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Keeping track of your credit score is essential to good financial health. The best credit monitoring services offer identity theft protection, fraud alerts, and monitor your credit scores with the 3-major credit bureaus (transunion, experian, and equifax).
However, with so many credit score tracking services to choose from, picking the right company can feel overwhelming. We’ve reviewed the best credit monitoring services in the industry, including both paid and free credit monitoring options.
Below you will find our top picks for the best credit protection and identity monitoring services of 2023.
Best Credit Monitoring Services of 2023
- Aura: Best credit monitoring service overall
- Identity Guard: Best for comprehensive identity theft protection
- LifeLock: Best fraud alerts and online privacy tools
- Identity IQ: Best credit protection for family
- IdentityForce: Best identity recovery services
#1. Aura: Best for 3 Bureau Credit Score Monitoring
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Aura is the best credit monitoring company in the industry, with 3-bureau monitoring and impressive identity theft protection features.
Aura CEO and founder Hari Ravichandran discovered the shortcomings of cyber security in 2014 when a virtual thief stole his credit information. While trying to solve his security problem, he encountered confusing protection technologies that didn’t offer all the capabilities he needed under one platform. His response to this was to create the technology himself.
Today, Aura continues its mission to provide everyone with a safe internet environment by offering comprehensive credit monitoring services and increasing awareness among vulnerable communities, such as military families, youth in foster care, and domestic violence survivors.
Services Offered
Aura’s services cover every aspect of internet security, so customers don’t have to purchase a new service for every cyber security feature. With Aura, customers can benefit from the following:
- Three credit bureaus monitored
- Suspicious transaction alerts
- Credit lock capabilities
- Secure VPNs
- Antivirus software
- Password management
- Identity protection
- Parental Controls
You can keep your children from visiting dangerous or inappropriate sites, monitor your credit scores from credit bureaus, and get alerts if someone steals your identity, all through Aura’s exhaustive platform.
Aura customers also benefit from a U.S.-based customer support team available 24/7, every day of the year. Fraud resolution specialists work with customers to resolve incidents of financial fraud as quickly as possible.
Key Features
- 60-day money-back guarantee (for plans billed annually)
- 14-day risk-free trial period
- Experian credit locking
- Extensive credit report and fraud alerts
Costs
Aura offers three price plans for these comprehensive services. They all include a free trial period of 14 days and a member subscription with Aura.
As of this writing, the plans are as followings:
The Individual Plan costs $15 per month or $144 per year ($12 per month) for $1 million in identity theft insurance, online security for 10 devices, fraud protection, and identity theft protection.
The Couple Plan costs $29 per month or $264 per year ($22 per month) for the same services as the individual plan. Each individual gets insurance, fraud and ID theft protection, and internet security for 10 devices.
The Family Plan costs $50 per month or $444 per year ($37 per month) and covers families of up to five adults and an unlimited number of children. Each adult receives $1 million in ID theft insurance, security for 10 devices, and fraud and ID theft protection. This plan also includes parental controls and child Social Security number monitoring.
The family plan offers the best value for Aura’s credit monitoring services, with a manageable monthly fee to protect up to five adults.
Click Here to Learn More About Aura
#2. Identity Guard: Comprehensive Credit Alert Services for Identity Theft Protection
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Identity Guard, another company founded by Hari Ravichandran, has provided identity theft coverage since 1996. This highly reputable service offers affordable security against identity theft to help customers deal with data breaches and compromised personal finance information. You can purchase individual protection through Identity Guard or cover the whole family.
Businesses can also partner with Identity Guard to provide their customers with reliable online security. More than 38 million people have chosen this service to protect their personal and financial information.
Services Offered
Identity Guard offers some of the best credit monitoring services to protect against ID theft. This platform’s services include but aren’t limited to:
- Credit bureau credit monitoring
- Annual credit reports
- Dark web surveillance
- Name, SSN, and driver’s license monitoring
- Bank account monitoring
- Home title monitoring
- Suspicious activity alerts
- Data breach alerts
- Identity theft insurance
- Password management
Identity Guard plans also include a safe browsing extension that protects customers by recommending setting changes and blocking ads, phishing attacks, and flash content.
