LifeLock vs. IDShield 2024: IDShield Offers More for Less

LifeLock offers lots of plans, while IDShield is full of features for every user.

Last updated Sep 30, 2024

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4.8

Editorial Rating

On LifeLock's website

Identity Protection

LifeLock

Up to 52% off first year when paid annually

Top-rated identity theft protection service
Provides up to $3 million in coverage
Multiple monitoring features including dark web, home title, and social media monitoring

4.4

Editorial Rating

On IDShield's website

Identity Protection

IDShield

Full identity protection features included on all plans
Comes with bonus VPN and password manager
Affordable pricing compared to other options
No credit reports provided, only monthly credit score

LifeLock and IDShield both offer a robust set of tools to protect you from identity theft and other cybercrimes, but IDShield is our winner. Both top ID protection services offer restoration services up to $3 million to recoup identity theft losses.

We found that LifeLock is better for individuals seeking specific types of protection services, while IDShield is more affordable for protecting families.

Learn more about the similarities and differences between these two identity theft protection services in this LifeLock vs. IDShield comparison.

In this article

Review at a glance
Pricing
Features
Security
Compatibility and customer support
FAQs
LifeLock vs. IDShield: Which is better?

LifeLock vs. IDShield review at a glance

It’s important to protect your personal information from identity theft. One proactive approach is to use an identity theft service like LifeLock or IDShield. Both of these services offer comprehensive monitoring of your Social Security number (SSN), credit reports, credit scores, bank accounts, and more.

LifeLock: Best for individuals
IDShield: Best for families

LifeLock vs. IDShield 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.	4.4 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	$14.95–$34.95/mo
Types of monitoring	Identity and SSN, dark web, phone takeover, home title, social media	SSN, dark web, social media, public records, address change, and more
Credit monitoring
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million	Up to $3 million
Identity restoration services
24/7 customer support
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get IDShield Read IDShield Review

LifeLock pros and cons

Pros

Annual pricing discounts
Can be combined with other Norton products
Includes monitoring for social media, home titles, investment accounts, and more

Cons

Expensive if paid monthly
Covers only up to 5 children

IDShield pros and cons

Pros

All features are included with all plans
Bonus features include a VPN and password manager
Affordable pricing

Cons

Limited customer support
System is buggy

Which identity theft protection is the better value?

		Our Pick
Paid monthly	$7.50–$38.99/mo for first yr	$14.95–$34.95/mo
Paid annually	Starts at $7.50/mo (billed annually) for first year	N/A
Best value plan	LifeLock Ultimate Plus for $19.99/mo (billed annually) for first year	IDShield Family with 3 bureau credit monitoring for $34.95/mo
Identity theft insurance	Up to $3 million	Up to $3 million
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get IDShield Read IDShield Review

LifeLock plans

LifeLock offers plans for individuals, couples (two adults), and families (two adults and five kids). Each plan type is available in three different tiers: Standard, Advantage, or Ultimate Plus. The Ultimate Plus plan offers the most comprehensive protection.

Standard: The Standard plans include identity and SSN alerts, one bureau credit monitoring, and up to $1.05 million in identity theft insurance. LifeLock's identity theft insurance covers lawyers and experts, stolen funds reimbursement, and personal expense reimbursement.
Advantage: The Advantage plan includes the features in the Standard plan, plus Identity Lock, credit reports and scores for one bureau, and alerts on crimes committed in your name. It provides additional monitoring for phone takeovers, home titles, investment accounts, and social media. Finally, identity theft insurance also increases to up to $1.2 million in coverage.
Ultimate Plus: The Ultimate Plus provides everything in the Advantage plan plus credit monitoring for all three credit bureaus and up to $3 million in identity theft insurance coverage. It provides additional monitoring for 401(k) and investment accounts, home titles, and social media.

LifeLock offers a 30-day free trial and a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you'll have plenty of time to test the service before deciding if it's right for you.

