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FaceSearch vs PimEyes
PimEyes is the best-known face search engine and has the longest track record. FaceSearch is the cheaper way in: the first search is free with no account, a Starter week costs $5, and deep search is on every paid plan. PimEyes wins on alerts, a takedown service and years of index history. This page lays out both sides with dated prices.
First search free. No account needed. Updated November 5, 2026 by The FaceSearch Team. Prices checked on November 5, 2026.
Pick PimEyes if you want alerts and a paid takedown service and the monthly price does not matter. Pick FaceSearch if you want to search now without an account, pay $5 for a week instead of a month, or run a deep search without the top tier.
At a glance
| FaceSearch | PimEyes | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for ten searches | Two Starter weeks at $5 each, or part of Daily Pro at $20 a month for 25 searches a day | One month of Open Plus, reported at $29.99 a month in 2026 reviews, for up to 75 searches a day |
| Free tier | First search free with no account; Free plan adds 2 credits, top results shown, source links locked | Free searches with blurred results and no source links; the pricing page lists 10 free searches a day |
| Account needed | No for the first search; yes for deep search and saved history | No for a free search; yes to pay |
| Deep search | On every paid plan: Starter 3, Daily Pro 15, Business 50 deep credits | Deep Search access is listed on the Advanced tier only |
| Source links on the free tier | Locked; every link opens on any paid plan | Not shown on free searches |
| Apps | iOS and Android | Web; no first-party store apps found |
| API | None | No public API in most regions |
| Removal flow | Free, by email to contact@facesearch.cc with a photo of your face | Free opt-out form requiring a face photo plus an anonymised ID or passport scan |
| Alerts | None | Yes, from 10 on the free tier to 500 on Advanced |
| Takedowns | Take-down request help on the Business plan | PROtect and Advanced tiers include takedowns; a Takedown Agent add-on is sold separately |
| Region availability | Every region we serve | Not available in some jurisdictions after regulator decisions |
| Index note | Public web pages only; no social media behind logins | Public web pages only; states it excludes social media and video platforms |
| Billing terms | Weekly or monthly, cancel any time, plan runs to the end of the paid period | Monthly or yearly subscription; a one-search option is advertised on the pricing page |
Where PimEyes wins
- Alerts. PimEyes can watch for new appearances of a face and notify you. FaceSearch has no alerts; you search again when you want to check.
- A takedown service. PROtect and Advanced bundle takedowns, and a Takedown Agent add-on exists. FaceSearch helps with take-down requests on the Business plan only, and does not send notices on your behalf on lower plans.
- Track record. PimEyes has indexed the public web for years and is the engine most privacy guides describe. A longer index history can mean more old pages found.
- Volume on the top tier. Advanced lists unlimited searches a day. FaceSearch's largest plan is 2,500 normal credits a month.
- AI-generated reports and result management on the upper tiers, which FaceSearch does not offer.
Where FaceSearch wins
- Price of entry. $5 for a Starter week with every source link unlocked, against a monthly subscription reported at $29.99 for Open Plus. If you need one check, you pay for one week, not a month.
- No account for the first search. Drop a photo on the search page and see results. PimEyes shows a free search too, but with blurred results and no links.
- Deep search on every paid plan. PimEyes lists Deep Search on Advanced only. On FaceSearch, Starter includes three deep credits.
- Removal without an ID scan. FaceSearch removes your face from results on request by email with a photo. PimEyes requires an anonymised ID or passport scan with the opt-out form.
- Apps. FaceSearch has iOS and Android apps that share your account with the web.
- No face database built from your uploads. FaceSearch strips photo metadata, uses the upload for your search only and never adds it to any index.
Pricing in detail
FaceSearch has four levels. Free: first search without an account, then two credits on a free account, with top results visible and source links locked. Starter: $5 a week for five normal and three deep searches, all links unlocked. Daily Pro: $20 a month for 25 normal searches a day, 15 deep searches, deep search top-ups and premium support. Business: $50 a month for 2,500 normal and 50 deep searches, take-down request help and 24/7 support. Full details on the pricing page.
PimEyes sells Free, Open Plus, PROtect and Advanced tiers with a monthly or yearly toggle and a separate Takedown Agent add-on. The pricing page on November 5, 2026 listed searches per day of 10, up to 75, up to 125 and unlimited respectively, with alerts and takedown counts rising by tier. 2026 reviews put Open Plus at $29.99 a month and PROtect at $79.99 a month; the yearly toggle lowers the monthly equivalent. Confirm on the PimEyes pricing page before buying, because the figures are rendered in the browser and change.
