Best Credit Monitoring Services of 2024

IdentityForce has recently been acquired by EXShield, offering you the benefit of two identity theft service powerhouses with the most secure capabilities and rapid restoration service in place. This company has been in the monitoring business for 40 years, with customers writing dozens of postive reviews and the Better Business Bureau assigning the company an A+ rating.

Instant ID Verification Alerts 

IdentityForce monitors quite a lot beyond credit information. Your public information will be checked for changes, including address changes, court and arrest records.

Also, this service will monitor sex offenders registries to see if your personal details are in any way associated.

These features are provided at every tier of service IdentityForce has to offer. Besides regular alerts, IdentityForce offers another excellent feature: You can define a certain threshold amount, and the company will alert you whenever a withdrawal or balance transfer exceeds that amount. This will help you get and keep a reliable credit score. 

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus

IdentityForce is one of the most far-reaching services on the market, since it provides tracking public records databases in both of its service levels. In addition, it monitors all 3 bureaus.

You will have access to quarterly credit reports and credit scores from all three credit-reporting agencies with a monthly report of your credit activities followed by timely alerts and notifications.

Another useful feature IdentityForce has to offer is a credit-improvement simulator which has limited protection against phishing attacks and information-stealing malware included. 

Affordable Price

There are two tiers with IdentityForce. The $17.95/month UltraSecure plan comes with 24-hour monitoring of public records, your financial balance changes, and online criminal marketplace. If you are a Windows user, this tier will provide you with protection against phishing and data-stealing malware. 

However, UltraSecure does not include access to three major reporting agencies. If you decide to step up with the UltraSecure+Credit plan ($23.99), you will receive updated credit reports each quarter. You get your Vantage 3.0 credit score too.

IdentityForce service offers a family plan too, priced at $24.90 per month for the UltraSecure plan or $35.90 for UltraSecure+Credit. Family plans cover all adults and minors in your household, providing an additional layer of protection of your data. IdentityForce offers a 14-day free trial for all newcomers. 

ID Theft Victim Assistance

The identity theft specialists of IdentityForce are available around the clock to ensure that lost finances are easily returned and that you’re back on your feet as soon as possible.

The team will keep a close eye on the information provided by credit companies and make sure that you receive instant mobile alerts if fraudulent activity is spotted. If it is, IdentityForce has tools to help you recover.

You’ll save a lot of time and headaches you would otherwise spend completing paperwork and sending it off. Standard identity theft insurance is set to $1 million, and it is included in both tiers.

Since it was founded in 1996, Identity Guard has transformed its technology to ensure the safety of over 50 million customers. The company now uses IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence platform, and its advanced features and reliability have been sufficient to see Identity Guard named the best service by many auditors. 

Identity Guard uses a corpus of knowledge based on data from many different sources, and has also received recognition from the Online Trust Audit and Honor Roll by the Online Trust Alliance for six consecutive years. 

Instant ID Verification Alerts 

Identity Guard monitoring service features include several tiers of service monitoring - including regular verification alerts. It will keep track of all your public information and instantly alert you if fraudulent activity is spotted.

Your name and Social Security number will be monitored across thousands of databases, giving your entire family impeccable ID theft protection. The Watson AI platform watches online for patterns that might indicate a stolen identity or alterations in your credit account, alerting you proactively to changes that may be dangerous.

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus

There is no doubt that the use of Watson-enabled service brings a multitude of benefits to the monitoring of your personal information. The company offers several tiers of protection and credit monitoring, depending on how frequently you wish to be updated on your credit reports. The Total and Premier Plans offer monitoring over all three major credit bureaus.

These programs provide the credit monitoring service on a monthly basis. However, with the basic Value plan’s affordable price you still get dark web monitoring and access to a risk management report - just without access to all three major credit bureaus. 

Affordable Price

The company’s basic Value plan costs only $8.99 a month, offering inexpensive ID theft protection and a solid risk management plan. Even though you don’t have many benefits in this plan, you still get ID theft assistance with Watson AI monitoring and $1 million reimbursement insurance.

