Equifax’s identity protection service comes with three different tier-based subscriptions that are aimed at both individuals and couples. Its prices aren’t the most affordable or most expensive, and its service provides decent value. We just wish Equifax would offer better savings if users were to opt for a long-term plan instead of paying month-by-month.
In our full review of Equifax, we tested the service and measured it against the competition. We found it to be a pretty decent option overall. But if you’re considering signing up, you should read on to learn all about their plans, pricing and packages, current deals, and more.
Key Features
Credit monitoring (one-bureau score monitoring and up to three-bureau credit file monitoring available)
Social security number monitoring
Identity theft recovery services
$1 million in identity theft insurance coverage
Daily Equifax credit reports
Annual credit reports (three bureaus)
Plus: Our Team's Featured Picks
Check out more recommendations from the SafeHome team:
Getting started with our Equifax Complete Premier subscription.
Equifax’s credit monitoring and identity theft protection service comes with three subscription tiers: Equifax ID Patrol, Equifax Complete Premier, and Equifax Complete Family Plan. Note that Equifax ID Patrol and Equifax Complete are the individual plan names. Even though these sound like different brands, you can think of them as different tiers of the same service.
Depending on the service you choose, you can get access to different features and enjoy protection for just yourself, coverage for yourself and your spouse or partner, or coverage for your entire family. We found the prices to be fairly reasonable, but you can expect the monthly fee to vary depending on the level of protection.
Equifax Pricing Options and Refund
Plan
Price per Month
Price per Year
Equifax ID Patrol
$16.95/month
$169.95/year ($14.16/month)
Equifax Complete Premier
$19.95/month
$199.95/year ($16.66/month)
Equifax Complete Family Plan
$29.95/month
$299.95/year ($24.99/month)
It’s a shame that you don’t get bigger discounts if you opt for the yearly plans. With some top competitors, you save more than 50% by getting a long-term plan. Also, the Equifax Complete Family Plan is a bit restrictive for a family-oriented subscription since it only covers two adults and up to four kids. Aura and Identity Guard’s family subscriptions, for example, cover up to five adults and an unlimited number of kids.
Equifax provides a refund for its long-term plans. You can cancel whenever you want, which is pretty good. Just keep in mind you will only be refunded for any unused months. So, if you sign up for a yearly plan and cancel it after six months, you’ll be refunded for the remaining six months.
Equifax Identity Protection Plan Options and Features
Depending on what you’re looking for, any of the three Equifax plans could be the right fit. Keep in mind that all of them include basic features, but only certain packages have perks like child monitoring and three-bureau credit scores. Generally speaking, the more you’re willing to spend for a monthly subscription, the more protection you’re going to get.
Equifax ID Patrol
With this plan, Equifax will monitor your credit file (but not your credit score) across all three bureaus. Equifax ID Patrol also scans the internet (including the dark web) for your private information, like your Social Security number. At only $16.95 per month, we were actually surprised to see three-bureau monitoring and dark web scanning.
Did You Know? The dark web is the highly anonymous “underworld” of the internet that requires a special browser to visit.1 Crooks use the dark web to buy, sell, and trade identities and otherwise private data.
With ID Patrol, you’ll also get identity theft insurance coverage for up to $1 million in expenses and losses. This is good to see, as it’s the industry standard these days. We also like how you get lost wallet assistance, which means Equifax will help you cancel and reissue credit and ID cards. And ID Patrol also includes an Equifax credit report lock.
Who it’s best for: ID Patrol is a great value for anyone looking for affordable individual identity protection.
Equifax Credit Scores Dashboard
Equifax Complete Premier
We tested out the Equifax Complete Premier plan for ourselves. With this service tier, we enjoyed everything included in Equifax ID Patrol, plus some extra features that we think you’ll like.
Equifax Complete Premier monitored our credit score instead of just our credit files. But it’s worth mentioning that this feature only checks your Equifax score.
One thing we really liked about Complete Premier is that it let us take a peek at our Equifax credit score every day. You’ll find this useful if you happen to be working toward a goal that requires a clean credit history and credit score (like purchasing a home, for example).
This subscription also includes identity restoration. However, in our complete review, we criticized Equifax as its recovery team was only available during business hours. So there are better full-service restoration and recovery teams out there.
Who it’s best for: Complete Premier makes sense for folks who desire personal finance features and tools as well as all-around identity protection.
Equifax Complete Family Plan
The Equifax Complete Family Plan is almost exactly the same as the Equifax Complete Premier. That is, you’ll enjoy all the same features, but the difference is the Equifax Complete Family Plan covers a second adult and up to four children.
FYI: Child identity theft is real, but rare.2 We recommend you sign up for identity monitoring for your kids if the price is right. Child credit monitoring is less essential, as children typically don’t have an active credit file. Freezing their accounts might be a good idea, but that’s something you can do on your own.
If you do choose the family plan, note that the second adult gets all the same features, whereas any children on the plan get “credit monitoring.” Your children’s Equifax credit files will also be locked and monitored for good measure.
With that said, we’ve used other ID theft protection services that cover up to 10 children (or more) on their family plans. So if you have a full house, we think you’re better off going with a membership from Identity Guard or LifeLock.
Who it’s best for: Spouses and families who want coverage for the whole household.
Current Deals on Equifax ID Patrol and Equifax Complete Plans
If you’re looking for a deal on Equifax’s subscriptions, we recommend keeping an eye out for rolling deals throughout the year. We’ve also seen discount codes and promo codes from time to time. One tip is to purchase during the holidays, as sometimes these brands offer deals on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Currently, there aren’t any deals or special promotions floating around, but rest assured we’ll keep you posted as soon as they’re announced.
Overall Value of Equifax’s Identity Services
Equifax’s identity protection isn’t the most affordable out there (if you’re on a tight budget, consider Zander), but it provides pretty good value. Starting at $16.95 per month ($14.16/month if you get the yearly plan) for three-bureau monitoring, a credit report lock, lost wallet assistance, dark web monitoring, and insurance, it’s actually a good deal.
The Equifax Complete Premier plan is also good, but we only think it’s worth getting it if you want restoration services and more in-depth credit scores and reports.
Our only issue is with the Equifax Complete Family Plan. It’s definitely pricey, and you don’t get much of a discount if you get the long-term plan. Also, it only covers one extra adult and up to four kids. There are honestly much better identity protection services for families on the market.
Yes, dedicated specialists are on call to help settle identity theft issues, and Complete Premier also offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance.
SafeHome.org only uses high-quality sources to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial guidelines to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Patterson, D. (2016, September 1). How the Dark Web Works. ZDNet.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-the-dark-web-works/
Max Sheridan brings over two decades of writing experience to our team. He has spent 1,000-plus hours researching VPNs, identity theft protection, and various topics in cyber technology. Previously, Max was an investigative journalist, and he is also a published novelist. He earned a B.A. in Classics from the University of Virginia and an M.A. in Classics from the University of Illinois. He currently lives in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Updated December 27, 2024
copied!