Key Features
- Safe browsing extension
- User-friendly mobile app
- Percentage discounts for new customers
- 24/7/365 customer support
Costs
Identity Guard currently offers three pricing plans, all of which include the safe browsing tool, password management, and 24/7 access to a U.S.-based customer care team. Plans are priced as follows:
The Value plan costs $8.99 per month or $53.88 per year ($4.49 per month). It includes $1 million in identity theft insurance, dark web monitoring, high-risk transaction monitoring, and data breach alerts.
The Total plan costs $19.00 per month or $119.88 per year ($9.99 per month) and provides all the services in the basic plan. This plan also includes bank account monitoring, three-bureau credit monitoring, and monthly credit score updates.
The Ultra plan costs $29.99 per month or $179.88 per year ($14.99 per month). In addition to all services in the other plans, this plan includes monitoring for social media, credit and debit cards, 401Ks, investment accounts, home titles, criminal and sex offenses, and USPS address changes. This plan tier also includes Experian credit locks and annual credit reports.
Identity Guard also offers family plans at each of the three tiers. These cover an unlimited number of kids and up to five adults at $7.49, $14.99, and $19.99 per month when billed monthly.
Click Here to Learn More About Identity Guard
#3. LifeLock: Most Popular Identity Theft Protection Brand
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LifeLock is a cyber safety platform by Gen Digital (formerly known as NortonLifeLock) that most people are at least somewhat familiar with. This leading credit monitoring service provides identity monitoring and theft protection trusted by millions of users. Gen Digital recognizes that much of life today happens within the digital world and provides the monitoring and alerts people need to keep their identities safe.
LifeLock provides services to individual customers, families, and partner businesses.
Services Offered
LifeLock offers all the services you would expect from a reputable credit monitoring service, including:
- Credit file monitoring
- Identity and SSN monitoring
- Reimbursement protection
- Identity theft insurance
- Identity restoration
- Bank account monitoring
- USPS address change monitoring
- Dark web surveillance
- Data breach notifications
This is not a complete list, and the services vary depending on the customer’s plan.
Key Features
- 60-day money-back guarantee (for annual plans)
- Device protection and VPNs through Norton 360
- TransUnion credit file locking through Identity Lock
- 24/7 member support and U.S.-based restoration specialists
Costs
LifeLock offers a variety of plans. The three individual LifeLock plans currently provide the following services at the following prices:
A Standard subscription costs $124.99 per year ($88.99 for the first year) or $11.99 per month ($7.50 for the first month). It provides $1 million in identity theft insurance, identity and SSN alerts, credit monitoring from one credit bureau, stolen wallet protection, address change verification, dark web monitoring, and data breach notifications.
An Advantage subscription costs $239.99 per year ($179.88 for year one) or $22.99 per month ($17.99 for month one). It offers all the coverage from the standard plan and the Identity Lock feature, monthly credit score updates, bank account monitoring, crime monitoring, and phone takeover monitoring.
An Ultimate Plus subscription costs $339.99 per year ($239.88 for year one) or $34.99 per month ($23.99 for month one) and provides even more services. These include home title monitoring, social media monitoring, 401K and investment account monitoring, and more.
LifeLock also offers family plans and plans that include Norton 360, Gen Digital’s trusted antivirus and VPN software.
Click Here to Learn More About LifeLock
#4. Identity IQ: Best Credit Tracking Plans for Families
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IdentityIQ is an identity protection service founded in 2009. IdentityIQ’s theft protection, credit monitoring, and antivirus technologies help individuals and families monitor and address all kinds of cybersecurity threats, from stolen information to malware and ransomware.
Like several other services on this list, IdentityIQ provides case managers to help with identity restoration and identity theft insurance to help cover the costs of lost wages, stolen funds, and legal experts.