Priced at $19.99 a month, Identity Guard Total issues alerts to any change in your credit file and Vantage 3.0 monthly credit score in addition to the Value plan’s features. 

You get reports from three agencies on an annual basis in Identity Guard’s $24.99 Total package. One of the main perks is the “social insight report,” which can be very useful.

Identity Guard offers a family version of each plan to cover all family members at a single address. The Family Value plan will cost you $6 per month extra, and the Total and Premier plans are $10 more.

From dark web monitoring, account takeover alerts, an identity theft insurance plan, privacy assist, and social insight reports to access to all three major bureaus and family discount options, this service has got you covered.     

ID Theft Victim Assistance

Identity Guard’s identity theft assistance will help you complete the many steps needed to protect yourself if your identity is stolen. 
  
One of the most important features of the Total Family is the monitoring of your personal information - and your children’s information - on the dark web. Identity Guard’s advanced software analyzes billions of data points, sending an alert to your mobile phone when trouble arises.

In the event that you are a victim of ID theft, Identity Guard provides you with a personal case manager and recovery services, including fraud insurance of up to $1 million.

Lifelock offers a wide variety of protection services with many additional layers of protection ranging from $9.99 per month to $29.00.

Instant ID Verification Alerts 

Lifelock lets you learn your credit score on a monthly basis, while full credit report updates are provided once a year. A unique feature that earns Lifelock a place on our list is the pre-approved-credit-offer reduction service, which can be useful if you would like to be removed from mailing lists and avoid being bombarded with new offers.

Lifelock proactively monitors thousands of black markets and dark web websites where pirated financial information is sold. The company will alert you immediately if your email, postal address, or other personal details are in danger.

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus 

Lifelock offers online scans for names and addresses associated with your Social Security number. Upgrading to the $17.99 Advantage plan will add a stack of additional features to your account: identity monitoring, court records scanning, data breach notifications, and annual credit reports.

With the Ultimate Plus plan ($29.99) you will receive their best service along with the reports from all three credit bureaus, credit-inquiry alerts, sex-offender registry reports, and monthly credit score tracking.

Affordable Price

LifeLock protection plans start at an affordable $9.99 per month, and this includes the standard service of analyzing thousands of databases to keep your details protected.

This basic service level doesn’t include credit reports from all three credit bureaus and other interesting features, however. If you choose to upgrade to one of the more expensive Lifelock plans - the Advantage plan for $17.99 per month, for example - your details will be protected on a much higher level and scanned through a bigger number of databases.

The Ultimate plan ($29.99) lets you ensure that you have the optimal credit monitoring alerts for your family and that the credit records of your entire household are fully protected even though the price is a bit high.

ID Theft Victim Assistance 

With the Lifelock Junior add-on you can make sure that your child's identity is protected. That’s important: Children’s credit profiles are gold mines for identity thieves because they are usually unprotected.

LifeLock Senior is a credit monitoring service for your parents. It’s useful because the elderly are especially vulnerable to identity theft. These add-ons cannot be purchased on their own; they must be bundled with another plan.

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Experian is one of the world’s largest credit reporting agencies. Its roots date back to 1826. Experian is present in 37 countries, with more than 17,000 employees. Experian has received awards from prominent agencies including the Forbes Top 100 and many more. 

Instant ID Verification Alerts 

Experian provides triple-bureau monitoring with a multitude of options for one-time access to your credit report. Experian fraud alerts and around-the-clock monitoring will keep you updated on your credit details weekly, monthly, or annually.

One of the biggest advantages of choosing one of the major bureaus for credit monitoring is that you will be able to act quickly in case of fraudulent activities. Experian staff will immediately contact the other two credit reporting companies to alert them and quickly freeze your files. 

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus 

Experian credit bureau is one of the three major reporting agencies, and therefore is able to give you the most accurate information and much greater insights into your credit. Your Experian credit score follows the FICO model. It is one of the most commonly used scores and it is usually what lenders base their decisions on.

Experian’s credit score monitoring app will give you access to your credit information. Experian also offers a unique credit score simulator that can show you how a change like opening a new credit-card account can affect your overall credit score.

