Experian’s IdentityWorks offers an easy way to test out identity theft protection without reaching for your wallet, thanks to its introductory free tier.
The company’s no-cost option alone isn’t enough to protect your identity, since it doesn’t include continuous dark web monitoring and identity theft insurance. I like that the free option does offer credit monitoring from Experian and a one-time dark web report, among other features.
If you want to upgrade your membership to a paid plan, you can do a trial of either Experian IdentityWorks Premium or the Family plan for seven days. Each has drawbacks that keep it from ranking higher on our best list, but overall both can provide suitable coverage. I just wish Experian’s user experience was better and wasn’t riddled with ads from financial partners.
Experian IdentityWorks
Best free identity theft monitoring service
Free plan does not offer identity theft protection insurance
Key Features
Key Features
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Daily Experian credit report and FICO score
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Dark web surveillance report
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Personal privacy scan
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Social media monitoring (with premium and family plans)
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Dark web, SSN and 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring (with premium and family plans)
Key Features
Pricing Details
Key Features
-
Daily Experian credit report and FICO score
-
Dark web surveillance report
-
Personal privacy scan
-
Social media monitoring (with premium and family plans)
-
Dark web, SSN and 3-Bureau Credit Monitoring (with premium and family plans)
Who should use Experian ID theft protection?
If you want a no-cost way to help protect your identity, you might enjoy Experian’s introductory tier. Experian’s free plan is geared more towards credit monitoring as it provides daily monitoring of your Experian credit report and a monthly FICO credit score. You also receive one free personal privacy scan and a dark web surveillance report to inform you of where your identifiable data is leaked online and on the dark web so you can take action.
Upgrade to Premium and you’ll gain access to a slew of perks, including three-credit bureau monitoring. This tier costs $25, which is cheaper than plans offered by competitors LifeLock by Norton and IdentityForce which each charge $35 per month for three-credit bureau monitoring.
You should pass on Experian’s identity theft protection service if you’re looking to save some dollars by signing up for an annual subscription. Experian doesn’t offer annual subscriptions. If you’re looking for online security tools, such as a virtual privacy network and password manager, Experian doesn’t offer that either. Consider other services like Aura and IdentityForce if online security tools are a must-have for you.
Finally, Experian’s online user experience isn’t the best. You’ll be bombarded with a lot of ads to sign up for additional financial products through Experian’s long list of partners.
What identity theft plans does Experian offer?
Experian offers three tiers of identity theft protection: Free, Premium and Family. All plans come with Experian credit monitoring and regular updates of your FICO credit score. You’ll pay monthly and can sign up for a 7-day free trial before committing.
Free
Experian’s free tier offers continuous credit monitoring from the bureau, plus a monthly Experian FICO score. You also get one free personal privacy scan that gives you a list of public databases with your personal information listed on it, and one free dark web surveillance report.
I like Experian’s free tier, but it’s not enough to fully protect your identity alone, since it largely focuses on credit monitoring. Notably missing from Experian’s free tier is Social Security number monitoring and identity theft protection insurance. You’ll also have to keep track of your credit reports from Equifax and TransUnion on your own.
Premium
For $25 each month, Premium offers the basics of identity theft protection and much more. In addition to dark web and Social Security number monitoring, you’ll get financial takeover alerts and three-bureau credit monitoring.
Other ancillary services offered to Premium customers include social media monitoring, change of address alerts, monthly privacy scans and non-credit loan alerts, such as payday loans and buy now pay later purchases where a credit check isn’t required.
All Premium plans come equipped with $1 million in identity protection insurance and white glove restoration services.
Family
Experian’s family plan is $35 per month and offers the same perks as a Premium subscription for one additional adult. Identity theft monitoring (dark web and Social Security number) for up to 10 children is also included.
Experian ID theft protection products, compared
| Free | Premium | Family | |
| Pricing | Free | $25 | $35 |
| Top features | Daily Experian credit report and FICO score; Experian credit monitoring; free personal privacy scan and dark web surveillance report. | Everything in basic, plus continuous dark web and Social Security number monitoring; three-credit bureau monitoring; Experian Credit Lock and financial takeover, non-credit loan, social media and change of address alerts. | Everything in Premium for one additional adult plus identity monitoring for up to 10 children. |
| Identity theft protection | $0 | $1 million | $1 million |
What’s it like to use Experian IdentityWorks ID Theft Protection?
Shortly after creating my Experian IdentityWorks Premium account, it became clear that identity theft protection is just one part of the service. Let me explain.
When you create a Premium account, you’ll find both identity theft monitoring features and a plentiful amount of placed ads across the site for financial accounts you can sign up for through Experian’s partners.
For $25 per month, I wasn’t expecting this. It felt like I signed into my CreditKarma account and had to navigate all their personalized offers just to review my credit score. The caveat there, of course, is that CreditKarma is free.
Creating your Experian Premium account is straightforward. You’ll need to provide your Social Security number, name and other personal details. You’ll also have to verify your identity by answering questions based on your Experian credit report.
