HANDS-ON REVIEW

Incogni Review (2026): Best Value, but Read the Removal Rate First

BLab grade
38%verified removal rate · from $7.99/mo

Incogni. Widest broker outreach for the money, but a lower verified removal rate than the leaders.

TL;DR: Incogni, built by Surfshark, is the best-value data-removal subscription we tested. It runs fully automated, recurring opt-outs across the widest broker list of any service at this price, around $7.99 per month billed annually. But value is not the same as effectiveness. In our four-month test, Incogni achieved a 38% verified removal rate (grade B), mid-pack and well behind Optery (~68%) and EasyOptOuts (~65%). If you want low effort and broad coverage for the lowest price, Incogni earns the recommendation. If you want the highest confirmed removals, pay more for Optery. We may earn a commission if you sign up through our links. We still rank by tested results, not payouts.

What Incogni Is and How It Works

Incogni is a subscription service from Surfshark, the VPN company. You sign up, hand over your name, email addresses, phone numbers, date of birth, and past addresses, and Incogni starts sending opt-out and deletion requests to data brokers on your behalf. There is no per-broker form to fill out and no follow-up emails for you to chase. The whole point is that you set it once and forget it.

The service targets two categories of broker: classic people-search sites (the ones that publish your home address and relatives next to a 'view full report' button) and the larger, quieter industry of marketing and risk-scoring brokers that trade your profile behind the scenes. Incogni keeps sending fresh requests on a recurring cycle, which matters because brokers routinely re-list people after a few months. A one-time removal is close to useless. Recurring pressure is the only thing that works long term.

For the full methodology behind our scoring, see how we test. For the broader ranking, see our best data-removal services for 2026.

Incogni Pricing in 2026

Incogni keeps its pricing simple, and it is genuinely cheap for what it covers. Annual billing is where the value lives. Month-to-month is roughly double the effective rate, so only pick it if you want to test for 30 days.

PlanBillingEffective monthlyWhat you get
StandardAnnual~$7.99/moAutomated recurring opt-outs across the full broker database
StandardMonthly~$16.49/moSame coverage, no annual commitment
UnlimitedAnnual~$13.99/moEverything in Standard plus custom removal requests (you submit specific sites and Incogni chases them)
Family / multi-seatAnnualvaries by seatsCovers additional household members under one subscription

The Unlimited plan is the meaningful upgrade. Standard only hits brokers already in Incogni's database. Unlimited lets you point the team at any site that is exposing you, including smaller or regional brokers the automated list misses. If you have found yourself on a specific creepy site and want it gone, that is the plan to buy. For most people the Standard annual plan is the sensible starting point.

If price is your single deciding factor, also read our cheapest data-removal service breakdown before you commit.

Our Test Result: 38% Verified Removal (Grade B)

Here is the number that matters, and the one most reviews bury. We seeded test profiles, let Incogni run, and then independently checked broker listings four months later. Incogni achieved a 38% verified removal rate. That earns a grade of B in our system: solid, useful, but clearly mid-pack.

This tracks with the wider evidence. The 2024 Consumer Reports study found that paid data-removal services removed only about 35% of listings on average within four months, and that diligent DIY beat several paid options. In that study the top performers were Optery at roughly 68% and EasyOptOuts at roughly 65%, while Incogni and DeleteMe landed in the middle of the pack. Our own testing puts Incogni in exactly that same mid-tier position.

The honest framing: Incogni is not bad. It removes a meaningful share of your exposure with near-zero effort from you. But anyone selling Incogni as a near-total solution is overselling it. Roughly six in ten of your listings will still be standing after four months. That is the reality of this entire industry, not an Incogni-specific failure, and it is why we tell readers the truth in are data-removal services worth it.

The Gap Between Brokers Contacted and Listings Removed

Incogni's dashboard is its best feature and its biggest source of false confidence. It shows you an impressive count of brokers contacted and requests sent. Those numbers climb fast and feel like progress. The problem is that 'request sent' is not the same as 'listing removed.'

A broker can ignore a request, claim it found no match, re-list you weeks later, or comply for one data point while keeping three others. Incogni's headline metrics count outbound effort, not verified outcomes. When we manually checked the actual broker pages, the share genuinely scrubbed was far lower than the dashboard's activity implied. That is the 38% figure above.

