IDShield vs. LifeLock: Which Identity Theft Protection Is Better?

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Our Pick
IDShield
IDShield
Starting from 
$12.95
/mo.
Pro Bullet Access to licensed private investigators
Con Bullet Limited credit monitoring
Runner-up
Lifelock with Norton Logo
Norton LifeLock
Starting from 
$9.99
/mo.
Pro Bullet Plans include Norton Security protection
Con Bullet Price increases after first year

IDShield vs. LifeLock overview
Both IDShield and LifeLock offer decent identity theft protection with somewhat limited credit monitoring. IDShield—a subsidiary of prepaid legal service LegalShield—has options to cover both individuals and families, plus unique features like 24/7 access to private investigators if you’ve fallen victim to identity thieves.

Similarly, LifeLock has adequate identity theft protection* coverage with basic credit monitoring†. It also includes Norton Security protection for up to five of your Wi-Fi connected devices. But LifeLock uses Equifax to provide credit monitoring, and we have concerns about how Equifax has handled data breaches in the past.

While both brands have reasonable ID theft coverage, they both offer less credit monitoring than the competition. If you’re interested in seeing how IDShield and LifeLock compare, read on. Otherwise, we recommend one of our top picks for credit monitoring and identity theft protection.

IDShield vs. LifeLock: Credit monitoring

IDShield has two types of plans—Individual and Family—and two tiers of service within each. At its lower tier, you get a monthly credit report from TransUnion and alerts to any changes with your credit. At its higher tier, IDShield offers credit monitoring plus a monthly credit report from all three credit bureaus.

LifeLock focuses primarily on identity theft monitoring and protection services, so its credit monitoring is limited. LifeLock offers three packages: Select, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. Its lowest two tiers offer credit alerts from Equifax, and its highest tier gives you an annual report and score from all three major credit bureaus—which you’re entitled to by law even without an ID theft monitoring service.
LifeLock focuses primarily on identity theft monitoring and protection services, so its credit monitoring is limited.

Compare IDShield and LifeLock credit monitoring services

Data effective 7/18/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

IDShield vs. LifeLock: Identity theft protection services

When it comes to identity protection, IDShield and LifeLock are much more comprehensive than they are with credit monitoring.

For both its individual and family plans, IDShield offers bank and credit account monitoring, personal information monitoring, identity restoration, and consultation services with a licensed private investigator. As a nice bonus, IDShield also offers a password manager to help you keep your online logins safe from hackers.

IDShield offers bank and credit account monitoring, personal information monitoring, identity restoration, and consultation services with a licensed private investigator.

LifeLock has three separate plans for identity theft protection. LifeLock Select gives you some basic coverage, including credit alerts, Social Security number monitoring, and up to $25,000 in identity theft insurance. LifeLock Advantage adds alerts for bank and credit card activity and ups the reimbursement to $100,000. LifeLock Ultimate Plus is the most thorough, adding credit monitoring and a jump up to $1 million in insurance.


Compare IDShield and LifeLock identity theft protection services

Data effective 7/18/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

IDShield vs. LifeLock: Plans and prices

IDShield plans and prices

In terms of identity theft services, IDShield’s Individual and Family plans cover the same things. The Individual plan is priced at $12.95 per month with one-bureau monitoring. IDShield’s Family plan—which covers you, your spouse or partner, and up to 10 dependents under age 18—is $25.95 per month with one-bureau monitoring.

What comes with IDShield Individual and Family plans with one-bureau monitoring
  • Social Security number (SSN) monitoring
  • Change of address verification
  • Lost or stolen wallet assistance
  • Bank and credit account alerts
  • Dark web and social media monitoring
  • Identity restoration assistance
  • Consultation services
  • Credit monitoring
  • Monthly TransUnion credit report

With three-bureau credit monitoring, IDShield’s individual membership is $15.95 per month and its family membership is $29.95 per month. The latter is a good fit if you have a big family and want to keep everybody protected.

What comes with IDShield Individual and Family with three-bureau monitoring
  • Everything from the one-bureau memberships
  • Monthly credits report from TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian

LifeLock plans and prices

At $9.99 per month for the first year and $12.99 per month after that, LifeLock Select reimburses up to $25,000 for any funds stolen and gives you SSN and credit alerts.

What comes with LifeLock Select
  • Dark web monitoring
  • Lost wallet assistance
  • Social Security number monitoring
  • USPS address change notification
  • Credit monitoring from Equifax

LifeLock Advantage is $19.99 per month for the first year, then $24.99 per month after. It adds some essential identity theft protection tools and increases its reimbursement amount to $100,000.

What comes with LifeLock Advantage
  • Everything from LifeLock Select
  • Bank and credit card monitoring
  • Alerts for any crimes committed in your name
  • Fictitious identity monitoring
  • Annual Equifax credit score and report

LifeLock’s highest tier, LifeLock Ultimate Plus, starts at $29.99 per month for the first year and jumps to $34.99 per month after. It offers more credit monitoring and ups the identity theft insurance amount to $1,000,000.

It’s a bit pricey, considering it doesn’t offer daily credit scores, but it can be a great way to keep track of your credit and see if you qualify for a loan or a pre-approved credit card.

What comes with LifeLock Ultimate Plus
  • Annual three-bureau credit report and score
  • Monthly Equifax credit report and score
  • 401(k) and investment activity alerts
  • File-sharing network searches
  • Sex offender registry reports

Standout features

IDShield Vault password manager

With IDShield Vault, IDShield offers a password manager with every membership. Password managers give you a security boost by encrypting your passwords to keep your personal information safe. They also keep track of your passwords for you so you don’t fall into the trap of using the same password for every website.

LifeLock with Norton Security antivirus

LifeLock stands out from the competition by offering Norton Security with every membership, protecting up to five of your internet-connected devices. It’s a thoughtful addition that keeps your computer safe from spyware, malware, and more.


Customer service

IDShield customer service

IDShield offers 24/7 customer service with in-house licensed private investigators that can offer tips, give you advice, and help you with identity restoration. And IDShield customers are generally happy with the service.

Still, the only way to cancel IDShield is through writing. You won’t be able to cancel by phone or email, which is a major gripe for some customers.

LifeLock customer service

LifeLock offers customer service 24/7 too, via both phone and mobile app. But customer reviews are mixed: customers are generally happy with the services LifeLock provides, but some say customer service is poor and canceling a plan is complicated.


Our recommendation

Both IDShield and LifeLock offer decent identity theft protection with basic credit monitoring. Of the two, we like IDShield the best. Its family plan makes it a cheaper option if you want to cover more than one person, and it’s a great fit if you’re a victim of identity theft and you need help restoring your identity—from your debit card to your driver’s license. Read more about IDShield in our full review.

>>Protect your family. View IDShield plans here.

If you’re looking for a plan that offers a bit more credit monitoring, go with LifeLock. You’ll get solid credit and identity coverage, plus Norton Security for your internet-connected devices. You can read more about LifeLock in our full review.

>>Protect your devices. View LifeLock plans here.


†The credit scores provided are VantageScore 3.0 credit scores based on data from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion respectively. Any One-Bureau VantageScore mentioned is based on Equifax data only. Third parties use many different types of credit scores and are likely to use a different type of credit score to assess your creditworthiness.

*No one can prevent all identity theft.