5 Best Credit Monitoring Services of 2023

***Rankings as of Apr 14, 2023***

***Money is not a client of any investment adviser featured on this page. The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Money does not offer advisory services.***

1. Best Customer Support

   Aura

   Our Partner

   • Highlight:

     24/7/365 customer support and theft resolution specialists

   • Features:

     Three-bureau monitoring and $1 million identity theft insurance at all plan levels

   • Price:

     Three plans: $15 to $50 per month

   • Free Editions:

     No

   View Plans

2. Best Security Features

   IDShield

   Our Partner

   • Highlight:

     Credit monitoring plus device and identity theft protection

   • Features:

     Comprehensive credit and security monitoring with multiple alerts, recovery services with licensed private investigators and security consultations

   • Price:

     Four plans: $14.95 to $34.95 per month

   • Free Editions:

     No

   View Plans

3. Best Free Credit Monitoring

   Experian

   Our Partner

   • Highlight:

     Free monthly FICO(R) scores

   • Features:

     Free plan includes one-bureau credit reports and your monthly credit score, free credit boost and many educational resources

   • Price:

     Two plans: free and $24.99 per month

   • Free Editions:

     Yes

   View Plans

4. Best Low-Cost Monitoring Service

   PrivacyGuard

   Our Partner

   • Highlight:

     Monthly, three-bureau reports for all plans

   • Features:

     Three-bureau monitoring and monthly three-bureau reports and scores

   • Price:

     Two credit-monitoring plans: $19.99 and $24.99 per month

   • Free Editions:

     No

   View Plans

5. Best for Families

   Experian IdentityWorks

   Our Partner

   • Highlight:

     Family plan options include one or two adults and up to ten children

   • Features:

     Flexible plans to fit a variety of family sizes and needs, credit monitoring, FICO(R) scores and multiple security options

   • Price:

     Three plans with individual and family options: $9.99 to $29.99

   • Free Editions:

     No

   View Plans

Whether you’re looking for ways to improve your credit score or have been a recent victim of identity theft, a credit monitoring service could help.

The best credit monitoring services will send you timely alerts, credit reports and scores and notify you of any potentially suspicious activity. This can help you take action to fix any problems and better protect your credit profile as quickly as possible.

Read on for our picks of the best credit monitoring providers, along with our guide to the services and tools they offer.

Our Top Picks for Best Credit Monitoring Services

• Experian – Best free credit monitoring

• PrivacyGuard – Best low-cost credit monitoring

• Experian IdentityWorks℠– Best for families

• IDShield – Best security features

• Aura – Best customer support

Keep a close eye on your credit score with a Credit Monitoring Service

A Credit Monitoring Service could help protect you from fraud and keep your credit score safe. Click on your state below to learn more.

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Best Credit Monitoring Services Reviews

Pros

• Offers FICO(R) score

• Free plan includes monthly Experian credit report and score

• Includes a one-time dark web scan

• Features FICO(R) credit score tracking, score simulator for all plans

Cons

• Three-bureau monitoring is only offered in premium plan

• FICO(R) score simulator is only offered in premium plan

Highlights

Plans and cost

• CreditWorks Basic plan is free

• CreditWorks Premium plan costs $24.99

Important features

• Credit score simulator

• Credit hotline

• FICO® score tracker to visualize your score and activity over time

• Educational resources and tools like financial calculators

Discounts and benefits

• Free credit boost using your payment for utilities, phone and streaming services

• Free, one-time dark web scan

• Seven-day, free trial for the premium plan

Why we chose Experian: Experian is the only free credit monitoring service that offers a FICO® score, the scoring model used by the majority of lenders.

With the Experian CreditWorks Basic plan, you’ll receive real-time alerts to changes in your credit file as well as to changes in your credit utilization ratio.

You’ll also have access to a monthly Experian credit report and a free FICO® Score tracker. This tool monitors credit scores over time and organizes changes to your score in a chart so you can track your overall progress.

