$124.99
per year, billed yearly ($29.99 billed monthly)
Premium plus $5M identity theft coverage, dark web monitoring, SSN and credit alerts and 24/7 support.
Premium Family$199.99
per year for up to 4 people ($39.99 billed monthly)
Premium protection for 4 family members.
Platinum Family$299.99
per year for up to 4 people ($49.99 billed monthly)
Platinum protection for 4 people, with $5M identity theft coverage per member.
Ways to pay less
Optery
- Annual discount
About 17% off with yearly billing
Optery's pricing page says switching to yearly saves 17%: Core is $39 a year against $3.99 a month, and Ultimate $249 a year against $24.99 a month.
- Other savings
Family discount of up to 30% off all plans
Optery for Family lowers the price of every plan the more people you cover, reaching 30% off all plans at 4 plans or more, according to its help desk.
PrivacyHawk
- Annual discount
Save up to 68% with yearly billing
PrivacyHawk's pricing page shows 68% off Premium and 65% off Platinum when billed yearly rather than monthly.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Optery or PrivacyHawk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Optery is cheaper to start with: $3.25 a month, against $6.25 a month when paid by the year for PrivacyHawk. Optery starts at $3.25 per month, billed yearly at $39 ($3.99 billed monthly), and PrivacyHawk starts at $74.99 per year, billed yearly ($19.99 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Optery or PrivacyHawk?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Optery has a free plan. PrivacyHawk does not.
Which platforms do Optery and PrivacyHawk run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Optery lists a web app. Both list iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.