LifeLock vs. Experian IdentityWorks 2025: Key Differences That Matter

Norton LifeLock and Experian IdentityWorks are two of the biggest identity theft prevention services, and comparing them side by side, our research showed that LifeLock comes out on top.

The main benefit of Experian is that it's a product directly from one of the key U.S. credit bureaus, but LifeLock beats it in a head-to-head competition thanks to its extra bells and whistles

Check out our analysis below to see how Norton and Experian compare.

LifeLock vs. Experian IdentityWorks review at a glance

These two ID theft protection services have a lot of similarities, but some key differences may matter to your situation. People on a tight budget who want identity protection could benefit from Experian’s free plan, and it's also the better option if you want to monitor your FICO score.

On the other hand, LifeLock comes from Norton and can be used on its own or bundled with Norton’s other security products. Norton has so many options, providing a slew of support options to fit your preferences.

• Norton LifeLock: Best overall
• Experian IdentityWorks: Best for FICO scores

LifeLock vs. Experian IdentityWorks compared

	Our Pick
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.	4.1 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	$7.49–$38.99/mo for first yr	$24.99–$34.99/mo
Types of monitoring	Identity and SSN, dark web, phone takeover, home title, social media	SSN, financial account takeover, social network, dark web, court records, and more
Credit monitoring
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million	Up to $1 million
Identity restoration services
24/7 customer support
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Experian Read Experian IdentityWorks Review

LifeLock pros and cons

Norton LifeLock provides up to $3 million in identity theft coverage, giving users peace of mind if personal information is stolen. It also offers a wide range of protection tools, including financial, identity, credit, dark web, home title, and social media monitoring, covering more risk areas than many competitors. On top of that, its mobile apps are highly rated, making it easy to stay protected and manage alerts on the go.

Some of Norton LifeLock’s most valuable features, like three-bureau credit monitoring and full social media monitoring, are locked behind its highest-tier Ultimate Plus plan, which can make advanced protection costly. Additionally, the price increases after the first year, so users may find the long-term cost higher than expected.

Experian IdentityWorks pros and cons

Experian IdentityWorks gives users a free plan that includes basic Experian credit monitoring, FICO score tracking, and dark-web surveillance, plus premium plans unlock full three-bureau credit monitoring, alerts across financial and identity channels, and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. Reviewers also highlight features like real-time alerts, privacy scans, social media monitoring, and “CreditLock” control over your Experian credit file.

On the downside, Experian IdentityWorks tends to be pricier than comparable plans from LifeLock, Aura, or Identity Guard, making it a less cost-efficient option for many consumers. The fact that Experian itself was breached in 2015 also raises concerns about trusting a bureau’s own protection service.

Which identity theft protection is the better value?

Overall, LifeLock has better prices for its plans once you start getting into premium features territory. You also get more bang-for-your-buck thanks to extra bells and whistles.

	Our Pick
Paid annually	$7.49–$38.99/mo for first yr	N/A
Paid monthly	$11.99–$69.99/yr	$24.99–$34.99/mo
Best value plan	Ultimate Plus starting at $19.99/mo for first yr (billed annually)	Premium for $24.99/mo
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million	Up to $1 million
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Experian Read Experian IdentityWorks Review

LifeLock plans

LifeLock offers a lot. Each of the plans we listed below is intended for a single person. Couples receive the same features per person, and family plans include special features for children. Each family plan can cover up to five children.

LifeLock offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for annual plans and a 14-day money-back guarantee for monthly plans.

• Standard from $7.49/mo for first yr (billed annually): Basic coverage with identity theft insurance, ID and Social Security number (SSN) alerts, and one-bureau credit monitoring. Identity theft insurance up to $1.05 million.
• Advantage from $14.99/mo for first yr (billed annually): Everything in the Standard plan plus identity lock, phone takeover monitoring, alerts on crime in your name, and buy now pay later alerts. Identity theft insurance up to $1.2 million.
• Ultimate Plus from $19.99/mo for first yr (billed annually): Everything in the Advantage plan plus credit scores, three-bureau credit monitoring and reports, investment and 401(k) alerts, home title monitoring, and social media takeover alerts. Identity theft insurance up to $3 million.

Experian IdentityWorks plans

Experian is surprisingly robust, given it’s one of the three major credit bureaus. The plans we listed cover one person, except for the family plan, which covers an additional adult and up to 10 children. We wish Experian offered a plan for couples without children like LifeLock does.

The paid plans offer a seven-day free trial to try out the features before committing to the service.

