LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog 2024: Individual Coverage or a Family Plan?
Identity theft protection services like LifeLock and ID Watchdog can protect you from identity theft without you having to think about it.
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Last updated Feb 8, 2024
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Best for Couples or Families
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Editorial Rating
Learn More
On LifeLock's website
LifeLock
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Top-rated identity theft protection service
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Provides up to $3 million in coverage
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Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring
- Customer support experience is lacking
Top-rated identity theft protection service
Best for Individuals
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Editorial Rating
Learn More
On ID Watchdog's website
ID Watchdog
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Comprehensive identity restoration services
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Additional premium features like a VPN and password manager
- Lack of financial account monitoring
Norton LifeLock and ID Watchdog by Equifax can both help protect your identity from hackers and thieves. You may wonder if these services are for you, but in our increasingly technological world, this type of protection is becoming necessary. We feel LifeLock offers more for couples and families than for individuals. ID Watchdog is a good family product, but we feel it really shines for individuals, especially where cost is concerned.
Since 2020, over 1 million Americans a year have been the victims of identity theft. Services like LifeLock and ID Watchdog not only supply you with funds and resources if you’re a victim of identity theft, but they also provide remediation specialists who will help you deal with the lawyers and government agencies responsible for restoring your good name.
In this article
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog review at a glanceLifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: prices
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: monitoring and alerts
Which is safer, LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog?
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: compatibility and customer support
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog FAQs
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: which is better?
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog review at a glance
If you’re wondering whether ID theft protection is worth it, remember back to the last time you had to contact tech support about literally anything. Now, think about doing that, only now you’re trying to recover your identity. While not all identity theft protection services are made equal, there are quality products like LifeLock and ID Watchdog that can help protect you.
LifeLock has a variety of plans that make it great for couples and families. ID Watchdog also has a family plan but really shines for individuals. Let’s get into the specifics of these two services.
- LifeLock: Best for couples or families
- ID Watchdog: Best for individuals
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog compared
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| Price | $8.29–$40.99/mo for first yr | $14.95–$34.95/mo |
| Identity theft insurance | Up to $3 million | Up to $1 million |
| Credit monitoring | ||
| 3-bureau credit reports | ||
| Credit score | ||
| Identity recovery | ||
| Dark web alerts | ||
| Social media account alerts | ||
| Learn more | Get LifeLock | Read ID Watchdog Review |
LifeLock pros and cons
Pros
- $3 million in insurance
- Plans for couples without children
- Home title monitoring
Cons
- No bonus features like a VPN or password manager
- Expensive renewal prices
ID Watchdog pros and cons
Pros
- No high renewal fees
- Extras like a VPN and password manager
- Lower cost
Cons
- No home title monitoring
- No plans for couples without children
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: prices
| Our Pick
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|
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| Paid annually | $8.29–$40.99/mo for first yr | $12.50-$29.17/mo |
| Paid monthly | $11.99–$79.99/yr | $14.95-$34.95/mo |
| Best value plan | Ultimate Plus starting at $24.99/mo for first yr | Premium starting at $21.95/mo |
| Identity theft insurance | Up to $3 million | Up to $1 million |
| Learn more | Get LifeLock | Read ID Watchdog Review |
LifeLock plans
LifeLock may be pricey, but it does offer 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.
LifeLock offers a 60-day money-back guarantee for annual plans and a 14-day money-back guarantee for monthly plans.
- Standard: 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: 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: 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
ID Watchdog plans
ID Watchdog includes single and family plans. The family plans can include up to two adults and four children.
ID Watchdog doesn’t offer partial month refunds but will refund any unused months on annual plans.
- Select: Monitors and detects credit, loans, and high-risk transactions. Offers a one-bureau credit report and VantageScore and credit score tracker. Also includes identity theft insurance and remediation.
- Premium: Includes everything in the Select plan plus social media and financial account monitoring, security tools like a NordVPN subscription and password manager, and healthcare network monitoring.
Winner: LifeLock. LifeLock offers a money-back guarantee and plans for couples without children as well as a lower starting price for basic coverage.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: monitoring and alerts
| Feature |
|
Our Pick
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| Credit monitoring | ||
| Financial activity alerts | ||
| 3-bureau credit reports | Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion | 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 ID Watchdog Review |
While there are a lot of similarities between these two services, there are a few key differences that might make one more viable for you than another.
If you’re a homeowner, LifeLock will monitor your home title to make sure someone doesn’t fraudulently transfer it to their name. If you’re in search of additional protection tools, ID Watchdog offers a NordVPN subscription with its premium plan, which is a quality virtual private network (VPN) that can keep you safe online, and a NordPass subscription. LifeLock makes you pay extra for bundling with other Norton products.
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One of LifeLock’s standout features is the identity theft protection insurance up to $3 million you receive with the Ultimate Plus plan. It’s higher than the insurance offered by almost every competitor, including ID Watchdog.
Neither service has any giant red flags, so we feel that choosing between the two is going to come down to personal preference and need. LifeLock is likely better for a variety of families, while ID Watchdog may be a better choice for single people. It’s up to you to ultimately choose which product fits you best.