Free search compared
Both engines let you search before paying, and that is where the similarity ends. A free FaceSearch search returns ranked matches with the matched images visible; what is locked on the Free plan is the link to each source page. A free PimEyes search returns blurred thumbnails without links, enough to tell you that something exists but not where. For a quick "is my photo out there" check, both work. For "where is it", both need a paid plan, and the cheapest one is FaceSearch's $5 week. More on the free face search page.
Removal compared
Both engines remove your face from their own results for free, and neither can remove a photo from the website that published it. PimEyes asks for a clear photo of your face, several angles ideally, plus an anonymised scan of an ID or passport, through its opt-out form; step by step on our PimEyes opt-out guide. FaceSearch asks for a photo of your face by email to contact@facesearch.cc, with ID only if a request is disputed; details on remove my photos. Removing yourself from one engine does nothing on the other, so people who want out of face search altogether do both; the removal guide lists every engine we know of.
Switching from PimEyes to FaceSearch
- Run your first FaceSearch search with the same photo you used on PimEyes. No account is needed, so you can compare before paying anything.
- If the results are useful, start a $5 Starter week and open the source links. If you need daily checks, Daily Pro at $20 a month is the next step.
- Cancel PimEyes in your PimEyes account settings; the subscription runs to the end of the paid period.
- If you also want your face out of PimEyes results, submit its opt-out form; our guide walks through the ID anonymisation it requires.
Questions
01Is PimEyes better than FaceSearch?
It depends on the job. PimEyes has alerts, a takedown service and a long index history, and costs a monthly subscription. FaceSearch has a free no-account first search, a $5 weekly plan with every link unlocked, deep search on every paid plan and apps. Neither has published test scores yet; our method is on the methodology page.
02Is PimEyes free?
Partly. PimEyes shows a free search with blurred results and no source links, and its pricing page lists 10 free searches a day. Seeing where a photo appears needs a paid tier. FaceSearch's first search is free without an account and shows the matched images; source links open on any paid plan from $5 a week.
03Is PimEyes legal or safe to use?
Using PimEyes to search for your own face is lawful. Its legal position as a service has been challenged by European regulators, and it is unavailable in some jurisdictions. Searching for other people is subject to local biometric and privacy law on any engine; see our guide to whether face search is legal.
04Can I use both PimEyes and FaceSearch?
Yes, and for a stolen-photo problem it is sensible: each engine has crawled pages the other has not. Run the free search on both first. Removal is per engine, so if you want your face out of results you must request it from each one separately.
05Which is cheaper?
FaceSearch, for anything short of heavy daily use. Its Starter plan is $5 a week with all source links unlocked. PimEyes' entry tier, Open Plus, was reported at $29.99 a month in 2026 reviews. For very high volume, PimEyes' Advanced tier offers unlimited searches a day, which FaceSearch does not.
06Does FaceSearch have alerts like PimEyes?
No. FaceSearch has no alerts or monitoring. If you want to know about new appearances, you run a search again when you choose to; Daily Pro includes 25 searches a day for people who check often. PimEyes includes alerts on every tier, up to 500 on Advanced.
07How do I remove my face from PimEyes and from FaceSearch?
PimEyes: use its opt-out form, which asks for a clear face photo and an anonymised ID or passport scan. FaceSearch: email contact@facesearch.cc with a photo of your face; ID is only requested if a claim is disputed. Both removals are free and apply only to that engine's own results.
Sources
Related pages
- PimEyes alternativesFourteen engines ranked by price, free tier, face matching, removal and region, with every price dated.
- Remove yourself from PimEyesThe three-step opt-out form, what to redact on your ID, and what the block does and does not change.
- FaceSearch vs FaceCheck.IDWeekly plans and no identity claims versus expiring credit packs and a scammer database.
- Free face searchExactly what a free search shows, what stays locked, and how free tiers compare across engines.
- Our test methodTwelve scenarios, 0 to 5 points each, the same photos for every engine, dated and signed.
- Remove my photosHide your face from FaceSearch results for free, by email, with a confirmation when it is done.
Your face is out there. Find it first.
Search with a photoPublic pages only. Your photo is never sold and never used to build a face database.