Services Offered
The services offered by IdentityIQ include:
- Real-time credit monitoring
- Three-bureau credit reports
- Credit score updates
- Identity protection
- Identity restoration
- Identity theft insurance
- Dark web and internet monitoring
- Bitdefender Premium VPN
- Bitdefender Total Security
The top-tier plan also provides identity theft insurance for the account holder’s children so that you can cover yourself and your kids with one subscription.
Key Features
- Antivirus protection with Bitdefender Total Security
- Secure browsing with Bitdefender Premium VPN
- U.S.-based identity restoration services
- No extra fees for family coverage
Costs
IdentityIQ offers four price plans, making it easy for customers to find their ideal plans within their budgets. IdentityIQ subscriptions are priced as follows:
A Secure subscription for $6.99 per month or $71.30 per year provides credit monitoring from one credit bureau, $1 million in identity theft insurance, dark web and internet monitoring, threat alerts, reports for financial accounts, and identity restoration.
A Secure Plus subscription for $9.99 per month or $101.90 per year provides all of the Secure plan services plus annual credit reports and scores from all three major credit bureaus.
A Secure Pro subscription for $19.99 per month or $203.90 per year offers additional services, including credit monitoring (all three credit bureaus monitored), score change alerts, and criminal record alerts.
A Secure Max subscription for $29.99 per month or $305.90 per year includes all the above services, credit tracking, a credit score simulator tool, family ID theft insurance, and fraud restoration services.
Customers who need antivirus and VPN protection can opt for any of these plans plus Bitdefender for a slightly higher price.
Click Here to Learn More About Identity IQ
#5. IdentityForce: Great Service for Identity Theft Protection
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IdentityForce, a TransUnion brand, has more than 40 years of experience in identity theft protection. The company sets itself apart as one of the best credit monitoring services available (all three credit bureaus monitored) by covering every aspect of identity protection and continuing to evolve according to customer feedback.
The IdentityForce model helps individuals, families, and businesses keep their information secure through monitoring, alert, and recovery services. Customers can feel secure, whether shopping online or running businesses vulnerable to data breaches.
Services Offered
IdentityForce offers a full suite of credit monitoring and identity protection services, including but not limited to the following:
- Triple-bureau credit monitoring
- Fraud monitoring
- Dark web monitoring
- SSN monitoring
- Comprehensive alerts
- Protection tools and controls
- Password management
- Restoration and remediation
- Identity theft insurance
- Secure VPNs
Whether you need protection for yourself, your business, or your family, IdentityForce’s long list of services has you covered. This service charges slightly more than others for basic plans but offers very comprehensive credit monitoring and identity protection.
Key Features
- GSA Tier One services for government agencies
- 24/7 U.S.-based customer support team
- Mobile app with powerful security features
- Internet browsing protection
Costs
IdentityForce offers two plans for personal protection:
The UltraSecure plan costs $17.95 per month or $179.50 per year ($14.96 per month). This plan includes all of IdentityForce’s monitoring, control, alert, and recovery services, including but not limited to fraud monitoring, mobile attack control, stolen funds replacement, and $1 million in identity theft insurance.
The UltraSecure+Credit plan costs $23.95 per month or $239.50 per year ($19.96 per month). This plan also offers a full suite of identity protection services with added credit monitoring, including credit reports from all three major credit bureaus, credit score tracking, and a credit score simulator.
The IdentityForce website doesn’t list prices for family or business plans, but we encourage you to contact this service for pricing if you need protection for several family members or employees.
Click Here to Learn More About IdentityForce
What Is Credit Monitoring?
Every person should check their credit file on a regular basis to identify inaccuracies and fraudulent activity, but doing so can feel like a full-time job in today’s digitally driven world. Credit monitoring services use sophisticated technologies to track credit reports and suspicious activity for customers and send alerts when things require customer attention.
Even the best free credit monitoring services, like Credit Karma, provide updated credit scores and credit report change alerts but don’t include the same range of services as a paid service like Lifelock or IdentityIQ. Paid credit monitoring companies go beyond essential credit monitoring by offering identity protection features like dark web and social media monitoring and identity protection insurance.
