Choosing the best identity theft protection service can feel overwhelming when so many options are readily available. We’ve compared two leading services, Identity Guard and IdentityForce, to help you decide which one is the better fit for your needs.
Identity Guard excels at protecting your personal assets and investments from identity theft and fraud. Meanwhile, IdentityForce focuses more on comprehensive credit monitoring and identity protection for families.
Keep reading our in-depth review to learn about each service‘s features, pricing, security, and more so you can determine if you should focus on asset protection or family protection.
Contents
- Key Differences Between Identity Guard and IdentityForce
- Monitoring and Protection Features
- Pricing and Plans
- Security: Encryption and Two-Factor Authentication
- Ease of Use: Simple Dashboards and Mobile Apps
- Customer Service: Identity Guard Wins
- Cost Comparison
- Main Differences
- Is Identity Guard or IdentityForce Better for Me?
- The Bottom Line
Key Differences Between Identity Guard and IdentityForce
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Ideal for: Identity Guard is best for protecting assets and investments. IdentityForce is ideal for families and minors.
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Pricing: Identity Guard plans start at $6.67/month. IdentityForce plans start at $17.95/month.
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Monitoring: Identity Guard monitors investment accounts, home titles, and more. IdentityForce has extensive credit monitoring services.
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Security: Both use encryption but only IdentityForce offers two-factor authentication.
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Ease of use: User-friendly dashboards and mobile apps for both services.
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Customer service: Identity Guard provides better customer service overall.
Monitoring and Protection Features
Identity Guard and IdentityForce both monitor your personal information, like your Social Security number, on the dark web. They also provide standard identity protection features such as address change alerts and identity restoration services.
However, Identity Guard goes beyond just identity protection to also monitor your assets and investments. The Ultra plan monitors your home title, 401(k), investment accounts, credit cards, and more. This is ideal if you want to protect your finances and assets specifically from fraud.
On the other hand, IdentityForce excels at credit monitoring and protection. Its UltraSecure+Credit plan includes daily credit monitoring across Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. You also get access to your credit reports and credit scores. The plan even has a credit score simulator to show how certain actions may impact your credit.
For families, IdentityForce’s ChildWatch feature monitors minors’ personal information and alerts you about any suspicious activity detected. It’s one of the best child identity protection services available.
Pricing and Plans
Identity Guard offers customizable packages so you can choose the features you need. Its plans range from $6.67 to $39.99 per month. You can add family members for an additional fee.
Here are the Identity Guard plans:
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Value: Monitors high-risk transactions, dark web surveillance, data breach notifications.
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Total: Adds bank account transaction monitoring, limited credit features.
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Ultra: Monitors assets like home title, 401(k), investment accounts, etc. Full credit monitoring.
In comparison, IdentityForce has two main plans that start at $17.95 per month. You‘ll have to contact them to add family members.
IdentityForce‘s two plans are:
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UltraSecure: Monitors criminal records, payday loans, social media, and other identity threats.
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UltraSecure+Credit: Adds complete credit monitoring, reports, and scores from all three bureaus.
Identity Guard has more flexibility with its pricing, but IdentityForce includes robust credit features with every plan.
Security: Encryption and Two-Factor Authentication
Both Identity Guard and IdentityForce use encryption to protect your data. However, only IdentityForce offers two-factor authentication (2FA) for your account.
With 2FA enabled, you need to provide two forms of verification when you log in. This prevents criminals from accessing your account even if they steal your password. It provides an important extra layer of security.
Identity Guard does have some security features like a safe browsing tool, but the lack of 2FA is a weakness compared to IdentityForce.
Ease of Use: Simple Dashboards and Mobile Apps
Identity Guard and IdentityForce both have user-friendly online dashboards to access your monitoring alerts, credit information, and other account features. The layouts make it easy to find what you need.
They also offer mobile apps for iPhone and Android. You can view alerts and manage your account privacy on-the-go. IdentityForce‘s app provides an added layer of mobile security against malware and unsecured WiFi networks.
Overall, both services offer simple interfaces across desktop and mobile. Identity Guard may be slightly more intuitive, but IdentityForce isn’t far behind.
Customer Service: Identity Guard Wins
From our research, Identity Guard provides better customer service compared to IdentityForce.
Identity Guard offers phone and email support six days per week. Customers report very positive experiences dealing with knowledgeable agents who resolve issues quickly.
On the other hand, IdentityForce advertises 24/7 support but we found that live chat is not always available. The phone support hours are more limited too. We had a poor experience trying to contact their customer service when we wanted to cancel a trial subscription.
Many other customers have complained about long hold times and unhelpful service agents when contacting IdentityForce. Overall, Identity Guard is the winner when it comes to helpful customer support.
Cost Comparison
Here is an at-a-glance look at the starting costs for plans from Identity Guard and IdentityForce:
| Service | Lowest Price |
|---|---|
| Identity Guard | $6.67/month |
| IdentityForce | $17.95/month |
Identity Guard has cheaper basic plans that offer solid identity protection. IdentityForce costs more but provides robust credit monitoring services with every plan.
Main Differences
Here are some of the key differences between Identity Guard and IdentityForce:
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Identity Guard focuses on asset protection by monitoring investment accounts, home titles, etc.
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IdentityForce focuses on families and minors with child identity protection and credit monitoring.
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Identity Guard has cheaper pricing options starting at $6.67 per month.
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IdentityForce provides better security with two-factor authentication.
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Identity Guard has superior customer service based on other customer reviews.
Is Identity Guard or IdentityForce Better for Me?
Here are a few key questions to ask yourself when deciding if Identity Guard or IdentityForce is a better choice:
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Do you have considerable assets and investments you want to protect? If yes, Identity Guard is likely the better choice.
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Do you need robust credit monitoring and child identity protection? If yes, go with IdentityForce.
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Is cost or budget a concern? Identity Guard has cheaper basic plans.
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How important is security? IdentityForce offers better account protection with 2FA.
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Would you prefer U.S.-based customer support? Identity Guard‘s customer service gets better marks.
The Bottom Line
Both Identity Guard and IdentityForce are leading identity protection services with useful features.
If safeguarding your personal assets and finances is your top priority, Identity Guard is likely the better option. Its asset monitoring provides peace of mind.
For families concerned about child identity theft risks or someone who wants comprehensive credit monitoring, IdentityForce is an excellent choice.
To decide which service best meets your needs, carefully consider the types of identity protection features that are most valuable to your situation. This will help determine if you should focus on asset protection or family protection when choosing Identity Guard or IdentityForce.
