Your online identity protection is as important as protecting your real-world presence. That’s why you need a tool with excellent features to keep you safe from hackers and threats. Luckily, there are many software that protect you. Among them, Experian and LifeLock stand out.
However, you can’t choose both because each comes with a price tag and unique characteristics. It’s Experian vs LifeLock! The battle is about to get real.
Let’s find out.
Overview of Experian and LifeLock
Here is a brief introduction to each service.
Experian
Experian is one of the oldest credit reporting agencies, founded in 1980. The company has its headquarters in Dublin and operates in almost 37 countries.
The agency excels at providing you safety against identity theft through its feature, Experian IdentityWorks. Here are a few things this service offers:
- Identity Monitoring: This involves scanning the dark web and social media for signs of personal data misuse. If anything wrong is detected, the victim is alerted on time.
- Credit Monitoring: This feature provides real-time credit monitoring to spot any unusual activity.
- Identity Theft Insurance: IdentityWorks has plans designed to offer you coverage, typically around $1 million, to cover expenses relevant to identity theft.
Experian is a successful company, and its products are always in demand. It made revenue of US$7.1 billion for the 2024 financial year.
LifeLock
LifeLock was co-founded in 2005 by two individuals, Robert J. Maynard and Todd Davis. It is currently owned by Norton LifeLock and has more than 5 million subscribers.
According to statistics, Norton LifeLock made around $3.5 billion in annual revenue in 2023. Interestingly, most of this amount was earned by its digital product, LifeLock.
LifeLock is a service that monitors your credit score changes and personal information or any other threat you may come across.
Here are some of its amazing features.
- Privacy Monitor: This scans all public people-search websites for any traces of your personal information
- Dark Web Monitoring: This feature is designed to notify you of any of your personal information found on dark websites.
- Stolen Wallet Protection: It can help cancel your credit cards or driver’s licenses as required.
- Identity and Social Security Number Alerts: These help monitor your activity for fraudulent use of your Social Security number or similar data.
Features Comparison
Credit Monitoring and Reporting
Experian is a credit bureau. Therefore, the agency’s primary area of focus is credit monitoring and reporting. The platform scans your data and offers Experian credit scores as well as FICO score updates for some plans.
On the other hand, you can only get credit scores and reports from LifeLock if you opt for the high-tier plans. The service scans your financial transactions for any suspicious activity. Additionally, it scans the dark web to find any party using your personal information without your approval.
Since Experian is a credit bureau itself, it offers much better credit monitoring and scanning. So, in this area, it definitely takes the crown.
Device Security
Experian’s device security feature isn’t as strong as that of LifeLock’s. While it offers dark web monitoring, Experian doesn’t provide a VPN or antivirus service.
However, LifeLock offers excellent device security. It comes with Norton antivirus software that protects your system against malware and ransomware.
What’s more, you also get easy VPN access to have a safe and encrypted browsing experience.
Cybersecurity Tools
Unfortunately, since Experian mostly excels at credit monitoring, it doesn’t have direct cybersecurity defenses. Therefore, the software may not be appropriate for protecting you against malware or phishing in a direct manner.
LifeLock has many cybersecurity tools. You get the Norton Antivirus and Anti-Malware that protects you against different threats such as viruses, malware, and ransomware.
You can also benefit from a Password Manager. This feature helps you create and store strong passwords that keep you safe from online threats.
Insurance Coverage
If we talk about Experian IdentityWorks specifically, its premium plan offers a maximum of $1 million in identity theft insurance.
LifeLock offers a maximum insurance of $3 million that covers expenses such as lost wages, legal fees, bank charges, and notary fees. The coverage received per adult is for up to $1 million for lawyers, $1 million in stolen funds reimbursements, and up to $1 million in personal expense reimbursements.
Fraud Alerts
Experian is a prominent credit bureau, and as a part of its offerings, the agency allows you to get a one-year fraud alert for free. You get an alert on your credit report if there is a chance of potential fraud.