IDShield plans

All of IDShield’s plans have the same foundational features. The only differences between them are the number of credit bureaus that are monitored and the choice of coverage for an individual or a family.

The family plan covers two adults and up to 10 children under the age of 26. Unlike LifeLock, IDShield doesn’t offer annual plans to save on your subscription, but we still found it to be pretty affordable.

Individual plan: IDShield’s individual plan protects one person, and you can select monitoring for one or three credit bureaus. The individual plan includes monitoring and alerts for identity protection, identity restoration services, up to $3 million in identity theft reimbursement, access to a virtual private network (VPN), and more.
Family plan: Similar to the individual plan, IDShield’s family plan includes access to all features. The family plan protects one individual, their spouse, and up to 10 children under the age of 26. It also covers up to 15 devices and includes up to $3 million in identity theft recovery.

IDShield offers a 30-day free trial. Since the service only provides monthly plans, you can cancel at any time.

Winner: While LifeLock offers a variety of plans, IDShield is the clear winner. There’s no confusion on what features are included with IDShield since all of the features are included in every plan. With IDShield, you only need to decide between the number of credit bureaus you want to monitor. While ID theft protection is worth it, you’ll want to pick a plan that works best for your financial situation.

Which identity theft protection has the better features?

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

LifeLock and IDShield both offer similar features, especially if you compare LifeLock’s Ultimate Plus plan with an IDShield plan that includes all three bureaus. However, it’s important to note that all IDShield plans provide up to $3 million in identity theft insurance coverage, while LifeLock only provides up to $3 million with the Ultimate Plus plan.

Other features that only come with the LifeLock Ultimate Plus plan include three-bureau credit reports, three-bureau credit monitoring, and social media monitoring. LifeLock's most basic plan, LifeLock Standard, is pretty stripped down, especially in comparison to IDShield.

IDShield also has the upper hand with restoration services. Both services offer 24/7 emergency assistance but IDShield also provides dedicated licensed private investigators as well as identity theft consultation services. However, LifeLock offers home title monitoring while IDShield doesn't.

Both services offer access only to your VantageScore 3.0 instead of a FICO score. Other notable features of both services include stolen wallet protection, data breach monitoring, and payday loan monitoring.

IDShield sidebar with links for all the monitoring options.

Winner: It's a tie. Overall, the features of both LifeLock and IDShield are pretty equally stacked.

Which identity theft protection is more secure?

While an identity theft service is tasked with helping you keep your information safe, they also need access to a lot of your personal information, which can put you at risk. When choosing an identity theft service, it’s important to understand what information they collect about you, how they use it, and if they provide data to any third parties.

LifeLock vs. IDShield data security

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

Both LifeLock and IDShield offer two-factor authentication. However, LifeLock lacks multi-factor authentication options. Multi-factor authentication can help further secure your account and keep hackers away from your data.

LifeLock notes that it may collect personal user data, including account data, payment data, identity data, and communications. LifeLock also discloses personal data with its partners, distributors or resellers, advertising partners, and other third parties. Although it doesn’t sell your data, it shares it for many purposes, which could be dissuading for privacy-conscious users.

We were impressed with IDShield’s privacy policy, which notes that it doesn’t disclose your personal information unless it’s required. When your info does need to be shared, IDShield makes sure it's kept confidential with the third party.

Winner: Overall, IDShield has the edge for security thanks to its multi-factor authentication options and clear privacy policy.

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

Platform
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Live chat, phone, online guides	Live chat, email, phone, online guides
Learn more	Get LifeLock Read LifeLock Review	Get IDShield Read IDShield Review

While identity monitoring is an important first step, you must be vigilant to monitoring alerts and take necessary steps to protect information if there is a breach or concern. Both IDShield and LifeLock offer mobile apps to help make accessing information more convenient.

LifeLock is easy to use and navigate inside the customer portal.