Affordable Price

Experian could charge premium rates as one of the three main credit bureaus, but its monthly fees fall within the average range. For $19.95 per month you will get the Experian annual report along with your personal FICO report monthly. If you opt for a $39.95 per month plan, you will get Experian credit monitoring and identity protection along with your monthly FICO score.

Unfortunately, some of the advanced ID protection features require an additional monthly payment of $15.95. Yes, it’s expensive. But with these features you will receive the best service available - plus excellent identity theft protection.

ID Theft Victim Assistance 

Experian offers predictable, common identity monitoring features. The company’s main focus is credit monitoring, after all. The company’s identity theft protection features fall short when compared with those from other credit monitoring companies.

Some of those features include a daily Experian dark web scan and fraud resolution assistance. In addition to personal credit monitoring, Experian offers credit monitoring and protection for small business owners, which seems to be hard to find on the current market.

If by any chance you become a victim of identity theft, all you need to do is dial Experian customer service number. Experian’s ID theft insurance fund covers you up to $1 million.

Credit Sesame has gone a long way since 2010, the year it was launched at a TechCrunchDisrupt conference in San Francisco. The company now provides credit score monitoring services to millions of customers.

Monthly credit reports, basic credit monitoring, and ID theft protection coverage are all free for all users who sign up for them. 

Instant ID Verification Alerts

Credit Sesame is primarily a credit and loan company that also offers free credit score monitoring with a monthly VantageScore report, a free credit report card, and free identity theft protection.

Credit Sesame’s report card is different from the free annual credit report you’re entitled to under the Fair Credit Reporting Act in that it contains more detailed information. 

The company's top-notch notification system makes it easily stand out among the competitors, as you’ll receive alerts whenever you submit a new credit request, whenever your credit score changes, or when an account in your name is opened or closed. 

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus

The free subscription will get you a monthly VantageScore from one credit bureau, namely, TransUnion. VantageScore is an alternative to the more popular and better-known FICO score. It was developed by TransUnion in collaboration with the other two credit agencies, Equifax and Experian.

Credit monitoring relies on soft inquiries which don’t negatively impact your credit score.

With the paid plans - Advanced Credit, Pro Credit, and Platinum Protection plans, you will get reports from all three credit bureaus. The updates from TransUnion are daily, while credit scores from Equifax and Exerian arrive once a month.

With your credit score, you’ll also get an in-depth explanation of everything that affects it. All the major factors are laid out nicely, so there’s no space left for confusion.

Affordable Price

The free membership at Credit Sesame comes with insurance against identity theft that covers up to $50,000. 

In case you’d like a more comprehensive service, you can opt for one of the three paid plans. They all include ID theft reimbursement of $1 million. The Advanced Credit plan will set you back $9.95 per month, while the Pro Credit subscription costs $15.95. 

However, the best service you can get comes with the Platinum Protection subscription. It costs $19.95, and it stands out from all other plans because it also offers ID theft monitoring, not just cost reimbursement in case your identity gets stolen.

Customers who get Platinum Protection can count on Credit Sesame to monitor the use of their Social Security number, address changes, the dark web, public records, payday loans, and sex offender registries, and notify them in case their name and personal details appear in unexpected places, signaling identity theft.

This plan also gives you access to 24/7 expert assistance with credit report inaccuracies and stolen or lost wallets.

ID Theft Victim Assistance

Credit Sesame also offers, as mentioned, free basic ID theft insurance to all its users. Subscribers to any of the paid credit tracker plans can count on a maximum of $1 million in case they become victims of ID theft.

The only plan that offers ID theft monitoring, however, is Platinum Protection, Credit Sesame’s most expensive plan.

PrivacyGuard is a service provided by Trilegiant Corp. in conjunction with Trilegiant Insurance Services and Alliance Marketing Association. The company is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. Since 1973, it has offered US residents identity theft protection and credit card monitoring.

Instant ID Verification Alerts

PrivacyGuard states that it will monitor your credit on a daily basis and alert you via text message, email, or phone if any changes occur in your credit files. The service doesn’t offer two-factor authentication when accessing your account, but all you need to do is to enter the last four digits of your Social Security number when logging in.