• Free: Basic coverage with Experian credit report, FICO score, FICO score monitoring, credit monitoring and alerts, dark web surveillance report, and personal privacy report.
• Premium from $24.99/mo: Everything in the Free plan plus $1 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, alerts, and scores, lost wallet assistance, monthly privacy scans and data removal services, FICO score tracker, identity, social media, and financial account alerts plus other bonuses.
• Family from $34.99/mo: Everything in the Premium plan with coverage for an additional adult and up to 10 children.

Which identity theft protection has the better features?

Both LifeLock and Experian offer most of the major features you want from identity theft protection, but Experian edges ahead of the competition by offering FICO monitoring (even on its free plan).

Feature		Our Pick
Credit monitoring
Financial activity alerts
3-bureau credit reports	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion
Credit score
FICO score
Credit lock and freeze
Identity recovery
Dark web monitoring
Social media account alerts
Social Security Number monitoring
Home title monitoring
Address change alerts
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Experian Read Experian IdentityWorks Review

LifeLock and Experian share a lot of similarities with one big difference. While both VantageScore and FICO are used to assess your creditworthiness, FICO scores tend to be used more over time than VantageScore. Experian offers FICO, while LifeLock offers VantageScore. We haven’t seen a lot of identity theft protection services that use FICO, so this is a deviation from the norm in a good way.

Additionally, Experian offers three-bureau monitoring on its paid plans, while LifeLock only offers it on the Ultimate Plus plan.

LifeLock monitors your home title to alert you if it’s transferred, which is good if you own a home. However, we don’t think it’s absolutely necessary, so it’s not a deal breaker for us that Experian doesn’t include it. Critical features like SSN monitoring, dark web monitoring, and the ability to lock your credit are included in both service’s offerings.

Overall, both of these services offer the core alerts and monitoring features you’ll need to monitor your credit and personal information.

Norton alert

Experian alert

Which identity theft protection is more secure?

While both Norton and Experian are reputable and trustworthy companies, Norton has a better reputation revolved specifically around keeping your online safe.

	Our Pick
Two-factor authentication
Collects data
Shares data with third parties
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Experian Read Experian IdentityWorks Review

You give a lot of personal information to identity theft protection services, so you need to know what those services are doing with your data. You also deserve to know how they protect the information you entrust to them. Finally, you deserve to know who has access to all that data. We’re not in love with third-party sharing, especially when it’s for marketing purposes.

These two are pretty similar in terms of third-party data practices. We weren’t thrilled with how much data the service collects and shares. While both services are transparent about data sharing, it’s still not the best practice.

The biggest difference between the two is that Experian suffered a data breach back in 2015. With so much of your personal information in its hands, this kind of slip up is a huge concern.

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

Norton has more options for customer support, including a 24/7 live chat option. This puts it way over the top as the better option in this category.

Platform	Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Online guides, community forums, chat, phone	Online guides, phone
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get Experian Read Experian IdentityWorks Review

Both LifeLock and Experian are user-friendly and have clean, easy-to-use dashboards. There’s a lot to explore within each service, and we found that the information organization was comparable. Design is also important, and both dashboards are aesthetically pleasing and modern.

The biggest difference we found was access to customer support. Experian customer service was kind of terrible. Phone hours are limited, and there’s no chat option. We tried searching for answers, but we mostly got blog post suggestions. The FAQs weren’t very helpful either.

LifeLock offers more options, including a live chat. We didn’t find that incredibly helpful either, as the tech didn’t seem to be well-trained or knowledgeable. But LifeLock's community forums were incredibly helpful, so that’s a win.

LifeLock chat session

LifeLock and Experian IdentityWorks alternatives

If neither LifeLock nor Experian suits your needs, consider one of these alternatives:

FAQs

LifeLock vs. Experian IdentityWorks: Which is better?

When looking between the two services, we determined that LifeLock is the better premium option. We'll also give Experian IdentityWorks a shout-out for including FICO scores.

Overall, though, both of these options will give you a host of protections for both your identity and your other accounts. While LifeLock offers up to $3 million in identity theft insurance, more than its competitors, both services offer remediation specialists to help you, so you won’t have to navigate that alone.

Whatever you decide, the best identity theft protection services keep you safe from hackers and identity thieves and give you a rounded view of your credit.

Identity theft losses can destroy your credit, take significant time, effort, and funds to clean up, and possibly even land you in some legal hot water. An identity theft protection service will help you fix any issues and restore your identity with ease and assistance.