Norton LifeLock monitors your name, Social Security number, date of birth, email, address, phone number, driver’s license, credit cards, bank accounts, and more.

However, we thought IDShield's setup was confusing, and its system could be buggy. IDShield has a dashboard when you log in from IDShield.com, but it has a completely different dashboard when you log in from IDShield.cloud. This could be confusing to anyone new to identity theft protection.

IDShield's portal that you access from IDShield.com — IDShield dashboard

IDShield's portal that you access from IDShield.cloud — IDShield cloud portal

LifeLock offers 24/7 customer support for members of the service. Although IDShield doesn't offer 24/7 customer support, it does have specialists available 24/7 should an identity theft emergency arise. Both services also offer chat, online support centers, and FAQs to help users.

Winner: Tie. From a compatibility and usability perspective, LifeLock and IDShield are both the winners. You’ll be able to use either service from a mobile app, and you can easily find the information you need on the app or from your internet browser.

FAQs

What is the downside of Lifelock?

LifeLock is a reputable identity theft service, but it offers several confusing plans with varying features, which can make it difficult to select the right plan. It also shoots up in price after the first year.

Who owns IDShield?

IDShield is owned by LegalShield.

What does IDShield cover that LifeLock does not?

IDShield and LifeLock cover the same information. However, IDShield provides this information for all plans, while LifeLock only includes features with some of its plans.

LifeLock vs. IDShield: Which is better?

We found IDShield to be a better solution because it’s less confusing for users looking for the right plan to protect their identity. When signing up for IDShield, new users only need to decide if they want an individual or a family plan and if they want credit monitoring for just one credit bureau or all three bureaus.

4.4

Editorial Rating

On IDShield's website

Identity Protection

IDShield

Full identity protection features included on all plans
Comes with bonus VPN and password manager
Affordable pricing compared to other options
No credit reports provided, only monthly credit score

LifeLock may be a good solution for someone looking for only a specific set of features or minimal coverage. However, IDShield’s plans are more affordable, and you receive even more features. However, you should determine the best identity theft protection service for you based on your needs.

LifeLock vs. IDShield alternatives

While LifeLock and IDShield are both great options, there are also other identity theft protection companies that may work better for you. If you’re unsure what features you need with ID protection, you can check out our identity theft protection and credit monitoring guide. We've extensively researched the following and recommend them as some of the best identity theft protection services we've tested.

Aura: Aura is a rock-solid ID monitoring solution with several plans. We particularly liked Aura because all plans offer the same features. Aura offers robust features with its family plan, including safe gaming features like cyberbullying alerts.
Get Aura | Read Our Aura Review
Identity Guard: Identity Guard is another secure service for ID theft monitoring. It includes extra features, like a password manager. Identity Guard offers three plan options, each available for families or individuals.

Get Identity Guard | Read Our Identity Guard Review
OmniWatch: OmniWatch is one of the newer ID theft services available. The Premium plan offers up to $2 million in identity theft coverage and access to all three credit bureaus. OmniWatch is missing a few features, like financial activity alerts, but as the service continues to grow, it will likely add more monitoring features.

Get OmniWatch | Read Our OmniWatch Review

4.9

Editorial Rating

On Aura Identity Theft's website

Identity Protection

Aura Identity Theft

Best Sale of the Year: Up to 78% Off

#1 rated ID theft protection service with a full suite of monitoring tools
Includes up to $1 million in ID theft insurance for up to five adults
Protect your children with robust parental controls and gaming alerts

Author Details

Andrew Adams

About the Author

Andrew Strom Adams is a freelance writer focused on online privacy and digital security. He writes on various topics to help individuals protect themselves on the internet. Andrew has worked in legal marketing, technology, and startups. He has more than 12 years of experience in marketing and communications. He holds an M.B.A. from Westminster College and a B.A. in journalism from Oklahoma Baptist University. When he’s not writing, he’s playing with his two kids or watching reality TV.