You’ll get access to the Experian Boost program, which can help you improve your score by including your phone, utility and streaming service bills to your credit file (provided you pay those bills on time, of course.

The company does have a premium plan, which costs $24.99 per month. Itoffers three-bureau credit monitoring and provides $1 million in ID theft insurance, but we found that some of the other paid credit monitoring services on our list offered more security features such as social media monitoring or device protection for the same price tag.

Pros

• Both plans include extensive credit monitoring services

• Three-bureau tracking

• Three-bureau monthly reports

Cons

• $1 million ID Theft Insurance only offered in premium plan

• Only provides VantageScore, not FICO score

• Customer support by email and phone only – no chat function available

Highlights

Plans and cost

• CreditWorks Basic plan is free

• CreditWorks Premium plan costs $24.99

Important features

• Credit score simulator

• Credit hotline

• FICO® score tracker to visualize your score and activity over time

• Educational resources and tools like financial calculators

Discounts and benefits

• Free credit boost using your payment for utilities, phone and streaming services

• Free, one-time dark web scan

• Seven-day, free trial for the premium plan

Why we chose PrivacyGuard®: PrivacyGuard offers two plans that provide daily three-bureau credit monitoring for a competitive price. Additionally, its three-bureau reports are sent monthly instead of quarterly, bi-annually or annually, as most of its competitors do.

For $19.99 per month, the PrivacyGuard Credit Protection plan offers many useful tools such as a credit score simulator, financial calculators and a credit hotline that you can contact if you have credit-related doubts. It also offers secure browsing and secure keyboard, two features which are fairly unique at this price point. You’ll receive alerts to changes in your credit profile through email and text.

PrivacyGuard’s Total Protection plan, though more expensive at $24.99, is still a great price for additional cybersecurity protection features that the basic plan is missing, like emergency travel and online fraud assistance.

However, PrivacyGuard only offers its $1 million ID theft insurance under its premium plan. Some competitors, on the other hand, include the same coverage under their basic (and lower priced) plans.

Pros

• Highly customizable plans with up to ten children allowed on the family plans

• Website includes clear information on pricing and plans

• Multiple alerts at all plan levels

• Good customer service response times

Cons

• Three-bureau monitoring is only offered with the premium plan

• No parental control features, VPN or password manager

Highlights

Plans and costs

• IdentityWorks℠ Plus – one adult for $9.99 per month

• Identity Works℠ Plus – one adult (ten children) for $14.99

• Identity Works℠ Plus – two adults (ten children) for $19.99 per month

• IdentityWorks℠ Premium – one adult for $19.99 per month

• Identity Works℠ Premium – one adult (ten children) for $24.99

• Identity Works℠ Premium – two adults (ten children) for $29.99 per month

Important features

• Experian CreditLock feature for for all plans

• FICO scores, score simulator, and score tracking

Discounts and benefits

• Free 30-day trial with one adult Plus and Premium

• 17% discount for annual payment

Why we chose Experian IdentityWorks℠: The plans offered by Experian IdentityWorks can be customized to fit large families at reasonable prices.

Experian IdentityWorks offers basic and premium plans ranging from $9.99 to $34.99 — pretty competitive pricing when compared to others in the industry. Additionally, unlike many of its competitors, Experian offers family plans for single-parent homes.

Though Experian IdentityWorks only offers three-bureau monitoring and quarterly reports under its premium plan, all plans offer extensive credit monitoring tools such as FICO® score tracking and a score simulator. Family plans also provide some notable security features such as dark web surveillance and social network monitoring. Like the premium plan for individuals, family plans offer $1 million in identity theft insurance as well.

