With so many identity theft protection companies today, it can be challenging to select the best and most reliable. The most prevalent identity theft monitoring services are IDShield and LifeLock. Both offer a variety of features to help keep you protected from identity thieves.
If you want to know which suits you best, let us present you with a detailed comparison between IDShield vs. LifeLock.
IDShield or LifeLock?
- Norton Antivirus Protection
- Discounted annual plans
- 60-day free trial
IDShield
- Offers family plans
- Reliable password manager
- Private investigators
Features of IDShield and LifeLock
Reputation and Parent Companies
One of the services offered by LegalShield is IDShield, which is a subscription-based identity theft protection allowing customers avoid overcharging legal services. Unlike other services in which you need to pay for an attorney or a licensed private investigator per hour, IDShield allows you to get unlimited consultation time.
Aside from protecting you from identity theft, LegalShield also provides other legal services such as divorce, real estate, and consumer finance.
However, if you’re looking for a different type of service, you may opt for NortonLifeLock, the parent company of LifeLock. Cybersecurity is the main focus of Norton, along with Device Security, Online Privacy, Identity Theft Protection, and Home & Family Network Protection.
Winner: IDShield
Plans and Services
IDShield
IDShield offers One-Bureau and Three-Bureau plans for families and individuals.
IDShield Individual and Family Plans With One-Bureau Monitoring
The service coverage under this plan includes:
- Data breaches notifications
- Lost or stolen wallet assistance
- Identity theft consultation
- Fraud alert and credit freeze assistance
- Monthly credit scores reporting
- Comprehensive protection
IDShield Individual and Family Plans With Three-Bureau Monitoring
The service coverage under this plan include:
- All services under the One-Bureau plan
- Additional number of credit bureaus monitored
LifeLock
LifeLock offers three plans, which are as follows:
LifeLock Standard
- SSN (Social Security Number) monitoring and credit monitoring alerts
- Data breach notifications
- Dark web monitoring
- Privacy monitoring
- One Bureau credit tracking
- Identity theft reimbursement (up to $25,000)
Lifelock Advantage
- All features from the Standard plan plus;
- Alerts for bank account and credit card activity
- Criminal record scans and court records
- Fraud alerts
- Identity lock
- Monthly One-Bureau credit report and score
- Identity stolen funds reimbursement (up to $100,000)
Lifelock Ultimate Plus
- All the features from the Advantage plan
- Annual credit reports
- Scores from three major credit bureaus
- Alerts on investment
- Unauthorized bank activity alerts
- Checking and savings account notifications
- Home title monitoring
- Personal expense reimbursement (up to $1 million)
LifeLock offers three useful plans for ID theft monitoring service and identity restoration. Though IDShield offers limited benefits, you can add more bureaus to be monitored. But with the various plans that LifeLock offers at affordable rates, our business experts advised that it is a great choice.
Winner: LifeLock
Credit Monitoring Services Comparison
Services | LifeLock | IDShield |
| Family Plan |  | |
| Credit Monitoring | | |
| Monthly Credit Score | One Bureau credit | Up to three-bureau credit monitoring |
| Daily Credit Report | X | X |
In terms of credit reporting and monitoring, IDShield can cover more bureau credits. However, LifeLock is more affordable than IDShield, considering the essential features it covers. Given the close credit monitoring features, our experts choose LifeLock in this regard.
Winner: LifeLock
Identity Theft Protection Services
Services | LifeLock | IDShield |
| Family Plan | X | |
| Identity Theft Insurance | Up to $1 million | Up to $1 million |
| Stolen Funds/Lost Wallet Assistance | | |
| SSN Monitoring | | |
| Bank and Credit Alerts | | |
| Medical Record Protection | X | |
In identity protection, IDShield offers the best service, making the cost reasonable. It covers all essential features for identity monitoring and protection. Though LifeLock has a lower pricing range, it doesn’t offer a family plan and medical data protection.
Winner: IDShield
Additional Features
IDShield: Password Manager
You can have a password manager to keep track of all of your passwords and keep them secure [1]. It also helps keep track of all of your login details to avoid forgetting anything.
LifeLock: Norton Security Antivirus
This is a great addition to the LifeLock Ultimate Plus package. It includes a variety of features designed to keep your devices running smoothly and protected.
Both companies offer additional features which are helpful for personal information monitoring and protection.
Customer Service
IDShield
What customers like about this company is its 24/7 support. Also, IDShield’s licensed private investigators can help with everything from identity restoration to tips. Unfortunately, you can’t easily cancel IDShield through email or phone.
LifeLock
Like IDShield, 24/7 customer service is offered by LifeLock, which also has a mobile app. However, some customers are unhappy with the service. Also, most customers say that canceling a plan is complex, and the customer service is poor.
Though both companies have issues, we found more customers happy with IDShield. Even our industry experts prefer the customer service of IDShield.
Winner: IDShield
FAQ
Is LifeLock owned by a Chinese company?
LifeLock is not owned by a Chinese company. Blackstone, an American investment management company, owns LifeLock.
How do I turn off IDShield?
You can turn off your IDShield by sending a written notice to the company. Or, you can call their customer service at 800-654-7757.
Overall Winner: IDShield
Between LifeLock vs. IDShield, our business experts hail the latter as the overall winner. We recommend IDShield to families as it offers flexible plan options and services from a licensed private investigator. It is the best identity theft protection that can cover you, your spouse, and up to eight children.
