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Head-to-head · Data Removal & Privacy

Optery vs DeleteMe

Both are alternatives to Incogni. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.

Also searched as DeleteMe vs Optery — same comparison, one verdict.

The short answer

Optery and DeleteMe are closely matched on ownership (52 vs 45) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.

52

Optery

Best measured removal rates, with a free exposure report.

SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietary service

Optery led independent testing with a 68% removal rate and is the only service with a genuinely useful free tier: exposure reports with screenshots of exactly where your data appears, before you pay a cent. Full coverage of the biggest people-search sites sits on the top tier, and it serves the US and Canada only.

45

DeleteMe

The white-glove option — human privacy specialists work your case.

SOURCE-AVAILABLEProprietary service

The longest-running name in the category, and the one that puts humans on your file: privacy specialists handle edge cases and custom removal requests that pure automation misses. The honest trade: its base plan automates roughly 85–100 platforms — fewer than rivals — at the category's highest price.

Side by side

6 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.

 OpteryDeleteMe
Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost.5245
Open sourceNoNo
Self-hostableNoNo
Local-first dataNoNo
LicenseProprietary serviceProprietary service
PricingFree exposure reports; paid from ~$8.99/mo (365+ sites) to Ultimate (635+)From ~$10.75/mo billed annually; custom removals and wider coverage on higher tiers
The verdict

Optery edges it on the Sovereignty Score, but the right pick depends on the trade-offs below.

Weighing both against staying on Incogni? Is Incogni free? What it actually costs →

Optery

Strengths

  • +68% removal rate — best in independent testing
  • +Free tier shows screenshots of where you're exposed
  • +30-day money-back guarantee

Trade-offs

  • −US and Canada only
  • −Biggest people-search sites reserved for the top tier
  • −Full coverage gets pricey

DeleteMe

Strengths

  • +Human experts handle edge cases automation misses
  • +Custom removal requests on demand
  • +Longest track record in the category

Trade-offs

  • −Base plan automates roughly 85–100 platforms — less than rivals
  • −Priciest of the group
  • −US-centric coverage

Which one fits you

The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.

Choose Optery

if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and 68% removal rate — best in independent testing.

Choose DeleteMe

if human experts handle edge cases automation misses.

Neither, yet

if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — uS and Canada only, and base plan automates roughly 85–100 platforms — less than rivals. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.

Optery vs DeleteMe — common questions

Is Optery a better fit than DeleteMe for data removal & privacy?

It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Optery scores 52 to DeleteMe's 45 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. DeleteMe earns its place on a different axis — human experts handle edge cases automation misses. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.

What happens if we want to switch later?

Neither of these is local-first by default, so plan the exit at the point you adopt rather than later. Export what matters on a schedule instead of trusting you can retrieve it on demand — that is the most common way a data removal & privacy migration turns into a project instead of an afternoon.

Is Optery free?

Optery: Free exposure reports; paid from ~$8.99/mo (365+ sites) to Ultimate (635+). The other side of this comparison, DeleteMe, is priced as From ~$10.75/mo billed annually; custom removals and wider coverage on higher tiers. "Free" here means no licence fee — if you self-host it you still pay for the server, and the running cost row above is our honest estimate of that.

Are Optery and DeleteMe both alternatives to Incogni?

Yes — both appear in our Incogni comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Incogni and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.

See all 4 Incogni alternatives →

Related alternative guides

Facts verified 2026-07-18. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.

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