LifeLock and IdentityIQ provide identity theft insurance and monitoring services. The more money you can pay each month, the more resources these companies will use to cross-reference your data and find errors or suspicious activity. But which one ultimately provides the best service?
Compare LifeLock vs. IdentityIQ
Price
Winner: IdentityIQIdentityIQ starts at $8.99/mo. for the Secure Plus package, $17.99/mo., for their Secure Pro package, and $26.99/mo. for the Secure Max package. LifeLock costs $11.99/mo. for a basic package, $22.99/mo. for the intermediate package, and $34.99/mo. for the most in-depth services, either company has to offer. At this time, IdentityIQ doesn’t offer identity protection for children, but LifeLock offers LifeLock Junior for $5.99/mo. per child. Since IdentityIQ costs slightly less they win this round.
Customer Service
Winner: IdentityIQBoth IdentityIQ and LifeLock have received reviews on the Better Business Bureau website that indicate difficulties in canceling either service. However, IdentityIQ has a higher star rating overall, plus an A+ rating by the BBB compared to LifeLock's dismal F grade and one-star rating.
Trial Period
Winner: LifeLockIdentityIQ does not provide any refunds or trial periods. LifeLock has a 60-day money-back guarantee for its annual subscribers only. Paying for LifeLock on a month-to-month basis makes you ineligible for this trial period. However, since any trial period or refund is better than none, LifeLock wins this category.
Tri-Bureau Credit Scores
Winner: IdentityIQBoth LifeLock and IdentityIQ provide tri-bureau credit monitoring to their highest-paying plan members, but IdentityIQ goes above and beyond with its "enhanced monitoring" program, which provides a credit score simulator, tracker and alerts alongside monthly reports. Expect only one annual tri-bureau credit report and monthly one-bureau reports from LifeLock.
Features
Tie: IdentityIQ and LifeLockSigning up for a basic package with either IdentityIQ or LifeLock gives you one-bureau credit monitoring, SSN alerts, dark web monitoring, stolen or lost wallet protection, change of address verification, and access to a U.S.-based restoration team. IdentityIQ also provides its basic members file-sharing network searches, which is only available to LifeLock's Ultimate Plus subscribers. Both companies have a unique offering in their highest plans: if you want 401(k) and investment monitoring, choose LifeLock's Ultimate Plus. If you want access to a credit simulator, choose IdentityIQ's Secure Max package instead.
ID Theft Insurance
Winner: IdentityIQLifeLock provides its Standard members only $25,000 in stolen funds reimbursement, whereas IdentityIQ provides up to $1 million for stolen funds, lawyer expenses and lost wages for all subscribers except the most basic plan. You need to be an Ultimate Plus subscriber to receive the same level of service with LifeLock. IdentityIQ also provides a family theft ID insurance plan of up to $25,000 for its highest-tier plan. Because IdentityIQ offers a greater value for a lower price, we deem it the overall winner of this category.
The Winner: IdentityIQ
Winner  IdentityIQ |  Lifelock | |
|---|---|---|
Starting price | $8.99/mo. | $9.99/mo. |
Internet and dark web monitoring | Yes | Yes |
Credit monitoring | Yes | Yes |
SSN monitoring | Yes | Yes |
Tri-bureau credit monitoring | Yes | On highest plan only |
Bank account monitoring | Yes | Yes |
ID theft insurance | Yes | Yes |
Medical fraud monitoring | Yes | Yes |
Social media monitoring | No | No |
Trial period | N/A | 60 days |
BBB rating | A+ | F |
Unique feature | Optional credit simulator | Optional 401(k) monitoring |
Frequently Asked Questions About LifeLock and IdentityIQ
Many consumers consider ID protection a necessary service given how much we now rely on digital transactions and data storage. Although you can self-monitor your own data, ID protection saves time and worry. In the event of a security breach, most ID protection companies provide insurance to protect you from losses that you otherwise could not recoup.
LifeLock offers three monthly plans. Each package offers progressively higher reimbursement on stolen funds ($25,000, $100,000 or $1 million, respectively) and personal expense compensation. The Standard package provides Social Security number and credit alerts, dark web monitoring, data breach alerts, and credit report monitoring with one bureau.
IdentityIQ customers can choose from four monthly plans. The Secure Plus plan provides dark web monitoring and credit monitoring through one credit report bureau. In order to receive up to $1 million in stolen funds reimbursement, you’ll need to sign up for at least the Secure Plus plan.
LifeLock’s services start at $9.99/mo. for the Standard package. Advantage and Ultimate Plus cost $19.99 and $29.99/mo. respectively. Their LifeLock Junior plan costs $5.99/mo. per child.
IdentityIQ’s Secure Plus package costs $8.99/mo., whereas Secure Pro costs $17.99/mo. and Secure Max costs $26.99/mo.. You can also get the bare-minimum Secure package for just $6.99/mo.