LifeLock vs. Complete ID 2024: Can This Costco-Backed Option Measure Up?

It’s hard to beat Norton LifeLock, even when comparing it against the Costco-backed Complete ID. 

With multiple monitoring features, including dark web, home title, social media, and financial account monitoring as well as credit reports from all three bureaus, LifeLock is one of the best identity theft protection services out there. It also offers a range of pricing options and multiple methods of customer support.

But if you're a Costco member, the fact that both Costco and Experian back Complete ID may make it an enticing offer. Just note that Complete ID is no longer taking new enrollments, though people who already pay for the service get full access as usual.

In this article, we compare Complete ID vs. LifeLock when it comes to pricing, features, customer support, and more.

LifeLock vs. Complete ID review at a glance

LifeLock and Complete ID have similar features, both offering multiple options for identity alerts, credit reports, and credit monitoring.

Notable differences include the number of plans — Complete ID has one plan, whereas LifeLock offers multiple plan options. LifeLock’s Ultimate Plus plan boasts a robust identity theft insurance coverage of up to $3 million while the LifeLock Standard plan has coverage of up to $1.05 million. On the other hand, Complete ID offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.

• LifeLock: Best overall
• Complete ID: Best for Costco members

LifeLock vs. Complete ID compared

Star rating	4.8 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.2 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Price	$7.50–$38.99/mo for first yr	$8.99–$18.99/mo
Types of monitoring	Identity and SSN, dark web, phone takeover, home title, social media	SSN, dark web surveillence, financial accounts, criminal records, and more
Credit monitoring
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3,000,000	Up to $1,000,000
Identity restoration services
24/7 customer support
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Complete ID Read Complete ID Review

LifeLock pros and cons

Complete ID pros and cons

Which identity theft protection is the better value?

Though LifeLock's plans have the potential to get much more expensive than Complete ID, you're get a lot more choice in what you want to be included thanks to having multiple plans to choose from. You're also getting a better overall value based on the extra features LifeLock offers.

	Our Pick
Paid annually	$7.50–$38.99/mo for first yr	N/A
Paid monthly	$11.99-$79.99/mo	$8.99–$18.99/mo
Best value plan	Ultimate Plus Individual for $19.99/mo (billed annually) for first year	One Adult for $8.99/mo
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3,000,000	Up to $1,000,000
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Complete ID Read Complete ID Review

LifeLock plans

LifeLock offers three different plans to cater to your identity protection needs. From individual plans to family plans, LifeLock’s protection comes loaded with features and amenities to help ensure your online protection.

Looking to test-drive a plan before committing? LifeLock offers a 30-day free trial and a 60-day money-back guarantee with annual plans. But you must enter a credit card to authorize your trial which will auto-renew after the 30-day trial period.

• Standard: LifeLock’s Standard plan offers up to $1 million for lawyers and experts if you need their services, up to $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement, and up to $25,000 in personal expense compensation. The Standard plan also offers identity and Social Security number (SSN) alerts. As far as credit features, you’ll get one-bureau credit monitoring from Equifax.
• Advantage: The Advantage plan comes with everything in the Standard plan plus Identity Lock features, phone takeover monitoring, alerts on crimes in your name, and “buy now pay later” alerts. Coverage for stolen funds reimbursement and personal expense reimbursement both increase to $100,000 each.
• Ultimate Plus: The Ultimate Plus plan offers up to $3 million in identity theft coverage which is made up of $1 million for lawyers and experts, $1 million for stolen funds, and $1 million for personal expense reimbursement. This premium plan comes with everything from the previous plans as well as 401(k) and investment account activity alerts, home title monitoring, and social media account monitoring. You’ll also get one-bureau credit reports and scores daily and three-bureau credit reports and scores annually.

Complete ID plans

Complete ID has one straightforward plan, but, depending on your Costco membership (Executive membership versus Business or Gold membership), you may pay more. You can only pay for the plan on a monthly basis and we didn’t see any options for a free trial or money-back guarantee when signing up.

Developed by credit giant Experian, Complete ID offers more than 20 features.

• Complete ID: Once you sign up, Complete ID can run a comprehensive check on your information to check for previous or ongoing instances of identity theft. From there, Complete ID provides criminal record monitoring, dark web surveillance, financial account monitoring, mail change alerts, SSN monitoring, debit/credit card monitoring, email address, passport, driver’s license, and phone number monitoring.

Which identity theft protection has the best features?

Though Complete ID puts up a good fight, LifeLock has the wider range of monitoring and alerts overall.