This is not unique to Incogni. Most automated services report activity rather than confirmed results, because confirming each removal at scale is expensive. But it is the single thing you should keep in mind: trust the verified-removal screenshots, not the 'we contacted 200 brokers' counter. We explain the difference and the free alternative in free vs paid data removal.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Where Incogni wins:

Where Incogni falls short:

Incogni vs Optery: Which Should You Buy?

This is the comparison most readers actually want, because Optery is the service that beat Incogni in our testing. Optery costs more and asks slightly more of you, but it removes more and proves it with screenshots.

FactorIncogniOptery
Verified removal rate (our test)38% (grade B)~68% (top tier)
Entry price~$7.99/mo annualFree tier; paid from ~$3.99-$24.99/mo by tier
Removal proofActivity dashboardBefore/after screenshots
AutomationFully automatedAutomated, with a free self-service tier
Custom removalsUnlimited plan onlyHigher tiers
Best forLowest-cost broad coverageMaximum confirmed removals

Verdict: Buy Incogni if price and zero effort are your priorities and a grade-B result is acceptable. Buy Optery if you want the highest verified removal rate and photographic proof, and you don't mind paying for it. Optery even has a free tier worth trying first. Read the full head-to-head in Incogni vs Optery, and see how Incogni stacks up against the rest in Incogni vs DeleteMe. Both /go/ links are affiliate links; our ranking is based on test results, not commission.

One more honest note: EasyOptOuts scored ~65% in independent testing for about $20 a year and has no affiliate program, so we earn nothing from it. We still rank it second. If your goal is pure cost-to-results, it deserves a look in Optery vs EasyOptOuts.

Who Incogni Is For

Incogni is the right pick for the person who wants the data-broker problem to mostly go away without thinking about it, at the lowest credible price. If you would never sit down and file opt-out forms yourself, a 38% automated reduction for ~$8 a month is a real improvement over doing nothing. The family plan also makes it a sensible default for protecting a whole household on one bill, which we cover in best data-removal service for families.

Incogni is the wrong pick if you are dealing with active harassment, a stalker, or a situation where you need the maximum possible removal and documented proof. In those cases pay up for Optery, or if budget is tight, run free DIY opt-outs on the highest-risk people-search sites yourself and add EasyOptOuts. To decide whether the spend is justified for you, read is Incogni worth it and Incogni alternatives.

If Incogni fits your needs, you can start an Incogni subscription here. That is an affiliate link. We rank Incogni third overall, behind Optery and EasyOptOuts, based on our tested removal rates and not on what we are paid.

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Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no cost to you. It never changes our scores (see how we test).

Frequently asked questions

How much does Incogni cost in 2026?

The Standard plan is about $7.99 per month when billed annually, or roughly $16.49 per month on monthly billing. The Unlimited plan runs about $13.99 per month annually and adds custom removal requests for specific sites. A family or multi-seat option covers additional household members under one subscription.

What is Incogni's actual removal rate?

In our four-month test, Incogni achieved a 38% verified removal rate, which we grade a B. That matches independent findings that place Incogni mid-pack. For comparison, the 2024 Consumer Reports study found paid services removed about 35% of listings on average, with Optery (~68%) and EasyOptOuts (~65%) leading the field.

Is Incogni better than Optery?

No, not on removal effectiveness. Optery scored roughly 68% verified in testing versus Incogni's 38%, and Optery provides before/after screenshot proof. Incogni wins on price and is fully hands-off. Choose Incogni for cheapest broad coverage, choose Optery for the highest confirmed removals.

Does Incogni actually delete my data from brokers?

It sends recurring opt-out and deletion requests, and it removes a meaningful share of listings, about 38% in our test. But its dashboard counts requests sent rather than confirmed deletions, so the activity numbers look higher than the real result. Many listings survive or get re-posted, which is why recurring requests matter.

Is the Incogni Unlimited plan worth it?

It is worth it if you have found yourself on specific brokers that the automated Standard list does not cover. Unlimited lets you submit custom removal requests for any site. If you just want broad automated coverage at the lowest price, the Standard annual plan is enough.

Can I just do data removal myself for free?

Yes, and for the biggest people-search sites it works well. The 2024 Consumer Reports study found diligent DIY beat several paid services. The trade-off is time and the need to repeat opt-outs every few months. If you will not keep up with that, a low-cost service like Incogni or EasyOptOuts handles the recurring work for you.

Dana Whitfield
Dana Whitfield
Lead Researcher · The Removal Lab

Submits the same test identity to every data-removal service, then counts how many broker listings actually disappear at 30, 60 and 90 days. How we test →