LifeLock monitoring dashboard /images/2023/05/05/lifelock-identity-theft-protection_09.jpg)
Winner: ID Watchdog. Even though LifeLock offers more identity theft protection insurance, we like ID Watchdog’s inclusion of NordVPN and NordPass, which will help us save money on all three services combined.
Which is safer, LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog?
Identity theft protection plans get access to a lot of your personal information. This is why it’s important to make sure that the plan you choose is keeping your data safe.
We were glad to see that both identity theft protection companies include two-factor authentication (2FA), but both failed to offer multi-factor authentication (MFA). Even without the MFA offering, you’re receiving an extra layer of protection from a service holding all of your information in its vaults.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog data security
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Our Pick
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| Two-factor authentication | ||
| Multi-factor authentication | ||
| Collects data | ||
| Shares data with third parties | Minimal | |
| Learn more | Get LifeLock | Read ID Watchdog Review |
While Norton LifeLock isn’t going to blast your data out to everyone with an internet connection, we were surprised to find that it still shared data with third parties for marketing purposes. ID Watchdog, on the other hand, really didn’t have any language in its privacy policy regarding the sharing of information.
Each service will obviously collect data, as it needs your information to provide you with services, but we were genuinely pleased with ID Watchdog’s overall data management practices.
Winner: ID Watchdog. Considering these services are so close when it comes to data collection and sharing, we had to give the win to ID Watchdog because of its minimal data sharing.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: compatibility and customer support
| Platform | Our Pick
|
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| Windows | ||
| macOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Customer support options | Online guides, community forums, chat, phone | Online guides, phone, email |
| Learn more | Get LifeLock | Read ID Watchdog Review |
If customer support options are important to you, then LifeLock is the better choice by far. While both services offer 24/7 support as well as compatibility on most major platforms, LifeLock offers community forums and chat options as well as self-help guides and phone support.
Community forums are a great resource tool because people can get granular in their experiences and answers to others’ questions. If you’re having a niche issue, someone has likely already encountered it. We also love a good chatbot for helping us narrow down exactly what we’re looking for without having to wait on hold.
Winner: LifeLock. Both services offer the same compatibility, but LifeLock offers more customer support options.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog FAQs
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Is there a better option than LifeLock?
We believe Aura identity theft protection is actually the best service out there. Aura offers a variety of features like parental controls, Safe Gaming with cyberbullying alerts, spam call and message protection, and device protection, just to name a few.
Aura’s prices are comparable to LifeLock’s first-year prices, but you can trial the product for 14 days before you decide to purchase. Overall, we feel Aura offers more for your money.
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Is ID Watchdog worth it?
Yes, ID Watchdog is a good identity theft protection solution that works for certain people. While we don’t feel ID Watchdog is right for everyone, if the features and price points match what you’re looking for, then ID Watchdog is definitely a quality product worth getting.
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Which is better, LifeLock or IDShield?
We found in our testing that IDShield was the better product because it was less confusing. LifeLock has a lot of options, which can work for someone looking for a specific set of features. IDShield, on the other hand, offers all of its features on both the individual and family plans.
You can learn more in our comparison of LifeLock vs. IDShield.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog: which is better?
In our testing, LifeLock and ID Watchdog tied, but we do think we’d go with ID Watchdog unless we were in a couple relationship without children. ID Watchdog offers services at a less expensive price both to start and renew. It also offers NordVPN and NordPass with its Premium subscription.
If you’re looking for the best identity theft protection services, either option would definitely work, but we do feel ID Watchdog would be slightly more useful as far as features are concerned.
No matter what you decide, you should definitely consider using identity theft protection. Identity theft can leave you with rippling repercussions for years, but the insurance and remediation you get from these services can help you clean it up quickly and without lingering issues.
LifeLock vs. ID Watchdog alternatives
Identity theft losses can disrupt your life, destroy your credit, and even lead to legal issues. An identity theft protection service will help you rectify any issues that come up and restore your identity quickly and painlessly. If neither LifeLock nor ID Watchdog suits your needs, consider one of these alternatives:
- Aura: Aura is chock full of features, which is fine by us. We also love that it includes features like parental controls and lost wallet remediation. If you’ve ever had your wallet lost or stolen, you can appreciate what a lifesaver it is to have a specialist on your side to get all your information restored.
Get Aura | Read Our Aura Review - Identity Guard: We like Identity Guard for its reasonable pricing and social media monitoring tools. Identity theft protection can be pricey, but Identity Guard offers basic protection that can fit into any budget. It’s even reasonably priced for family plans, which can often be a deterrent for anyone wanting whole family protection without breaking the bank.
Get Identity Guard | Read Our Identity Guard Review - IDShield: We like that IDShield offers full protection features on all its plans, unlike competitors who only increase features as the price increases. Not every identity theft protection service comes with extras like a VPN and a password manager, which helps IDShield stand out. The pricing is affordable as well, which works for anyone wanting to safeguard their identity, even on a budget.
Get IDShield | Read Our IDShield Review
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LifeLock
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Top-rated identity theft protection service
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Provides up to $3 million in coverage
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Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring
- Customer support experience is lacking
Author Details
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Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.
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