Pros

• Device protection for both desktop and phone included in all plans

• All plan levels include $1 million ID theft insurance

• Real-time alerts

Cons

• Limit of six devices in the family plan

• Non-emergency customer service is offered only Monday through Friday

• Email response is slow

Highlights

Plans and cost

• Individual – One-bureau monitoring $14.95 per month

• Family – One-bureau monitoring $29.95 per month

• Individual – Three-bureau monitoring $19.95 per month

• Family – Three-bureau monitoring $34.95 per month

Important features

• One- and three-bureau credit monitoring plans

• Monthly credit reports

• Monthly VantageScore®

• Credit threat alerts

• Credit freeze assistance

Discounts and benefits

• Free 30-day trial

Why we chose IDShield: IDShield is one of the few companies that offers a wide array of all-in-one credit monitoring services along with identity theft protection features.

The company offers an individual and a family plan with prices ranging from $14.95 to $34.95, and you can choose between one- or three-bureau monitoring. The plans include device protection such as antivirus, VPN and password manager, along with credit monitoring.

Additionally, the company’s family protection plans are competitively priced and feature unique security tools like cybersecurity consultation services, encryption services and medical data monitoring, to name a few.

IDShield’s credit monitoring services include monthly credit reports and VantageScore® tracking from TransUnion. The company will also send you 12 different types of alerts for hard credit inquiries, data breaches, fraud alerts and more.

IDShield’s restoration assistance also set it apart from the competition. Licensed private investigators will work on your behalf to restore your identity and keep creditors away.

If your family has multiple devices, you should note that IDShield only covers up to six devices. That being said, if you’re looking for credit monitoring protection with additional identity theft protection, IDShield is a great option.

Pros

• 24/7/365 support phone, chat, email

• Case manager works on your behalf after identity fraud or theft

• $ 1 million in ID theft insurance for individuals, $2 million for couples ($1 million each) and up to $5 million ($1 million each) for families

Cons

• There are complaints about app stability and functionality

• Highest priced premium plan in our list

Highlights

Plans and cost

• Individual plan $15 per month or $12 per month paid annually

• Couple plan $29 per month or $22 per month paid annually

• Family plan $50 per month or $37per month paid annually

Important features

• Three-bureau monitoring and daily reports

• Experian credit lock

• Multiple alerts for inquiries on your credit account, bank and investment accounts and credit card number

Discounts and benefits

• Free two-week trial

• 60 day money-back guarantee on annual plans

Why we chose Aura: Aura‘s customer support is available 24/7/365, can be reached by phone, chat and email, and was highly responsive through all three avenues.

Aura really stands out for the customer service it provides. The company has an A+ with BBB and only eight complaints within the last 12 months, significantly lower than many of the competitors we reviewed.

Its highly responsive customer support is available at all hours, through email, phone and chat. Additionally, if you were to be a victim of identity theft, all of Aura’s plans offer access to a personal case manager who will help you file claims and call creditors for you.

Aura offers three-bureau credit monitoring with multiple alerts such as inquiries made to your credit file, new credit accounts, monthly credit score updates and financial transactions. Along with credit monitoring, it also offers cybersecurity and device protection features such as anti-virus, VPN, dark web monitoring, among others.

Aura sets itself apart from competitors when it comes to ID theft insurance. While most services in the industry offer a flat $1 million, Aura offers $1 million under the individual plan, $2 million in the couple’s plan and up to $5 million ($1 million per member) for the family plan..

Of all the credit monitoring plans we reviewed, Aura is the most expensive. However, its top-notch features and attentive customer service might make it a worthwhile investment.

Other credit monitoring services we considered

Credit Karma

Pros

• Free credit score and monitoring

• Easy to use mobile app

Cons

• Only offers VantageScore

• Pervasive card and loan offers

Credit Karma is free and lets you access your credit scores and reports from Experian and Equifax.

Why we didn’t choose it: While it does give you a score, the score you get is the VantageScore, which lenders rarely use. Additionally, the company also shows users numerous financial products, like credit cards and personal loans, that they are supposedly pre-approved for. This practice led to a lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) which accused Credit Karma of deceiving customers into applying for products they didn’t qualify for with these offers.

