What Company Offers The Cheapest Identity Theft Protection Service in April 2024

Last Update: March 12, 2023 • Identity Theft •

There is a lot that can be found in cheap identity theft protection. Many companies offer similar packages, usually a “Basic” one and a “Premium,” sometimes including a middle package.

Some benefits to basic packages include:

Very low cost. The best package is over $20 a month, and that adds up quickly. If all you have is $10 extra a month to spend, these packages will help you.
Avoiding features, you don’t need. Many premium packages have a plethora of features, not all of which may apply to your situation.

However, don’t let these “basic” packages fool you. Most of them are upsells to their bigger offerings and don’t actually help protect you against much… unless you upgrade.

Most of them are just not very reliable. In our other reviews, we talk mainly about the premium services because their basic packages are not worth the money!

Just because a plan is the cheapest or even free does not mean that it provides you the most “bang for your buck.” You only need to use valuable services, especially if you only have $10 to spend!

So, what’s the best “basic” package out there? Which company offers the most value for your dollar?

IdentityGuard Essentials: The Cheapest Identity Theft Protection Service

Price: $9.99/month and a one-month free trial!

That’s right. IdentityGuard, one of our best choice on the Top 10 Best Companies list, is our single favorite ‘basic’ package for many reasons… but there’s one basic reason.

Most of the so-called ‘identity theft protection’ services are credit monitoring services in disguise.

Take, for example, TrustedID’s basic offering. TrustedID offers some theft protection, but its main feature is credit monitoring.

Credit monitoring protects only against a single type of fraud!

IdentityGuard Essentials does not offer credit monitoring. Instead, credit monitoring is bundled with their Total Protection Plan. However, if you want credit monitoring for no extra cost, check out Quizzle or CreditSesame. They will offer the same credit monitoring that you can expect from most companies that offer it cheaply.

What IdentityGuard Essentials Offers?

Please check our full IdentityGuard Review that has all of their plans for these of you interested before we move on.

We’re going to go over everything that IG Essentials will give you and why you need it. They include:

Social Security Number Monitoring. This feature monitors many online databases such as banks and loan servicer databases, constantly searching for your SSN. If it does come up, IG will alert you, and if it is there fraudulently, you will be able to make your next steps.
Black Market Site Surveillance. IG will use Internet searches continuously for your personal information, checking to see if your identity is for sale. If it’s found, you’re alerted so you can make your next decisions.
ID Verification Notifications. If any of your bank accounts have information that has been changed, such as addresses or passwords, you will be notified to confirm that what happened was not accidental. Not all accounts send e-mail alerts to confirm address changes!
Account Takeover Alerts. If it is found that your bank account has been taken over, you will be alerted so you can take immediate action.
Identity Fraud Assistance. You will be able to use IdentityGuard support, backed by experts in the field of fraud protection. If the alerts catch anything, you can go straight to IG for support.
Lost Wallet Protection. If your wallet ends up lost or stolen, our support team will help you cancel all your credit cards and prevent any theft from happening on them. You will also get help with your credit report and, if you need cash, cash will be withdrawn and sent to you by mail.
Password Protection with ID Vault. ID Vault is the proprietary software that encrypts your passwords and allows you to access them very easily. You can then log into your accounts as normal.
$1 Million Identity Theft Insurance. If you have to spend money on lawyer fees, if you lost any money from your accounts, or if you have to take time off work, IG will reimburse you up to $1 million for any costs incurred due to the fraud.

IdentityGuard Essentials vs. Lifelock Standard vs. TrustedID IDEssentials

There are many low-cost services, but we’ll be comparing IG Essentials with the offerings from these very well-known companies: Lifelock and TrustedID.

We’re going to be comparing IdentityGuard Essentials with Lifelock Standard as well as with TrustedID IDEssentials.

Lifelock

Social Security Monitoring. Instead, Lifelock provides a proprietary monitoring service called “Identity Alert.” It’s good, don’t get us wrong. However, it does not operate within the scope of Social Security Number monitoring. If anyone is using your SSN to get benefits, credit, or anything else that is in your name, Lifelock Standard Protection will not be able to tell you so. IG Essentials, however, will.
A powerful password protector. Lifelock does not provide password protection software, which leaves you open and vulnerable to thieves on the Internet. Fortunately, IG Essentials offers this right out of the box. You can use this password protector to use only the strongest passwords.

Lifelock Standard is an acceptable offering, and you can get it here. However, IdentityGuard beats it on two critical aspects: protecting your most sensitive piece of information and keeping your name safe on the Internet.

TrustedID is yet another popular solution. It’s one of the best companies around with an excellent offering for $15.

But it only really offers credit monitoring and very little extra protection.

Credit monitoring can be free from Quizzle. You don’t need extra help for credit monitoring unless you want more precise monitoring, like something that MyFICO offers.

Not only this, but TrustedID costs $5 more and does not offer a trial period.