Free picks, paid picks, and what each one is actually good at. Face Search AI is our #1 pick because it gives you 3 reverse face searches a day for free, no card, no signup. Then 5 more, with honest tradeoffs.
Order is editorial: free options first because most people searching for an alternative want a free one. Every pick has real tradeoffs, those are listed honestly.
#1
Face Search AI
Face Search AI is the free reverse face search engine. 3 searches a day, no card, no signup wall. Public-web only, with source URLs on every match.
Pros
3 free searches a day, no card on file
Anonymous searches available, no account required
Free, permanent opt-out (one form, applies across all plans)
Source URL on every match, ranked by confidence
API access available from $50/month for higher volume
FaceCheck.id is a credit-based reverse face search with a focus on social-media surfaces and forums. No recurring subscription required, credits are purchased in batches.
Pros
Credit pricing instead of subscription, pay only what you use
Strong on social-leaning indices
No monthly auto-renewal lock-in
Cons
Free tier is limited; full results require credits
Per-search cost adds up faster than a flat subscription for heavy users
Pricing Credit-based; see facecheck.id for current pack pricing.
Best for Users who do reverse face searches occasionally and prefer pay-as-you-go over a monthly subscription.
Eyematch positions itself as an AI-first reverse face search engine. Currently ranks #1 on the "face search ai" SERP, with a homepage-only structure focused on a single landing for all queries.
Pros
Strong on the "AI face search" brand keyword
Single-landing UX, simple to onboard
Cons
Smaller documented index than the longer-established players
Pricing model and free-tier availability vary; check eyematch.ai for current terms
Pricing See eyematch.ai for current plan and credit pricing.
Best for Users who specifically want an AI-branded face search tool and are comfortable evaluating a newer entrant.
Lenso.ai is a Polish reverse image and face search startup with a polished UI and a paid model. Strong content marketing presence and a structured taxonomy of search categories.
Pros
Polished user experience and good documentation
Multiple search categories beyond face (places, duplicates)
Cons
Paid plans only for most full-result use cases
Newer index relative to PimEyes; coverage varies by region
Pricing Subscription-based; see lenso.ai for current plan pricing.
Best for Users who want a polished paid product and value UX over raw price.
Sherlock is a mobile-first AI face search app on the Apple App Store, marketed heavily through TikTok and Instagram Reels. Mobile-only at the time of writing, no web entry point observable.
Pros
Mobile-first onboarding, no separate web step
Heavy social-media discovery channel (TikTok / Reels) drives consumer awareness
Cons
iOS-only on the App Store at time of writing; Android availability not observable
No web entry point for a desktop user comparing tools
Pricing and free-tier terms only visible inside the app
Pricing In-app purchases; see App Store listing for current terms.
Best for iPhone users who land via short-form social video and prefer running the search inside an app rather than the web.
PimEyes is the incumbent paid reverse face search engine with one of the deepest documented indices. Included here for reference, not as a recommended alternative to itself.
Pros
Deepest public-web face index among the paid players
Established opt-out program (PROtect)
Cons
Subscription required for full result URLs in most regions
No documented free tier with full match URLs
No public API in most regions
Pricing Subscription-based; see pimeyes.com for current plan pricing.
Best for Heavy users with budget who need maximum index coverage and are comfortable with a recurring subscription.
Short-form summary of the key axes. The full nuance is in the per-pick cards above.
Feature
Face Search AI
FaceCheck.id
Eyematch
Lenso.ai
Sherlock
PimEyes
Free tier
3 / day, no card
Limited credits at signup
See eyematch.ai
See lenso.ai
See App Store listing
Limited; full results paywalled
Starting price
$7.77 / mo
Credit packs (see site)
See eyematch.ai
See lenso.ai
In-app purchases
See pimeyes.com
Opt-out / removal
Free, one form, permanent
See facecheck.id
See eyematch.ai
See lenso.ai
See App Store listing
PROtect program (terms vary)
Anonymous search
Yes
See facecheck.id
See eyematch.ai
See lenso.ai
See App Store listing
Limited
Public API
From $50 / mo, REST
See facecheck.id
See eyematch.ai
See lenso.ai
Mobile app only
No public API in most regions
Platform
Web
Web
Web
Web
iOS only
Web
Public web only
Yes, no surveillance feeds
Yes
Yes
Yes
See App Store listing
Yes
Pricing, free-tier availability, opt-out terms and API status vary by region and change over time. Cells reflect publicly available information at the time of writing. Always check each provider's site for current terms.
Questions
What do people ask when picking a PimEyes alternative?
What is the best PimEyes alternative?
It depends what "best" means. Face Search AI is the best free alternative: 3 reverse face searches a day, no card, anonymous. FaceCheck.id is the best for users who prefer credit-based pricing without a recurring subscription. Eyematch and Lenso position themselves as AI-first paid tools. For most one-off verifications, the free tier on Face Search AI is enough.
Is there a free PimEyes alternative?
Yes. Face Search AI runs 3 reverse face searches a day for free, with no card on file and no subscription. FaceCheck.id offers limited free credits per signup. Lenso and Eyematch generally require payment for full results. PimEyes itself does not allow viewing full result URLs on its free tier in most regions.
Are PimEyes alternatives legal to use?
Searching publicly indexed images is lawful in most jurisdictions. Biometric privacy laws (GDPR, Illinois BIPA, Texas CUBI, CCPA/CPRA) apply differently by region. Face Search AI only indexes the public web (never private accounts, never surveillance feeds) and geofences where laws require it. Other alternatives publish their own compliance terms; check each provider's privacy page.
How accurate are these tools compared to PimEyes?
Accuracy depends mostly on index size, not on the matching model. PimEyes has the deepest index of the paid players. Face Search AI indexes millions of public sites and uses facial-geometry matching with a confidence score on every result. For most queries the bottleneck is whether the face appears in any public-web crawl at all, not the matcher.
Can I remove my face from these tools?
Face Search AI runs a free, permanent opt-out: one form, no account required, applied across all plans. PimEyes runs an opt-out program (PROtect) whose terms vary; see pimeyes.com. FaceCheck, Lenso, and Eyematch each publish their own removal policies on their privacy pages. Always opt out on each platform separately, no central registry exists.
Why should I pick Face Search AI over PimEyes?
Price (free for 3 a day vs paid-only on PimEyes' full result view in most regions), no card required, anonymous searches available, and a public-web-only index with source URLs on every match. If you need bulk searches at enterprise scale, both work; if you need to verify one or two faces, Face Search AI fits the actual usage pattern better.
Face Search AI is independent and not affiliated with PimEyes, FaceCheck.id, Eyematch, Lenso.ai, or Sherlock. All third-party names are trademarks of their respective owners, used here for descriptive comparison purposes only. Pricing, free-tier availability, opt-out terms, regional availability and feature claims for all third-party tools reflect publicly available information at the time of writing and may not reflect current terms; verify on each provider's site or App Store listing.