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How Do Credit Monitoring Companies Work?
Paid credit monitoring companies use customer information to monitor credit reports, bank accounts, and other potentially vulnerable digital information to alert customers to unauthorized changes or suspicious activity. These companies often offer insurance protection to help customers cover the costs of a stolen identity, such as stolen funds, lost wages, and legal expert fees. They may also guide the next steps if a customer deals with identity theft or financial fraud.
In short, credit monitoring services take the guesswork out of cyber safety and give customers peace of mind knowing that they have the resources to handle the situation if someone steals their information.
What To Look for in the Top Credit Monitoring Services
If you subscribe to a credit monitoring service, you’ll provide that company with your name, birth date, SSN, and other sensitive information, so it’s essential to choose a reliable service that offers all the features you need to keep your personal and financial information secure. We based our search for the best credit monitoring services on several factors, including credit monitoring features, identity theft monitoring features, credit bureaus monitored, and more.
If you’re searching for a top credit monitoring service, we recommend prioritizing companies offering the following features:
Three-Bureau Credit Monitoring
Three major credit bureaus provide credit reports, but some credit monitoring services only monitor one credit bureau. For the most precise picture of your credit profile, try to find a service offering three-bureau credit monitoring services so you can see your Equifax credit report, Experian credit report, and TransUnion report.
A credit report provides essential information if you’re trying to improve your credit or prevent strangers from opening credit accounts in your name. You may pay a bit more depending on your chosen company, but having access to all three reports can make a big difference if you’re trying to improve your credit score.
Identity Theft Insurance
The best credit monitoring companies offer customers identity theft insurance. For example, LifeLock’s Standard customers receive up to $1 million for paying lawyers and other experts and up to $25,000 to reimburse stolen funds.
ID theft insurance helps people quickly overcome identity theft’s financial hardships without compromising their financial stability. We highly recommend choosing a credit monitoring service that offers this insurance to ensure you and your family remain financially protected.
Discounts for Family Plans
According to statistics on Aura’s website, 1.25 million children fell victim to ID theft in 2021 for a total loss of $918 million. Child identity theft often goes unnoticed for years, but the proper protection can help keep your children’s information safe by alerting you of fraud right away.
Parents should pay special attention to the costs of family credit monitoring plans. Many credit monitoring services offer family plans at discounted rates compared to the cost of two, three, or more individual plans. These family plans often offer cyber safety and identity protection services for up to five adults and unlimited children, making it easy to keep kids protected online.
Some services like Aura also offer parental control features, allowing parents to manage their children’s online activity by setting screen time limits, filtering content, and monitoring text messages.
Dark Web Monitoring
The best credit monitoring services will offer dark web surveillance services to track the unauthorized use of customer information. If your credit monitoring service doesn’t offer dark web monitoring, you may not know someone else has your data until they’ve done significant damage.
Dark web surveillance features track customer names, SSNs, and other information to detect a data breach quickly. Once alerted, the customer can work with the monitoring company’s support team to resolve the issue. Many services offer white-glove identity theft resolution to walk customers through the process of addressing the situation.
Credit Monitoring Alerts
A good credit monitoring service will provide alerts whenever a change is made to your credit report, such as a hard credit check, credit score change, or a new credit account in your name. Many free services provide these types of credit monitoring alerts, while paid services go further, alerting customers when personal information is found online.
Most credit monitoring services offer all three bureau credit reports to provide a full picture of the customer’s credit file. When searching for the best credit monitoring service, look into the credit bureaus monitored by the service to ensure a clear picture of your credit situation.
Consider a Free Credit Monitoring Service
You don’t have to pay a monthly fee for basic credit monitoring services. Many free services offer credit scores, credit report alerts, and more at no charge to the customer. Two of the best free credit monitoring sites are Credit Karma and Credit Sesame.