You can scroll down on your dashboard for a basic review of your plan benefits. Experian touts services like Experian Credit Lock (included in Premium) and the ability to review your three credit reports. Given the recent National Public Data breach, Experian even advised me to lock my credit with the bureau to protect my identity.
Screenshot by Danni Santana/CNET
Blended in with these helpful tips on my dashboard were a few ad placements, nudging me towards auto insurance and credit card partners. This is not my favorite way to be served ads on a paid service. I would prefer if the ads were separated from the tips and links that actually help me protect my identity.
Screenshot by Danni Santana/CNET
Experian’s navigation bar has six menu options. You’ll only really use three to access your identity theft monitoring features: protection, money and credit. The rest are hubs for insurance, bank loans and credit card products offered by third parties.
Under “credit,” you can lock your Experian credit file and view your daily FICO credit score. You can also access your credit reports through Equifax and TransUnion on this drop-down menu.
Under money, click on “money overview” to add your bank information so that Experian IdentityWorks can alert you of any suspicious activity on your accounts. Experian uses Finicity, a Mastercard company to connect to your bank.
“Protection” is where you can access your personal identity theft protection page. You can view everywhere Experian is monitoring your personal data, such as court records, plus your exposures on the dark web and on public databases. You can even add more information for Experian to monitor online like your driver’s license, passport number and social media accounts.
Yes, you will find more partner offers on these pages too, but you can also chat with “Eva,” Experian’s virtual assistant, currently in beta, who can answer basic questions related to protecting your identity or credit. I asked the chatbot a couple of questions and I found the responses were succinct and accurate.
Screenshot by Danni Santana/CNET
Other notable features
Experian IdentityWorks offers a subscription cancellation service that costs an additional $5 per month. It works by identifying recurring payments and canceling the service or lowering your monthly bill on your behalf. According to the company, over 200 subscriptions and bills are covered under this feature. The service brings the total cost of a Premium membership up to $30, plus additional taxes and fees.
Screenshot by Danni Santana/CNET
You can cancel or downgrade your Experian identityWorks protection plan at any time by going into your account settings and clicking membership details. I don’t recommend canceling. Instead, just downgrade to Experian’s free tier if the paid service isn’t right for you.
Under account settings, you can also enable two-factor authentication and set up email and in-app notification preferences for personalized offers and your credit score.
Experian’s help center, also found under account settings, is extensive and provides tips on how to improve your credit and guard against identity theft. Quick links at the top of the page let you lock or freeze your credit with Experian or download your latest credit report. You can also search the help center by category, like identity theft, credit scores and money management. Each topic leads you to a list of articles that answer FAQs about the topic.
How does Experian’s identity restoration service work?
If your identity is stolen, Experian offers subscribers identity theft protection insurance of up to $1 million to help cover expenses like legal fees and to reimburse any stolen funds.
Experian offers full restoration services, which means a dedicated fraud support specialist will oversee your case and do the heavy lifting for you. This includes contacting any financial institutions on your behalf to inform them of any unauthorized activity.
Suspect your identity has been stolen? You can contact Experian at 1-866-617-1894 Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET on weekends. You can also visit Experian’s online fraud center to place a 1-year fraud alert on your Experian credit report. Note that a fraud alert is not the same as a credit freeze.
The online resource additionally includes additional steps you can take to protect your identity if you are not a subscriber, including reviewing and freezing your credit reports and filing a police report.
Is Experian’s Family Plan worth the price?
Experian’s Family plan falls in the middle of the pack of the family tiers reviewed by CNET. The plan offers protections for two adults and 10 children. You can cover more adults and children in your subscription through plans offered by Aura and Identity Guard (5 adults and unlimited children).
Similarly, while Experian IdentityWorks offers a solid list of perks — including social media monitoring, monthly personal privacy scans and financial takeover alerts — you can qualify for more in identity theft insurance through other services. LifeLock even provides identity theft insurance to kids. Experian also doesn’t offer a VPN, password manager or antivirus, which may be a deal breaker for some parents.
As far as pricing, $35 per month for Experian’s family plan is hard to beat — especially when you consider that industry leaders Aura and LifeLock charge $45 and $80 per month for their top family plans that include three credit bureau monitoring.
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly identity theft protection option for your family, consider Zander Insurance. The low-cost service offers family plans for as low as $13. Just be aware that no credit bureau monitoring is provided by the company.
Is Experian’s Insurance ID theft protection right for me?
Experian offers a solid free tier, but it isn’t enough to keep your identity safe. You’ll still have to monitor your financial accounts and the remaining two credit reports from TransUnion and Equifax on your own.
Its two paid plans offer competitive pricing compared to industry peers like Aura and IdentityForce, but they do lack some features customers may want, including a VPN and password manager. The user experience is also subpar compared to competitors.
Overall, we view Experian’s free option being its most compelling tier. Its premium tier can work for you if you don’t require online security tools and you value ancillary services like social media and USPS address change monitoring that competitors may not offer. It’s also one of the cheapest ways industry-wide to get three-credit bureau monitoring included in your plan.
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