PrivacyGuard scans the open and dark web for signs of your personal information and alerts you immediately. 

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus

PrivacyGuard will provide you with three-bureau credit scores and reports on a monthly or even daily basis. This service doesn’t stop with credit data; it includes a wide array of interesting features such as financial calculators and identity theft protection features.

As soon as you join, you will activate all 3 bureaus reports and get access to an annual report of your credit scores. The scores you receive are based on the Vantage 3.0 scoring system, a part of the national standard. 

PrivacyGuard does a nice job of organizing credit information in an easy-to-read format with highly detailed explanations of your scores. You also get access to an excellent “what-if” calculator that will help you see how your scores might change in case of debt or credit inquiries with easy-to-understand graphs of your credit history. 

Affordable Price

You will face a decision among three versions of this app: a basic plan that is more focused on identity protection, a more expensive plan that's all about credit monitoring, and a premium plan that combines both. 

The first tier, PrivacyGuard ID Protection, starts at $9.99 a month. It is aimed at protection against identity theft. 

With The Credit Protection plan ($19.99 per month), you will have access to a merged credit report that is updated monthly. Along with that report, you will receive a Vantage 3.0 score based on each credit bureau’s data. 

Total Protection requires $24.99 per month. It combines both ID Protection and Credit Protection services. You also get Norton Security antivirus protection.

At the moment, PrivacyGuard doesn’t offer a stand-alone plan for families. PrivacyGuard does have a 14-day trial program, however.

ID Theft Victim Assistance

PrivacyGuard’s service includes a personal resolution expert who will help you every step of the way if you become a victim of identity theft. The resolution team receives plenty of praises from customer testimonials we found online.

The support service is available around the clock and it will proactively notify you if the company stumbles on any suspicious activity. 

Besides the established ID protection system, the team offers identity protection education to help you learn how you can prevent and protect yourself from identity theft.

PrivacyGuard offers a $1 million reimbursement policy which also receives lots of praise from customers.

TransUnion collects and aggregates information on more than a billion consumers in over 30 countries.

Instant ID Verification Alerts

With TransUnion credit monitoring you will receive monthly monitoring of your credit score and your credit reports. Whenever suspicious activity or changes to any of the accounts listed on your credit report arise, TransUnion will alert you via text message, email, or phone.

TransUnion offers identity theft protection as well. The service will monitor public records that pertain to your name, address, or Social Security number.

As one of the three credit bureaus, TransUnion will alert you in the event that a problem shows up on any of the three credit bureau services, which is quite an advantage. 

Credit Reports From All Three Bureaus

One of the factors that make TransUnion a solid choice is the fact that it is a credit reporting agency, and with its service, you will be getting the real deal data, the ratings used by lenders, not a representative score designed to imitate a real credit score.

TransUnion will provide updates as they develop, rather than only at specific times and events. You will have access to the TransUnion Credit lock option, which allows you to control whether or not third parties can review your credit.

Other services don’t have a feature like this one. The FICO score, credit, and debt analysis tools await you if you opt for this provider. 

Affordable Price

With TransUnion’s True Identity program, you get a service that monitors public records for personal details as well as changes to credit scores - at absolutely no charge. 

TransUnion credit report free reports await those who set aside $24.95 per month. With this tier, users are able to activate the security freeze feature, which will block lenders from fully accessing their credit reports. Additionally, the paid tiers bring forth a multitude of ID theft protection features that protect your credit reports.

ID Theft Victim Assistance

Even though there are ID theft protection features at the first level of TransUnion’s credit score monitoring service, you can add some features once you get into the higher membership tier.

You will receive additional layers of protection and around-the-clock monitoring of public records for personal details and suspicious activity. Alerts will be activated immediately if the monitoring department spots anything similar to fraud.

Other interesting features include lost-wallet protection, address-change monitoring, and access to identity restoration specialists. This TransUnion customer service program will lead you through appropriate procedures if you become an ID theft victim, granting you $25,000 in theft insurance.