Credit Karma
Founded in 2007, Credit Karma is one of the best free credit monitoring services, with more than 100 million members. Credit Karma’s mission is to empower everyone to make smart financial decisions and reach for a brighter financial future by offering free access to vital credit information.
Credit Karma provides users with basic credit monitoring services for free, including credit scores, new account alerts, and hard inquiry alerts. This helpful free service also gives users free credit score insight, loan offers, credit card offers, and credit usage suggestions.
If you create an account with Credit Karma, you’ll receive free credit monitoring, an Equifax and TransUnion credit report, and weekly credit score updates.
Credit Sesame
Credit Sesame, another popular free credit monitoring service launched in 2010, also aims to empower people to reach their financial goals by taking control of their credit.
This free service will provide your TransUnion credit report, monthly credit score updates, financial recommendations, and score change alerts. Like Credit Karma, Credit Sesame can help you understand your score and how to improve it.
A free credit monitoring service won’t offer the same features as a paid service, but everyone should take advantage of at least one free credit score tracker to monitor their credit scores and three credit reports.
When Should You Consider a Credit Monitoring Service?
We encourage everyone to invest in credit monitoring, but certain circumstances make these services particularly necessary to improve financial situations and prevent fraud. If you find yourself in any of the following positions, we highly recommend investing in a credit monitoring service:
- You don’t have another way to monitor your credit, such as monitoring features from your credit card company.
- You have experienced credit fraud or ID theft in the past.
- You struggle to understand and monitor your credit by yourself.
- You worry about the security of your kids’ information online.
- You want to protect your investments.
- You want to improve your FICO credit score.
Many services, including those listed above, offer affordable individual and family plans, so you’re sure to find a suitable option in your budget.
How To Avoid Credit Monitoring Scams
Like many other online industries, credit monitoring has its fair share of scammers looking to take advantage of people searching for services. Before you provide your personal or financial information to a credit monitoring company, research the service by reading off-site customer reviews and checking the site’s trustworthiness on third-party sites.
Keep in mind that scammers often make unrealistic promises, so use your common sense and follow your instincts if something seems off. Scammers may even contact you directly, so avoid signing up for any service over the phone or through an email link from an unknown sender.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the three major credit bureaus?
TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian are the three credit bureaus these services monitor. Each bureau provides a credit report, and comprehensive credit score tracking means looking at all three credit reports.
You can access your Equifax and TransUnion reports for free through Credit Karma and your free Experian credit report through the Experian website. You may also opt to subscribe to a monitoring service that pulls reports from all three major credit bureaus.
How do people steal identities?
ID theft refers to the theft of personal or financial information, and it occurs in a variety of ways. Strangers may use downloaded malware, hacking, phishing scams, or physical theft to find people’s personal information.
Viruses and Malware
Scammers and fraudsters use malware to access strangers’ computers and conduct ransomware attacks. Reputable antivirus software and VPN services can protect your computer and other internet-capable devices from accidental downloads of this harmful software.
Data Breaches
Companies of all kinds store consumer information on servers connected to the internet. Hackers may find names, addresses, SSNs, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information if they breach these servers. Many services on this list provide data breach alerts, so customers don’t have to guess if their information is secure.
Phishing Scams
Scammers often use email, text, and direct messaging (DM) to get information from unsuspected people. These messages often look official and ask the target to confirm information like usernames, passwords, and account numbers. Children are especially susceptible to phishing scams if they use social media or online gaming forums.
You can help your kids avoid falling prey to these scams by teaching them to:
- Never open messages from unknown senders.
- Never click unknown links.
- Never give out usernames, passwords, or other information.
Offline Theft
Not all ID theft occurs online. Strangers may gain access to your personal information by stealing your wallet, digging through your trash, stealing your mail, or redirecting your mail to a new address, but that doesn’t mean these services can’t help. Many credit monitoring companies provide services to address stolen wallets and alert customers to USPS address changes.
How much does credit score monitoring cost?
