You know you need to remove your data from brokers. The question is whether to spend your own time doing it, or pay a service to handle it. Both paths work — but the math lands differently depending on your situation.
This guide covers what DIY removal actually costs you in time, how the major paid services compare on price and coverage, and what PlainGold does differently. No affiliate links. No padded reviews. Just the breakdown you need to decide.
Option 1: DIY Removal (Free, But Not Cheap)
Every major data broker is legally required to honor opt-out requests — under CCPA in California, and under each broker's own stated privacy policy everywhere else. So in theory, you can remove yourself from all of them for free.
In practice, the process looks like this:
- Find your profile on each broker site (manually searching your name + city)
- Navigate to each broker's unique opt-out page — none of them are the same
- Submit removal requests, often with email verification or phone confirmation
- Wait 30–45 days for processing, then verify removal actually happened
- Repeat this process every 60–90 days when brokers re-list you
Across 150+ brokers, the initial round takes most people 4–6 hours. Re-checking and re-submitting every two to three months adds another 2–3 hours per cycle. Over a year, that's 12–20 hours of repetitive form-filling — for a task that's never finished.
DIY is the right call if you have time, you're methodical about calendar reminders, and you're comfortable navigating dozens of different opt-out flows. For most people, it isn't sustainable past the first round. See our step-by-step removal guide if you want to do it yourself.
Option 2: Paid Removal Services
Paid services automate what would otherwise be your manual work. They submit opt-out requests on your behalf, monitor for re-listing, and re-submit when your data reappears. Here's how the major options compare:
| Service | Price | Brokers Covered | Monitoring |
|---|---|---|---|
| DeleteMe | $129/yr ($10.75/mo) | ~750 brokers | Quarterly reports |
| Incogni | $77/yr ($6.45/mo) | ~180 brokers | Continuous |
| Kanary | $89/yr ($7.42/mo) | ~500 brokers | Monthly rescans |
| Privacy Duck | $500+/yr | Manual, custom | Human-reviewed |
| PlainGold Free scan | $9/mo or $79/yr | 150+ brokers | Monthly automated |
DeleteMe
The most established name in data removal. DeleteMe covers a broad range of brokers and delivers quarterly PDF reports showing what was found and removed. The reports are detailed — but quarterly visibility means you can be re-exposed for months before the next report catches it.
Best for: Users who want comprehensive coverage and are comfortable with less frequent check-ins.
Incogni
Built by Surfshark (the VPN company), Incogni is currently the cheapest annual option among major services. It covers around 180 brokers with continuous monitoring. The tradeoff: broker coverage is narrower than competitors, and the dashboard is less transparent about what specifically was found vs. removed.
Best for: Budget-focused users who primarily want coverage on the highest-traffic brokers.
Kanary
Kanary sits between Incogni and DeleteMe in price and coverage. Monthly rescans provide better visibility than DeleteMe's quarterly model, and coverage at ~500 brokers is solid. The product is newer and less battle-tested than DeleteMe, but the monitoring cadence is strong.
Best for: Users who want mid-tier coverage with more frequent monitoring than DeleteMe.
Privacy Duck
Privacy Duck takes a high-touch, human-reviewed approach — actual humans submit and verify removals rather than automated systems. This produces higher success rates on difficult brokers that resist automated opt-outs. At $500+/year, it's priced for users with elevated privacy concerns (executives, public figures, people with stalking concerns).
Best for: High-risk individuals who need guaranteed, human-verified removal at premium brokers.
What PlainGold Does Differently
Every service above asks you to pay before you see anything. You sign up, hand over your card, and hope the scan finds what you think it will find. PlainGold starts with the scan — free, no account required, results in under 60 seconds.
You see exactly which brokers have your data, what information is listed, and your exposure score. Then you decide if $9/month (or $79/year — that's $6.58/month) is worth it to remove it. No subscription required to understand your exposure.
After you subscribe, PlainGold handles the removal lifecycle: automated opt-out submissions to 150+ brokers, monthly rescans, and automatic re-submission when your profile reappears. You get a clean dashboard showing current removal status — not a quarterly PDF buried in your inbox.
How to Choose the Right Service
Run through this framework before committing:
- Budget under $80/year: Incogni is the best value. Narrower coverage, but the price is hard to argue with.
- Want widest coverage: DeleteMe covers the most brokers. Accept the quarterly-report cadence.
- Want to see exposure before buying: PlainGold — free scan first, then decide.
- High-risk situation (executive, journalist, stalking concern): Privacy Duck's human-reviewed approach is worth the premium.
- DIY route: Use our step-by-step guide — and be honest with yourself about whether you'll maintain it every 60–90 days.
First, understand what you're actually dealing with. See which brokers have your data →