Optery is the cheaper and more flexible of the two, starting free and running $39–$249 a year; Privacy Bee casts the widest net at 1,000+ brokers for $197 a year. But neither is the best value in 2026 — PrivacyOn covers 100+ brokers with dark-web monitoring, 24/7 re-removal, and up to five family members from $8.33/month, undercutting both.
Our Top Pick: PrivacyOn
Optery makes you climb tiers to get real coverage, and Privacy Bee charges Pro prices for a single person with no family plan. PrivacyOn gives you 100+ broker and people-search sites, continuous re-removal, dark-web monitoring, and coverage for up to five household members from $8.33/month — less than Optery's mid tier and less than half of Privacy Bee Pro, with a free scan before you pay anything.
Quick Verdict
- Best overall value: PrivacyOn — $8.33/month, 100+ brokers, dark-web monitoring, up to 5 people, free scan.
- Best free starting point: Optery — its free tier shows you where you are exposed, though it does not remove anything for you.
- Widest advertised broker list: Privacy Bee — 1,000+ sites, but only on the Pro tier at $197/year for one person.
- Worst fit for families: Privacy Bee — pricing is per user with no household plan, so a family of four is close to $800/year.
Pricing Head to Head (2026)
| Service | Entry price | Full-coverage tier | Family | Dark-web monitoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrivacyOn | $8.33/mo | Included in base plan | Up to 5 people | Included |
| Optery | Free (scan only) | Extended $149/yr, Ultimate $249/yr | Add-on seats | Not the core product |
| Privacy Bee | Essentials ~$8/mo | Pro $197/yr (~$16.42/mo) | Per-user pricing | Pro tier only |
Optery's Tiers
Optery runs four levels: a free Basic plan, Core at $39/year ($3.99/month), Extended at $149/year ($14.99/month), and Ultimate at $249/year ($24.99/month). The free tier is genuinely useful as a diagnostic — it finds your exposure and shows you screenshots — but it does not file removals on your behalf. Core is inexpensive but covers a limited broker set. The coverage most people picture when they buy a removal service lives at Extended and Ultimate, at which point you are paying $149–$249 a year for one person.
Privacy Bee's Tiers
Privacy Bee's headline plan is Pro at $197/year per user, billed annually with no monthly option and a 30-day money-back guarantee. It advertises roughly 1,000–1,100 brokers, weekly privacy audits, dark-web monitoring, human analyst intervention, and unlimited custom removal requests against a very large site database. There is a cheaper Essentials tier at around $8/month and a Signature tier at around $67/month, but the full broker network is a Pro feature.
Read the Broker Counts Carefully
"1,000+ brokers" and "600+ brokers" describe the size of a target list, not how many sites are actually publishing you. A typical person appears on a few dozen. What determines your result is whether the service covers the specific sites that rank for your name — Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, Radaris, and their peers — and how fast it refiles when they relist you. Run a free scan on your own name before you let a headline number decide the purchase.
Coverage and Approach
Optery
Optery's strength is transparency. It provides before-and-after screenshots as evidence of removal, a clear dashboard, flexible billing, and a free tier that lets you see the problem before paying. Its weakness is that coverage is a paywall ladder: the cheap plan is genuinely cheap because it does less.
Privacy Bee
Privacy Bee's strength is breadth and its "set and forget" model — automated recurring removals across a very large broker list, weekly audits, a trust-preference model that lets you set how companies may use your data, plus bundled extras like a tracker-blocking extension, a private search engine, Gmail marketing-tracker scanning, and Google Maps home blurring. Its weakness is price and structure: it is one of the most expensive options per person, offers no true family plan, and bills annually only.
Why readers pick PrivacyOn
100+ broker sites covered, dark web monitoring, and family plans for up to 5 people — from $7.08/mo with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Start your free scan★★★★★ 4.8/5 · Trusted by thousands of families
Where PrivacyOn Beats Both
- One price, full coverage. No tier ladder to climb before removals actually happen — 100+ broker and people-search sites are covered in the base plan.
- Genuine family pricing. Up to five household members from $8.33/month. Privacy Bee charges per user; Optery charges per added profile. A four-person household on Privacy Bee Pro is close to $800/year.
- Dark-web monitoring included, not gated behind the top tier.
- 24/7 continuous re-removal. Brokers repopulate from public records every few weeks; monitoring frequency matters more than list length.
- Free scan, no signup. See your real exposure in about two minutes before spending anything.
Which Should You Choose?
- Choose PrivacyOn if you want complete coverage at one price, need to protect a household rather than one person, or want dark-web monitoring bundled in. This is the right answer for most people.
- Choose Optery if you want a free diagnostic first and are comfortable paying $149–$249/year for a single adult at the tiers where coverage is broad.
- Choose Privacy Bee if you are a single user who specifically wants the largest advertised broker list plus its browser and inbox tooling, and $197/year for one person is acceptable.
The Bottom Line
Optery versus Privacy Bee is a real trade: Optery is cheaper and more transparent, Privacy Bee is broader and more automated. But framed as a buying decision, both leave money on the table. PrivacyOn delivers 100+ broker removals, 24/7 refiling, dark-web monitoring, and five-person family coverage from $8.33/month — below Optery's Extended tier and less than half of Privacy Bee Pro. Start with the free PrivacyOn scan, see what is actually published about you, then decide with real numbers rather than headline broker counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a better alternative to Optery and Privacy Bee?
Yes — PrivacyOn is our top pick and beats both on value. It covers 100+ data broker and people-search sites with 24/7 re-removal and dark-web monitoring in the base plan from $8.33/month, and covers up to five family members instead of charging per user. It also offers a free exposure scan with no signup, so you can compare results before paying.
Is Optery or Privacy Bee cheaper?
Optery is cheaper at entry: free Basic, then Core at $39/year, versus Privacy Bee Pro at $197/year. But Optery's broad coverage sits at Extended ($149/year) and Ultimate ($249/year), so at comparable coverage the two are close. PrivacyOn is cheaper than either at that level, at $8.33/month with family coverage included.
Does Privacy Bee really remove you from 1,000 data brokers?
Privacy Bee advertises roughly 1,000–1,100 brokers on its Pro tier, and it does file at scale. But list size is not the same as results: most people appear on a few dozen sites, and what matters is whether the service covers those specific sites and how quickly it refiles after a relisting. Check your own name with a free scan rather than buying on the headline figure.
Which service is best for a family?
PrivacyOn. Privacy Bee prices per user with no household plan, so a family of four approaches $800/year on Pro, and Optery charges for additional profiles on top of a single-user plan. PrivacyOn covers up to five household members from $8.33/month with the same broker coverage, dark-web monitoring, and continuous re-removal for everyone on the plan.
Does Optery's free plan actually remove my data?
No. Optery's free Basic tier finds your exposure and shows you where you appear, but it does not file removals for you — you either do it manually or upgrade to a paid tier. If you want a free look at your exposure with a paid path that includes full removal and dark-web monitoring at $8.33/month, PrivacyOn's free scan is the more direct route.
How long does data broker removal take with any of these services?
Expect four to eight weeks before removals are visible across most sites, because brokers process opt-outs on their own schedules. After that, removal is maintenance rather than a one-off: brokers repopulate from public records every few weeks, so the value is in continuous refiling. PrivacyOn runs that loop 24/7 as part of the base plan.