Credit Sesame

Pros

• Free plan offers one-bureau credit monitoring, reports and alerts

• Premium plan offers three-bureau and dark web monitoring

Cons

• You must sign up to find out details and pricing of premium plans as they’re not available on its website

• Website is out of date (mentions its Platinum plan, which no longer exists)

Credit Sesame provides free resources to help you monitor your own credit, including access to your VantageScore® and a free credit report, updated monthly, through TransUnion. You’ll also receive real-time alerts, notification of changes on your report and, under its premium plan, three-bureau monitoring.

Why we didn’t choose it: Credit Sesame didn’t make our list because it offers minimal features for the price and its website doesn’t offer pricing details. (You have to register to find pricing information.) Additionally, there is no customer support number listed.

Equifax

Pros

• $500,000 ID theft insurance as part of its Equifax Complete plan ($9.95 per month)

Cons

• High number of complaints on BBB compared to other companies

• Family plan only allows up to four children, fewer than many competitors

• App has minimal functionality

Equifax offers six credit monitoring plans ranging from free to $29.95 per month. One-bureau plans offer an Equifax credit report and VantageScore®. Premium plans offer three-bureau credit monitoring, VantageScore® and annual reports.

Why we didn’t choose it: However, its plans aren’t as comprehensive as the ones from our picks, and the website only gives vague details about each plan. The family plan only provides child social security number monitoring and doesn’t offer social media monitoring or sex offender alerts. Additionally, there is a limit of four children for the family plan. Lastly, the Equifax app, Lock & Alert, only works to lock or unlock access to your credit report.

ID Watchdog

Pros

• Premium plan offers $1 million stolen fund coverage and 401K insurance

• Only plan in our list to offer $1 million stolen fund insurance for Health Savings Accounts (HSA)

Cons

• High plan prices for one-bureau monitoring

• Four-child limit on family plans

• Low ratings for IDWatchdog app

ID Watchdog provides basic and premium plans for individuals and families and does offer some nice security features such as VPN and safe browsing.

Why we didn’t choose it: ID Watchdog’s credit monitoring features aren’t very robust when compared to other paid plans. For example, the premium plan offered three-bureau monitoring but reports are only sent annually and its family plan has a four-child limit. Also, ID Watchdog’s mobile app received low ratings from users.

IdentityForce®

Pros

• Family plan covers and unlimited number of children under 18

• Competitive pricing for three-bureau credit monitoring

• Online security software against phishing and keylogging

Cons

• Customer support phone wait times are long and representatives were not very knowledgeable about plan details.

• Negative reviews about functionality of app

IdentityForce® offers competitively priced, three-credit bureau monitoring, real-time alerts and quarterly reports. Its Ultrasecure+Credit family plan protects an unlimited number of children and includes deceased family member fraud remediation

Why we didn’t choose it: However, IdentityForce® customer service leaves a lot to be desired. The company was unresponsive by email, while wait times on the phone were long and agents weren’t able to provide clear answers.

Identity Guard

Pros

• Wide variety of plan options

• Extensive identity protection features

Cons

• Comprehensive credit monitoring services features are sparse compared with other plans with a similar price

• Pricier than many competitors

IdentityGuard does offer strong cybersecurity features and a wide variety of plans at competitive prices.

Why we didn’t choose it: Identity Guard didn’t make our list because its credit monitoring features are a bit sparse. Three-bureau reports are only offered annually at the premium level, and the value plan offers no credit bureau monitoring or credit score updates at all.

IdentityIQ

Pros

• All plan levels feature alerts and dark web monitoring

• All plan levels come with $1 million stolen fund insurance

Cons

• Only the premium plan comes with $25,000 ID theft insurance

• Credit score tracker only offered with premium plan

IdentityIQ stands out for its highly customizable plan options. It offers four plan levels ranging in cost from $6.99 to $29.99 per month. Additionally, its website provides good credit tools such as a credit score simulator and credit score tracker.

