Choosing the right identity theft protection service depends on your budget and the type of features you need. A few standout features we recommend include white glove identity restoration, identity theft insurance, and three-bureau credit monitoring.
With Aura (our top pick), you get all of the above services and more included in all plans. Although Aura may lack some other features you need. It does not offer monitoring of medical records or BNPL plans. Basic individual IDShield and LifeLock plans also offer more identity theft coverage. So choose the one that best matches what you are looking for.
Comparison of Identity Theft Protection Monitoring Features
Most services include monitoring personal information on the dark web and monitoring credit reports, but some offer less common services of monitoring your bank account, home, and title monitoring.
If a company offers monitoring of multiple aspects of your personal information, you'll be less likely to have to track it yourself and will have an easier time identifying any problems that arise. However, you'll have to pay more for these services, on top of the standard dark web monitoring and credit reports.
Choose between basic and premium plans
Again, it all depends on what features you are looking for. The Basic plan is fine if you're happy with basic monitoring services. Most basic plans will include dark web monitoring and monitoring of at least one credit bureau (unless you have Aura, which includes all three).
Typically, you'll have to pay to unlock 401k monitoring, headline monitoring, and social media monitoring. Higher-tier plans may also include higher identity theft insurance, increasing the standard amount from $1 million to $2 million or more.
You can track all of these things yourself for free, but automating the process can cost money.
Individual and family plans
Whether you need coverage just for yourself or your family will depend on the plan you choose. If you're alone, individual plans are best, but if you're looking for more coverage, consider family plans.
How much insurance coverage do you need?
Identity theft insurance typically covers the costs incurred in restoring your identity. Most insurance will cover the cost of replacing important documents, any legal fees you may incur, case manager fees, any reporting fees on your credit reports, and even lost wages.
However, most insurance plans do not cover stolen money or financial losses due to fraudulent purchases. To do this, you will need to contact your credit card issuer or bank. Check the terms of your plan to see what it includes and what it doesn't.
The industry standard is coverage up to $1 million. Some services, like LifeLock, offer more, usually at higher membership levels.
Comparison of identity restoration services
Not all identity theft recovery services are created equal. For example, some say that they will tell you what you need to do rather than do it for you. The latter form of restoration services is called “white glove restoration” and is obviously the better of the two.
If your identity is stolen, white glove programs will do the work for you rather than forcing you to do extra work in an already stressful situation. And you don't always have to pay more to get it. I'm looking at you again, Aura.
Free and paid identity theft protection services
As they say, you get what you pay for. Free services are better than no protection, but they obviously won't provide as much protection as paid services. You can get free credit report monitoring and free dark web monitoring, but for everything else, from insurance to tri-credit bureaus to SSN monitoring, you'll have to shell out the cash.
Choose a level that makes sense to you. Check out the list of features for each service. Unless you're interested in something special like title monitoring and higher insurance coverage, you may be fine with just the basic level.
Protecting the identity of children
Not every identity theft protection service will provide your children with protection like insurance. While many offer some type of insurance for minors, there are two services that offer identity theft insurance for your children:
- LifeLock by Norton
- IdentityIQ
Price comparison for identity theft protection services
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| Identity Theft Service | Individual | Pair | Family |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | 15 US dollars | US$29 | 50 US dollars |
| Identityforce | 20 or 35 dollars | N/A | 25 or 40 dollars |
| ID shield | 15 or 20 dollars | N/A | 30 or 35 dollars |
| IdentityIQ | $8.50 to $31.50 | N/A | from 12 to 48 dollars |
| Lifelock by Norton | From 12 to 35 US dollars* | From 24 to 70 US dollars* | From 36 to 80 dollars* |
| Identification protection | from 9 to 30 dollars | N/A | from 15 to 40 dollars |
| Zander | 7 or 12 dollars | N/A | 13 or 22 dollars |
| Experian Identity works | from 0 to 25 dollars | N/A | US$35 |
*First year only. All prices are for monthly plans.
