LifeLock vs IdentityGuard – Which One to Choose in December 2024

ElitePersonalFinance
Last Update: March 11, 2023 Identity Theft Companies Reviews

LifeLock and IdentityGuard are some of the largest and most trusted identity theft protection companies. You won’t make a mistake if your pick is one of them. But which is better – IdentityGuard or LifeLock?

Each of these companies has its different plans with unique features, advantages, and disadvantages. In this review, we will give you details that will help you decide what would work for you best? Or are these your companies at all?

What Does LifeLock Offer?

LifeLock started its business in Tempe, Arizona, in 2005. It has grown into one of the top-trusted credit monitoring and identity theft protection companies in the United States. Now over 4 million users put trust in them.

What plans does LifeLock offer?

LifeLock has 3 individual plans: LifeLock Standard, LifeLock Advantage, and LifeLock Ultimate Plus.

LifeLock Standard costs you $8.99/mo first year. After that, you have to prepare $11.99/mo. Per year: $124.99.

LifeLock Advantage costs you $17.99/mo first year; after that, $22.99/mo. Per year: $239.99.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus is $25.99/mo first year; after that, $34.99/mo. Per year: $339.99.

But now, LifeLock offers discounted prices.

Get LifeLock with up to 25% discount per month for the first year – Standard at $8.99/mo., Advantage at $17.99/mo., Ultimate Plus at $25.99/mo. >>

Get LifeLock with up to 20% discount per year – Standard at $98.90/year, Advantage at $179.88/year, Ultimate Plus at $251.88/year >>

LifeLock Standard is a bare-bones identity theft protection service. It covers you against lost and stolen wallets, social security number abuse, and sudden address changes. Your information gets monitored on the Internet’s black markets. You also get privacy against many pre-approved credit card offers. Plus, the plan is backed by a *$1 million service guarantee.

LifeLock Advantage gives you both identity theft and credit monitoring services. With this plan, you get your credit report and score once a year from one bureau. The alternative from IdentityGuard gives you reports and scores from all three bureaus four times a year. The added benefits of data breach alerts and debit and credit account warnings make up for it.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus lets you have everything Advantage offers, plus you get monthly score updates and annual credit reports from all three bureaus. You also get a greater level of account alerts, coverage reaches your family, and they help you get taken off mailing lists. There are too many features to list, and the 24/7 phone support is the icing on the cake!

Do Your Kids Need Identity Theft Protection?

Both IdentityGuard and LifeLock offer identity theft protection plans for children. They run between $5 and $10 a month. IdentityGuard lets you buy it individually, at a higher cost, while LifeLock insists it’s just available as a plan add-on.

IdentityGuard for Kids contains many features that help you protect your identity. This includes a footprint report, public record, SSN, registered bank account monitoring, and many monitoring alerts. Plus, you get customer service help and personal recovery assistance.

LifeLock Junior only offers Social Security Number monitoring, monitoring alerts, personal recovery assistance, customer service help, and file-sharing network protection. Identity thieves often target children, as it is easy to open fake accounts in their names.

As many parents do not think about protecting their children’s identity, they are easy victims. As a parent, it’s your responsibility to keep your kid’s identity safe. A protection service like these two is of great help, but it is only half the battle. Make sure to keep any data or documents on your kids safe and secure in your home. And avoid discarding any confidential information without first shredding it.

What Does IdentityGuard Offer?

IdentityGuard offers one of the most comprehensive identity theft protection plans and credit monitoring. IdentityGuard covers all the basics of identity monitoring – name, Social Security number, bank accounts, credit reports, etc. – but it’s missing a few features found among the best identity theft protection services. Its restoration services also leave something to be desired.

Individual Plans:

  • Value: $6.67/mo.
  • Premier: $16.67/mo.
  • Total: $13.33/mo.

Family Plans:

  • Value: $10.00/mo.
  • Premier: $23.33/mo.
  • Total: $20.00/mo.

IdentityGuard established itself back in 1996, making it 9 years older than LifeLock. More than 38 million people have turned to IdentityGuard for identity protection. Plus, every IdentityGuard plan comes with $1 million in identity theft insurance!

IdentityGuard has three main plans:  Essentials, Total Protection, and Platinum.

IdentityGuard Total Protection gives you basic identity theft protection. This means you get stolen wallet coverage, online black market monitoring, social security number tracking, and victim assistance. You also get verification alerts and notifications of any account takeover attempts. When comparing to LifeLock basic protection, all you miss is coverage against address changes. But, you can lower your pre-approved credit card offers this way.

IdentityGuard Essentials gives you identity theft and credit monitoring services bundled together. This gives you all the features from Essentials, and you gain access to many different credit monitoring tools. You also get credit reports and scores from all three credit bureaus. This is better than the LifeLock Advantage Plan, which takes from one bureau. Even better, instead of getting a report and score once a year, you get them every three months.

IdentityGuard Total Protection gives you everything from the Total Protection Plan, then adds even more. The best thing about this service is getting your credit report and score every month instead of every three months or once a year. Aside from that, you gain access to more credit monitoring software and tools. The only real downfall is that you cannot get 24/7 phone support, an option in LifeLock’s “Ultimate Plus” Plan.

IdentityGuard Platinum gives you everything found in Total Protection and then a little bit more. The biggest plus about this plan is that you get monthly credit reports and scores. However, this might be a little over-the-top for some and paying extra to get it is only recommended if you see value in these high-frequency inquiries.

Having your identity stolen can cost you hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars. But, the chance of it happening might not be as high as these companies lead you to believe. People estimate that around 15 million Americans get victimized each year.

That’s still a pretty alarming rate, even if most did not have their entire identity re-used.

Identity theft protection services make it easy to keep an eye on your name. You get to see what happens. This makes it easy to catch any problem as it surfaces. For example, you can get a text notification with ease when someone tries to open a new bank account in your name.

The credit monitoring services add to the game. They make it possible for you to have all the information you need to keep your credit in good shape. The possibility of monthly credit reports and scores is more than incredible. Every month, you get to know the extent of any progress you make towards bettering your credit.

Plus, you get to learn how to improve your credit score, and countless alerts can come in handy. But, that does not mean IdentityGuard and LifeLock are prime credit monitoring services. If you are more focused on your credit, then a specialized monitoring service is ideal.

Do You Want a Service Guarantee or Insurance?

One of the few big differences between IdentityGuard and LifeLock is the types of financial coverage they offer.

With IdentityGuard, you get $1 million in identity theft insurance. This means they will cover up to one million dollars worth of identity restoration costs on your behalf. Some potential expenses they might cover include lost wages, phone bills, and transportation. However, you need to have exceptional proof that you were victimized and that you faced financial losses.

With LifeLock, you get a *$1 million service guarantee that pays out towards the costs of restoring your identity. This makes the LifeLock guarantee a bit more attractive, as there is no extra hoop you have to jump through.

Disclaimer: “Service Guarantee benefits for State of New York members are provided under a Master Insurance Policy issued by State National Insurance Company. Benefits for all other members are provided under a Master Insurance Policy underwritten by United Specialty Insurance Company. Under the “Service Guarantee,” LifeLock will spend up to $1 million to hire experts to help your recovery. Please see the policy for terms, conditions, and exclusions at https://lifelock.com/legal.”

Conclusion

IdentityGuard and LifeLock are the two best identity theft protection companies in the business. They both offer excellent protection services, but in the end, LifeLock has been known to be the better.

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