Optery vs Kanary: Which Data Removal Service Wins in 2026?
Kanary’s plans start at $250 a year ($25 a month) and reach past data brokers to search engines, social media, and AI tools. Optery starts at $39 a year ($3.99 a month) for data broker removal.
By Jean Luc Poitier, SEO and growth marketing strategist · Optery Reviews · Updated November 1, 2026
Optery is the better value for data broker removal: Core costs $39 a year against $250 for Kanary Core, and Ultimate, with unlimited custom removals, costs $249 against $500 for Kanary Advanced. Optery also has a free tier and shows before-and-after screenshots on Extended and Ultimate. Kanary suits people who want monitoring beyond data brokers. Its plans cover search engines, social media, and AI/LLMs, and Advanced adds weekly or daily scans, incident research, and address confidentiality enrollment. If your exposure goes well past people-search sites, that breadth may be worth the price.
Optery vs Kanary at a glance
| Compared on | Optery | Kanary |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Core: $39/yr or $3.99/mo, 380+ sites | Core: $250/yr or $25/mo |
| Top plan | Ultimate: $249/yr or $24.99/mo, unlimited custom removals | Advanced: $500/yr or $50/mo, unlimited custom removals |
| Free option | Free exposure report + self-service tools | None listed |
| Billing | Monthly or yearly; pause anytime | Monthly or yearly |
| What's covered | Data brokers and people-search sites (380+ to 625+ by plan, 940+ with custom) | Search engines, data brokers, social media, AI/LLMs |
| Scan frequency | Monthly automated scans and removals | Monthly on Core; weekly or daily on Advanced |
| Proof of removals | Before-and-after screenshots every ~90 days (Extended and up) | Emailed report monthly (twice monthly on Advanced) plus a live dashboard |
| Human help | Assigned privacy agent on Extended and Ultimate | 24–48 hour email response; priority response and incident research on Advanced |
| Family option | Family plans | Added members 50% off ($125/yr or $12.50/mo on Core) |
| Expert awards | PCMag Editors’ Choice 2022–2026; CNET Editors’ Choice 2026 | — |
Figures checked against each company's published pages and review-platform listings as of November 2026. “Not published” means the company does not publish that figure.
Price, like for like
Compared yearly plan to yearly plan, Kanary costs about six times as much at entry level ($250 vs $39) and twice as much at the top ($500 vs $249), where both include unlimited custom removals. Month to month the gap is the same: $25 against $3.99 at entry, and $50 against $24.99 at the top. Optery’s free tier shows your listings with screenshots before you pay anything.
Where Kanary Wins
- Breadth: plans cover search engines, social media, and AI/LLMs as well as data brokers.
- Scan frequency: Advanced scans weekly or daily and files removal requests weekly.
- High-risk extras: Advanced adds incident research and address confidentiality enrollment.
Optery vs Kanary FAQ
Is Optery or Kanary cheaper?+
Optery, by a wide margin. At entry level, Optery Core is $39/year (or $3.99 month to month) for automated removals from 380+ sites, and Kanary Core is $250/year. With unlimited custom removals, Optery Ultimate is $249/year and Kanary Advanced is $500/year. Month to month, Kanary Core is $25 and Advanced is $50, against $3.99 and $24.99 for Optery. Kanary lists no free plan; Optery has a free tier.
What does Kanary cover that Optery doesn't?+
Kanary's plans cover search engines, data brokers, social media, and AI/LLMs, and Advanced adds weekly or daily scans, weekly removal requests, and address confidentiality enrollment. Optery focuses on data brokers and people-search sites, with outdated-content removal requests for Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and Yahoo on Ultimate.
Does Kanary have a free plan or monthly billing?+
Monthly billing, yes; a free plan, no. Its pricing page lists Core at $25/month or $250/year and Advanced at $50/month or $500/year, plus a Team plan with a five-seat minimum. Added family members are 50% off.
Which shows more proof of removals?+
Kanary emails a report monthly on Core (twice a month on Advanced) with real-time stats on its dashboard. Optery Extended and Ultimate send removals reports with before-and-after screenshots about every 90 days, alongside a real-time dashboard.
Check Your Exposure Free First
Optery’s free exposure report shows your data broker listings, with screenshots, before you commit to a yearly plan anywhere.