Feature	Our Pick
Credit monitoring
Financial activity alerts
3-bureau credit reports	Yes — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion (all three only available on Ultimate Plus)	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion
Credit score
Credit lock and freeze
Identity recovery
Dark web alerts
Social media account alerts
Social Security number monitoring
Home title monitoring
Address change alerts
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Complete ID Read Complete ID Review

Complete ID’s features and LifeLock’s features are very similar, especially when comparing Complete ID to LifeLock Ultimate Plus. Both offer monitoring and alerts to protect and prevent identity theft, and both plans boast comprehensive monitoring features like dark web, fraudulent financial account activity, and more. These are all key components of an effective identity theft protection service.

Complete ID comes with SSN monitoring, alerting you if any name or address associated with your SSN is used fraudulently. It also includes loan monitoring to notify you of any lending activity with your monitored personal information, including payday loans, installment loans, new auto loans, lines of credit, title loans, or credit cards.

We were also impressed by Complete ID’s criminal record monitoring feature, which scans 500 million criminal records, 60 million incarceration records, and 99 million Department of Corrections records for crimes in your name. Complete ID also comes with dark web surveillance to monitor the distribution of your personal information on the dark web.

LifeLock’s plans include credit monitoring, transaction monitoring, credit reports, and credit scores. Like Complete ID, LifeLock monitors the dark web for your personal information. It also monitors any linked social media accounts for activity that might indicate an account takeover.

One of the key differences between the two is how much identity theft insurance is provided. Complete ID offers up to $1 million in identity theft restoration services. However, LifeLock Standard offers up to $1.05 million and LifeLock Ultimate Plus offers up to $3 million. Another key difference is that LifeLock monitors your home title (alerting you of any suspicious activity with it), while Complete ID doesn’t have this feature.

Which identity theft protection is more secure?

Though both companies are extremely safe, LifeLock offered a slightly better experience when authenticating our account.

	Our Pick
Two-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication
Collects data
Shares data with third parties
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Complete ID Read Complete ID Review

Any identity theft protection service collects sensitive data. You’re paying them to monitor your information, after all. When signing up, you provide your name, payment information, email address, date of birth, SSN, and any account information you want monitored.

Thus, data security is of utmost importance. Enhanced security features like two-factor, multi-factor, or even biometric-factor authentication are the minimum features we like to see for online security.

LifeLock offers multiple methods for two-factor authentication, including your phone number, an authenticator app, and a security key. With LifeLock, you can even use a verbal passcode to confirm your identity.

Complete ID also offered multiple options for authentication purposes, including sending a text message to the number on file.

Giving sensitive, private information to anyone is a risk, but LifeLock and Complete ID’s privacy and sharing policies are what we would expect from effective identity theft protection service plans. Norton and Complete ID both share data with partners to perform their services and for other reasons.

Which identity theft protection has the better compatibility and customer support?

Though both services offer 24/7 customer support, LifeLock provides more ways to get into contact with their support team.

	Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Live chat, phone, online guides, support forums	Phone, online guides
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Complete ID Read Complete ID Review

LifeLock and Complete ID both offer 24/7 customer support, which is highly favorable in our opinion. Regarding customer support availability, LifeLock makes it a little easier to contact their customer support, offering live chat, phone, and online forums and guides. Complete ID also offers 24/7 customer support via phone call and online guides with FAQs on its website.

LifeLock’s customer service representative quickly responded to our query but didn’t provide a suitable answer. Complete ID’s customer service is an automated system initially, and it was a little clunky to get through. Once we got to a customer service representative, she was helpful and answered our questions thoroughly.

FAQs

LifeLock vs. Complete ID: Which is better?

In our opinion, LifeLock is the better choice. Not only does it offer extensive monitoring, but it also provides a broader scope of credit monitoring and credit reports if you choose the LifeLock Ultimate Plus option. Additionally, LifeLock offers a better user experience with more options to contact customer service. While LifeLock isn’t the cheapest identity theft protection plan on the market, it’s generally affordable.

Identity theft protection is a worthwhile investment in today’s digital world. Complete ID provides a good, low-cost option if you’re looking for identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and identity restoration services. However, the plan is only available for Costco members, and if you’re looking to join Costco just for the Complete ID membership, it becomes a lot more expensive.

Curious what your best options are? Check out our full list of the best identity theft protection services available.

Top alternatives

If you’re still not sure whether LifeLock is the right service for you, take a look at other best identity theft protection services to see which could be a better fit.