Why we didn’t choose it: We didn’t choose IdentityIQ because only two of its plans offer three-bureau monitoring and reports.

LifeLock by Norton

Pros

• Wide variety of plans that you can tailor to your credit monitoring needs

• Knowledgeable customer service

Cons

• Number of plans and similar names make product offerings confusing

• Lack of transparency for some of the costs

LifeLock by Norton offers a variety of plans and add-on security features making it possible for you to fully customize your plan according to your needs.

Why we didn’t choose it: However, you’ll only receive three-bureau monitoring and an annual report with the premium plan. Additionally, Norton has such a wide variety of products that it could be hard for some consumers to understand the details of its services and pricing.

myFICO

Pros

• Receive FICO(R) scores instead of VantageScore

• Three-bureau monitoring available

• A wide variety of educational resources

• 24/7 emergency support for ID theft

Cons

• Very few identity monitoring and security features

• Plan details are sparse on the website

MyFICO offers three plans ranging from $19.95 to $39.95 per month, and they all include FICO® scores and ID restoration services. The company also stands out for its educational resources, like articles, videos, financial calculators and a community forum where you can discuss credit topics.

Why we didn’t choose it: However, other companies offer more comprehensive credit monitoring plans that also include identity protection and cybersecurity features for a similar price.

TransUnion Credit Monitoring

Pros

• Extensive educational resources

• Subscription service offers credit lock for both Equifax and TransUnion credit reports

Cons

• Very few features for the cost of the paid plan

• Plan and pricing details are difficult to find on website

TransUnion provides a free plan and a premium credit monitoring plan for $29.95. The free plan offers credit reports through Annualcreditreport.com, your VantageScore® and alerts, which are features similar to other free plans we reviewed.

Why we didn’t choose it: However, TransUnion’s website doesn’t provide much detail about its paid plan. Additionally, its premium plan offers features like a score simulator and $1million ID theft insurance that other plans offer for less money.

Credit Monitoring Services Guide

Credit monitoring services help you keep an eye on the activity in your credit file and provide you with alerts, updated credit scores and reports. This can lead you to make better decisions with your credit, and make it easier to spot irregularities or possible fraud before it causes serious damage to your finances.

Our guide will help you understand credit monitoring services and how they work so you can choose the service which best fits your needs.

What is credit monitoring?

Credit monitoring services continuously scan and track the data in your credit file and will send you credit reports and scores from one or more of the three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You’ll also receive alerts that inform you of any changes or potential threats to your credit profile.

How do credit monitoring services work?

There are typically two types of credit monitoring services: free or subscription, which will charge a monthly fee. When you sign up with a company, you’ll provide your social security number and other personal information like your date of birth, address and phone number.

Depending on the plan, you may also include financial accounts for monitoring such as bank accounts and credit and debit cards.

Free services typically monitor your credit file and send you updated credit reports and scores.

They’ll also send alerts triggered by account activity that can include:

• hard inquiries

• changes to your credit score or credit utilization rate

• address changes

• new accounts such as credit cards or loans being opened in your name

• changes in public records such as court records

• Many, though not all, also scan for the appearance of your personally identifiable information (PII) on the dark web

Paid subscriptions usually include daily, monthly, quarterly or annual updates on your credit report and credit score as well as protection against identity theft, such as dark web and social network monitoring and ID theft insurance.

Credit monitoring services can’t prevent ID theft or fraud, but they can alert you to suspicious and potentially fraudulent activity on your credit file. You can then take action to prevent further damage to your credit, for example, by freezing your credit report which can prevent other accounts from being opened or contacting creditors. Note you can always access your own free credit report.

Note that there are a lot of similarities between credit monitoring, credit repair and identity theft services, and many plans share comparable features. However, there are also some important differences to keep in mind.

Read on to understand the differences between these services, and be sure to also read our guides to the best credit repair companies and best identity theft protection services so you can choose a reputable company.

Is credit monitoring worth it?