When you get an alert, you automatically take extra steps for verification before approving any amount of credit in your name.
LifeLock is a third-party identity theft protection service. Therefore, don’t expect it to offer fraud alerts on your credit reports. However, the service does provide alerts and detailed monitoring, scanning your personal information for any misuse.
Pricing and Plans
Both services come with their individual pricing plans.
Experian Pricing Tiers
- Experian offers three pricing tiers, including a basic plan, a premium plan, and a family plan.
- The basic plan is available for free. You can avail of this to get a free Experian credit report and FICO score.
- The most popular one is the premium plan available for $24.99/month. You can take a 7-day free trial period before opting for this plan. It offers everything you get in a basic plan with additional features such as advanced monitoring and alerts.
- The family plan starts at $34.99 per month. It also gives you the facility of a 7-day trial period with features like identity monitoring for up to 10 children and monthly privacy scans.
LifeLock Pricing Tiers
- LifeLock offers three pricing tiers, including a standard plan, a premium plan, and an ultimate plan.
- The standard plan starts at $7.50 per month for the first year. It offers coverage of up to $1,050,000 and credit monitoring from one bureau.
- The Advantage plan is available for $14.99 per month. It offers a coverage of $1.2 million with strong alerts and credit monitoring.
- The final plan is the Ultimate Plus. It is available for $19.99 in the first year. It provides coverage of up to $ 3 million and much-advanced monitoring.
Pros and Cons of Each Service
Both services have their pros and cons. So, before you pick one, ensure to weigh both options.
Pros of Experian
- Since this is one of the credit bureaus, it gives you direct access to scores and direct reports.
- Experian, unlike many other similar services, also provides FICO scores.
- As a user, you get detailed credit reports, making it easy for you to review accounts, loans, and your entire credit history.
- You can use Experian to benefit from tools that can help improve your credit score.
Cons of Experian
- To access advanced features, you may have to opt for higher-tier plans, which are pretty pricey.
- Unfortunately, Experian doesn’t offer adequate device security.
Pros of LifeLock
- LifeLock provides comprehensive identity monitoring that helps you catch online thefts easily.
- With LifeLock, you can easily get quick alerts via phone and email. This helps you take quick action against suspicious parties.
- LifeLock provides protection to you and your children. You can use the parental control features or plans to protect your kids from external attacks.
- LifeLock offers much cheaper protection plans than most similar services.
LifeLock Cons
- While its plans are cheaper, LifeLock doesn’t provide as advanced features as most other similar services provide.
- Some of the plans and their payment procedures can be very confusing.
Ideal Scenarios for Each Service
If you are still confused about whether to choose Experian or LifeLock, let us help you.
If you are primarily focused on credit monitoring, like frequent loans, or are a credit applicant, Experian is the perfect choice for you. It is an ideal option for anyone who would want to increase their credit scores. Additionally, if you want to get FICO scores, no service other than Experian would be helpful for you.
LifeLock, on the other hand, is a perfect choice for those with heavy online activity or families needing broader coverage. The service is designed to offer more comprehensive identity protection, making it excellent for those worried about identity theft with credit reporting.
What’s more, if you need solid identity restoration support and dark web monitoring, LifeLock may be an ideal choice. It is also an affordable option with adequate insurance coverage to offer.
Final Recommendation
After exploring Experian and LifeLock in detail, which one of these seems reasonable for your use case? Both services are designed to provide you with safety online. However, they have different features through which they achieve this ultimate goal.
Experian is a perfect choice for anyone looking for a service or tool to get detailed credit monitoring. Since it is one of the three credit bureaus, expect Experian to offer you excellent reports and authentic results that can help you identify any problem in your credit transaction.
LifeLock, on the other hand, is an ideal service to get top-notch protection against identity threats. It comes with various features, such as a password manager and VPN services, to help you stay safe on the internet. In addition, its family plans are ideal to keep your children protected as well.
Before you pick any of these services, ensure to evaluate your use case and the features you require. Then, pick on the tool and take measures to browse the internet with peace of mind.