Premium services that charge subscription fees vary significantly in their costs. On average, credit monitoring services cost between $7 and $50 per month, depending on the service and subscription plan you choose. Keep in mind that a plan with a higher monthly fee may offer more protection features, so the best plan for you will balance your security needs with your monthly or yearly budget.
Most paid credit monitoring services offer reduced rates for paying annually. These high upfront costs may seem intimidating, but you may save significant money long-term by opting for an annual subscription. For example, Identity Guard’s value plan costs $53.88 per year or $8.99 per month. If you pay the $8.99 monthly fee for one year, you’ll pay a total of $107.88, double the yearly subscription price.
The cheapest option on our list of the best credit monitoring services is Identity Guard’s Value subscription, paid monthly at $8.99 per month or annually at an average of $4.49 per month.
Is there a difference between credit monitoring and identity theft protection?
Although many services offer both identity theft protection and credit monitoring, the two aren’t the same. Credit monitoring services track changes to a customer’s credit profile, including an updated credit score, new line of credit, or closed account. Credit monitoring can detect fraud when a customer becomes alerted to an account they didn’t create.
Identity theft services monitor every aspect of a customer’s online presence, including social media, public records, and the dark web, and alert customers to suspicious activity. Despite their differences, these services often work hand-in-hand to protect a customer’s personal information and financial security. Many ID theft protection companies offer credit file monitoring services as part of their subscription plans.
Is credit monitoring really worth it?
Justifying the cost of a paid credit monitoring service can be difficult if no stranger has ever stolen your personal information. Still, with rates of ID theft increasing every year, protection becomes increasingly necessary for everyone. Financial and identity fraud can cause significant damage to your credit, financial stability, and reputation, so yes, we believe these services are absolutely worth it.
You don’t have to break the bank to get the protection you need. Even a simple monitoring plan with a small monthly fee can provide security and peace of mind.
Can credit monitoring help protect against identity theft?
Preventing ID theft requires high information security, but in today’s world, people’s personal and financial information can be found in many virtual places. Credit monitoring can’t prevent all theft of sensitive information.
What it can do is alert the person whose identity has been stolen as soon as the theft takes place. Credit monitors alert customers when someone makes unauthorized credit card transactions or opens a new line of credit in their name, so they can stop any fraudulent activity before a significant loss occurs.
What is the difference between the VantageScore and FICO credit scoring models?
Some credit monitoring platforms provide customers with FICO credit scores, while others offer VantageScores. These two scoring models calculate credit scores differently, with differing scoring ranges. FICO scores range from 250 to 900, while VantageScores range from 300 to 850.
Lenders tend to use one of the two scoring models. It’s essential to understand which score your credit monitoring service provides when you’re trying to raise your credit score for a loan. Most lenders use FICO scores to determine borrower eligibility, but many credit monitoring plans only supply VantageScores.
What is white-glove fraud resolution?
Many credit and identity monitoring services offer white-glove fraud resolution for subscribed members. These services provide a dedicated case manager to help customers when they experience financial fraud and identity theft. Case managers help customers lock and freeze credit files, develop action plans, and recuperate losses while navigating federal agencies and credit bureaus.
Services that offer identity restoration may cost more than other credit monitoring companies, but the cost is more than worth it to address unauthorized activity and data breaches as quickly as possible.
What is a VPN, and how does it protect you?
VPN stands for “virtual private network.” Many antivirus and cybersecurity services offer VPNs to help people stay anonymous on the internet. VPNs hide the user’s IP address and keep their browsing activity private to prevent hackers from gaining access to their information and devices.
If you need VPN services, we recommend one of the top five services we listed. Several offer antivirus and VPN add-ons or include these services in their subscription plans. For example, LifeLock offers secure VPNs through Norton 360.
Final Thoughts on Credit Monitoring Services
Whether you use a free service like Credit Sesame or a paid service like Identity Guard, monitoring your credit can help you keep your personal and financial information secure. We’re confident that you’ll find an affordable option for monitoring your credit report and preventing ID theft among our list of the five best credit monitoring services.
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