Offered by the credit reporting bureau Experian, Experian IdentityWorks is an identity monitoring service that puts an emphasis on credit monitoring. Nonetheless, it offers ample identity theft insurance and two affordable monthly monitoring plans starting at just $9.99 per month. The premium plan offers extra monitoring services, including social network and sex offender registry monitoring, plus extra advanced identity monitoring services to keep you protected on the web.
What Sets Experian IdentityWorks Apart?
One of the unique features you get with either of its two monthly monitoring plans is Experian CreditLock, which lets you freeze your credit with Experian when something suspicious is reported, to prevent it from reflecting on your credit report or FICO score. Experian IdentityWorks provides up to $1 million in credit insurance with the premium plan and half a million with the starter plan. As a large company that’s been around for decades, Experian is able to offer cutting-edge monitoring features while charging an affordable monthly rate.
Pros
- Extensive monitoring and fraud resolution capabilities
- Up to $1 million identity theft insurance
- CreditLock feature lets you lock and unlock your credit file
Cons
- Experian likes to push offers for other services
- Equifax and TransUnion scores only updated quarterly (Experian scores updated daily)
- Rates increase significantly for family plans
Experian IdentityWorks Packages
- Up to $500,000 in identity theft insurance coverage
- Social Security Number monitoring
- Credit monitoring
Our take
The IdentityWorks starter package for $9.99 per month gets you credit and SSN monitoring and up to $500,000 in identity insurance coverage. It’s an affordable way to get great identity protection coverage, and it’s a bonus that you get the CreditLock feature from Experian to lock and unlock your credit file whenever you want.
Package Features
Compare Experian IdentityWorks Packages
| Monitoring starts at | $9.99/mo. | $19.99/mo. |
|---|---|---|
| Identity theft insurance | Yes | Yes |
| Credit monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| SSN monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Lost wallet assistance | Yes | Yes |
| Bank account and credit card takeovers | No | Yes |
| Identity violation alerts | No | Yes |
| Payday loan monitoring | No | Yes |
| Sex offender registry monitoring | No | Yes |
| Social network monitoring | No | Yes |
Experian IdentityWorks Monthly Monitoring Costs
The IdentityWorks Plus plan, which is the starter package, costs $9.99 monthly or $99.99 annually to cover one adult. To add up to 10 kids, it’s $14.99 monthly or $149.99 annually. For two adults and as many as 10 children, it’s $19.99 monthly or $199.99 annually. The IdentityWorks Pro plan starts at $19.99 per month, or you can save and pay $199.99 annually. To add children to the plan it’s $24.99 monthly or $249.99 yearly, and to add another adult it will cost $29.99 a month or $299.99 per year.
Experian IdentityWorks Credit Report Monitoring
Experian IdentityWorks monitors your credit report for its own bureau on the basic plan, and from all three credit bureaus on the premium plan. With either plan, you get a daily update of your Experian FICO score. It monitors new credit inquiries, new accounts that are opened with your information and major changes to your account balances.
Experian IdentityWorks Identity Theft Recovery
In addition to monitoring your identity when it’s used to open new accounts, it also monitors your sensitive data on the dark web and even offers lost-wallet assistance to cancel all your cards at once. With the premium plan, you also get your identity monitored in court records and bookings and on social media. If your identity is stolen, Experian’s fraud resolution specialists get to work helping your case. Plus, the starter plan offers as much as $500,000 in identity theft insurance and the premium plan covers you for up to $1 million in identity theft losses.
Experian IdentityWorks Family Monitoring
Each of Experian’s IdentityWorks plans features two family options. The first family monitoring option lets you add up to 10 children, and the other also lets you add a second adult.
Experian IdentityWorks Mobile App
IdentityWorks from Experian doesn’t offer a mobile app. To take advantage of the features you get with your plan, you can log into your account on the website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Experian IdentityWorks work?
Experian IdentityWorks monitors your sensitive personal and financial data and alerts you when it’s been used to open a new account, such as when a fraudster is using it to apply for credit. If damage is done to your credit before you can respond, Experian’s identity theft insurance will cover the damage.
How much does Experian IdentityWorks cost?
IdentityWorks costs $9.99 per month and $19.99 per month, depending on your plan. It costs extra to add family members to your plan.
How does Experien IdentityWorks compare to similar services?
Unlike other identity protection services, Experian IdentityWorks comes from an actual credit bureau. Therefore, you get highly accurate information about your credit. You also get Experian CreditLock, which lets you lock and unlock your own credit file.
