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Finding the best ID theft protection is no easy feat, with tons of identity theft protection companies on the market, all promising to have your back. The ultimate goal is to find a service that not only monitors your personal information for fraud but also helps you recover if you become a victim of ID theft.
So, which one is best for your needs? We have a clear winner in our IDShield vs LifeLock reviews. Find out why.
Visit IDShield’s Website | Visit LifeLock’s Website
Both LegalShield, IDShield’s parent company, and LifeLock have been on the identity theft scene for years (they started in 2003 and 2005, respectively). LifeLock is undoubtedly the more well-known of the two identity theft companies, with huge advertising budgets and more than 4.4 million members.
LifeLock was named in 2016 to the Online Trust Honor Roll and recognized for excellence in consumer protection, data security, and responsible privacy practices.
LegalShield, a leading provider of affordable legal services in North America, created its IDShield division in partnership with Kroll, a worldwide leader in risk mitigation and response solutions, to assist consumers facing the growing risk of data breaches. IDShield covers more than 1 million people.
Is the bigger company better in this case? Not necessarily. Let’s find out why as we delve into our head-to-head battle between two of the most popular ID theft companies on the market.
IDShield Vs LifeLock Feature Comparison (Winners By Category)
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| Overall Winner | |
Monitoring Coverage
Both IDShield and LifeLock do a thorough job of monitoring your personal information, including your social security number, driver’s license, passport, public and criminal records, change of address requests, bank accounts, credit cards and much more.
The major difference between the two? LifeLock credit monitoring gives you monthly scores from one credit bureau and annual reports from all three, while IDShield offers quarterly credit scores from just one credit bureau. LifeLock also monitors your insurance while IDShield monitors your medical records and email address.
While both companies lack items the other covers, ultimately we see IDShield and LifeLock’s coverage as a tie here.
Winner: IDShield & LifeLock (Tie)
Recovery Services
Both IDShield and LifeLock offer full recovery services, meaning their fraud teams will take care of putting freezes on your credit reports, contact your financial institutions, handle all necessary paperwork and do all the other legwork toward restoring your identity. This is a huge time saver for you.
IDShield gets the edge here because their fraud specialists are licensed private investigators, who average seven years of experience from law enforcement, banking and collection backgrounds
Winner: IDShield
Customer Service & Reputation
Both IDShield and LifeLock offer 24/7 emergency access to specialists — a huge plus for any ID theft company. LifeLock, however, has more useful resources on its website to guide you through identity theft issues.
Online customer IDShield reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with major kudos going to their customer service and ID recovery specialists. In fact, we were hard-pressed to find any IDShield complaints from consumers.
On the other hand, LifeLock customer reviews were across the board with either high praise for their coverage and reliability or LifeLock complaints about poor customer support and unreliable services. In the end, we think IDShield wins this category because of the overwhelming number of positive reviews we found compared to LifeLock.
Winner: IDShield
Mobile Access
We give IDShield a slight edge in this category. Both companies offer well-reviewed iOS and Android apps for mobile users. IDShield, however, gives you more functionality with its mobile apps. And its LegalShield app is impressive, giving you a quick connection to their certified fraud specialists.
Winner: IDShield
Family/Child Coverage
IDShield is the clear winner for a solid and affordable family plan: for only $29.95 per month, you get coverage for 2 adults and up to 8 dependent children. In fact, IDShield’s family coverage is the most affordable compared to all of the top identity theft protection services.
Lifelock has a family plan as well for $14.99 for 2 adults or $21.99 for 2 adults and up to 5 kids. Lifelock’s plan is slightly cheaper for family coverage. for basic coverage but for the top-tier plan you’re better off getting more value with IDShield.
Winner: IDShield
Pricing
IDShield wins this category easily since its prices are drastically lower than LifeLock’s. For a family consisting of 2 adults and 2 children it would cost $29.95 through IDShield and $71.96 through LifeLock for similar coverage.
Be sure to compare LifeLock plans carefully as there are significant differences. IDShield’s plans are identical except for the additional members and price.
Winner: IDShield
IDShield Vs LifeLock Plans: Detailed Comparison
| IDShield | IDShield | LifeLock | LifeLock | LifeLock | |
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| Plan Name | Individual | Family Plan (2 Adults & up to 10 Minors) | Standard | Advantage | Ultimate Plus |
| Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website | Visit Website |
| Price Per Month | $14.95/month | $29.95/month | $8.99/month ($21.99 for family) | $17.99/month ($28.99 for family) | $19.99/month ($46.99 for family) |
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| Full Identity Recovery Support | |
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| SSN Monitoring | |
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| Driver’s License Monitoring | |
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| Credit Card Monitoring & Activity Alerts | |
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| Bank Account Monitoring & Activity Alerts | |
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| Address Change Verification | |
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USPS Address Change Verification | USPS Address Change Verification | USPS Address Change Verification |
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| File Sharing Network Searches | |
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| Email Monitoring | |
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| Lost Wallet Assistance | |
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| Alerts for New Account Attempts | |
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| Medical ID Monitoring | |
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| Court Records Scanning | |
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| Sex Offender Registry Reports | |
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| Fictitious Identity Monitoring | |
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| Online Annual Credit Reports and Scores | 1 Credit Bureau | 3 Credit Bureau | |||
| Credit Score Tracking | One Bureau, Quarterly | One Bureau, Quarterly | One Bureau, Monthly | ||
| Service Guarantee | Up to $5 million | Up to $5 million | |||
| Stolen Funds Replacement | Up to $25,000 | Up to $100,000 | Up to $1 million | ||
| Personal Expense Reimbursement | Up to $25,000 | Up to $100,000 | Up to $1 million | ||
| Coverage for Lawyers & Experts | Up to $1 million | Up to $1 million | Up to $1 million |
Overall Winner
And the winner is… IDShield! Competition is fierce among the best ID theft protection services. It’s difficult to choose a clear winner because each company has its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, it comes down to the specific features you’re looking for, your budget and number of people you want to be covered.
Overall Winner: IDShield
Are you still not sold on an ID protection service? Check out our best identity theft protection services review, which gives you the 101 on ID theft protection and prevention, and stacks up IDShield and LifeLock against 10 competitors.