You can always monitor your credit yourself — in fact, you can access free weekly reports and scores from all three bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com until 2023. The question to ask yourself, however, is how much self-monitoring do you actually want to do.

Credit monitoring services are valuable because they can save you time and directly provide you with important credit information, alerting you to potentially fraudulent activity before it causes serious damage to your personal finances.

How do you choose the best credit monitoring service?

Understanding your priorities, your credit history and your security needs can help you assess credit monitoring services. Consider the following factors to help you choose the service that’s right for you.

• Number of credit bureaus monitored: While some credit monitoring services only check one credit bureau, you’ll gain a more complete picture of the activity occurring on your credit file by monitoring all three bureaus and learning how to check your credit report.

• Credit monitoring alerts: Free or low-cost plans usually alert you to changes in your credit score, new inquiries on your credit file or applications for new lines of credit. More expensive plans offer security features such as alerts if your personally identifying information (PII) is found in public records, the dark web or social networks.

• Credit score model: FICO score and VantageScore are the two most common scoring models. The FICO® score is the model most widely used by lenders, so if your goal is to improve your credit score in order to get a loan or buy a house, consider a plan that provides you with access to your FICO® score and find out how to check your credit score.

• Cost: Plans range from free to $50 a month. Free plans include basic one- or two-bureau monitoring reports and alerts. The pricier plans usually include a variety of security features such as device protection, dark web and social network monitoring.

• Security features: If you have been a victim of identity theft or have children, you may want to consider plans with additional security features. Plenty of low-cost plans include dark web monitoring, financial account monitoring and identity theft insurance. Family plans may include social network, cyberbully and sex offender monitoring.

Credit Monitoring Services FAQ

How do you avoid credit monitoring scams?

Make sure to only engage the services of reputable, well-known credit monitoring providers. You can check out our list of top providers as a start, but we always recommend you conduct your own research as well. A good place to start is by reading other consumers’ reviews of the company in third-party websites, such as the Better Business Bureau or TrustPilot.

How much is credit monitoring?

There are a range of cost options for credit monitoring services and many companies offer free plans — however, these might only monitor one credit bureau. If you’d like three-bureau monitoring (which is advisable), plans can range in cost from $6.99 to $50 a month. Many plans offer free trials or discounts if you pay annually, so be sure to check for additional offers.

Why is it important to monitor your credit score?

Monitoring your credit score regularly can help you detect errors or fraudulent activity on your credit report. Mistakes on your credit report, such as inaccurate late payments, can significantly lower your credit score. Additionally, monitoring your credit report can help you spot accounts that don’t belong to you, which could point to identity theft.

Does credit monitoring affect your credit score?

Monitoring your credit score doesn’t lower it because it’s considered a soft credit check — that is, it’s not related to a new credit account application. Only hard credit checks — such as when you apply for a card or a loan and a lender — can lower your credit score.

How We Chose The Best Credit Monitoring Services

To find the best credit monitoring services, we compared plans from 22 leading companies placing importance on the following criteria:

• Three-bureau monitoring. We preferred companies that offered three-bureau monitoring in their plans. This feature is key for comprehensive credit monitoring.

• Plan cost and features. We analyzed plan prices and available features for each of our categories.

• Credit scoring model. We evaluated whether plans offered VantageScore® or FICO®. We gave preference to FICO® because the majority of lenders use FICO® over VantageScore®.

• Transparency. We preferred companies whose websites clearly outlined pricing information and plan details.

• Ease of use. We evaluated the website and educational tools for functionality and ease of use.

• Customer service. We tested available communication options: phone, chat and email. We also investigated customer satisfaction reviews and complaints registered on sites like BBB, Trustpilot, Google Play and Apple.

Summary of Money’s Best Credit Monitoring Services of 2023

• Experian – Best free credit monitoring

• PrivacyGuard – Best low-cost credit monitoring

• Experian IdentityWorks℠– Best for families

• IDShield – Best security features

• Aura – Best customer support

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