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A widely-respected force in identity protection
Editor’s Note: As of early June 2022, IdentityForce is offering discounted plans. The individual UltraSecure package now costs only $9.99 per month, down from $17.99. The UltraSecure + Credit plan currently costs $15.99, down from $23.99 previously. These are limited-time deals.
You’ve probably heard of them before, as IdentityForce is one of the most recognized names in identity theft protection. Their services are designed to monitor your identity, whether it be in public records, online, or with the major credit bureaus.
This type of monitoring is invaluable, but that’s not all you’ll need. Knowing is half the battle, and fortunately, IdentityForce equips you with tools and services that can help you control the damage of identity theft and recovery. IdentityForce doesn’t miss a beat, from monitoring your information, providing you with tools to quickly lock or freeze your credit, and giving you generous insurance coverage.
If you’re considering IdentityForce, you’re going to like what’s in store here. We reviewed IdentityForce from top to bottom, learning all about its features and benefits. But today we’re going to share everything you need to know about their monitoring options, plans, and prices. So let’s see if this popular brand makes sense for you and your budget.
IdentityForce features you should know about
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Thankfully, we found the IdentityForce pricing options to be fairly diverse. There are two main plans to choose from: the entry-level plan is called UltraSecure, and the higher-end option is called UltraSecure + Credit. Both are available for individuals as well as for families, which can include up to two adults and unlimited children. As you might expect, the major difference between the two plans is the credit monitoring feature. We’ll lay out the details after we look at the prices.
Pro Tip: Protect yourself. The average cost of an identity theft incident is more than $1,000.1 It’s unlikely to happen to you — but that doesn’t mean that it won’t.
Going back to the family plans, they make most sense if you’re a part of a large family, but not so much for smaller families (for example, if you’re a single parent with just one or two children). In that case, ChildWatch might work better for you.
ChildWatch is an add-on child monitoring service from IdentityForce that you can tack onto your individual plan for $2.75 a month per child. Unfortunately, you can’t purchase a child monitoring plan on its own, it only comes as an add-on to the adult plans, but this is fairly standard across the industry. Now, if you’re serious about protecting the identity of your little one, we recommend checking out Identity Guard’s child plans.
As for IdentityForce, there are two pricing options for each main plan. That is, you can pay either by the month or by the year. Sure, you’ll save some of your hard-earned money by going with the annual plan, but it’s also less flexible than paying month-to-month.
Our recommendation? Start with a monthly plan to try the service out, and if you like it and you want to stick around, upgrade to a yearly plan. You’ll save $36 over the year with the UltraSecure plan, $48 with the UltraSecure + Credit plan, and $72 with the UltraSecure + Credit family plan.
IdentityForce Plan | Monthly price | Annual price |
---|---|---|
UltraSecure | $17.95 per month | $179.50 per year |
UltraSecure Family | $24.90 per month | $249.00 per year |
UltraSecure + Credit | $23.99 per month | $239.90 per year |
UltraSecure + Credit Family | $35.90 per month | $359.90 per year |
ChildWatch | $2.75 per month | n/a |
Looking for ways to save? For a limited time, IdentityForce is offering its UltraSecure plan for $9.99 per month or $99.90 per year and its UltraSecure + Credit for $15.99 a month or $159.90 a year.
After getting hands-on experience with the service, we gave IdentifyForce strong marks in almost every category. With that said, you’ll want to pay close attention to the features offered in each plan, as each option provides different monitoring and a different level of coverage.
Again, you’ll choose between the UltraSecure and UltraSecure + Credit plans. These options are actually quite similar, the only major difference being that UltraSecure + Credit includes credit monitoring features (three-bureau credit monitoring and access to credit reports). As you’ll see, we strongly recommend having credit monitoring in place — especially across all three credit bureaus. And keep in mind that you can add IdentityForce’s child monitoring service, ChildWatch, to either individual plan. Family plans already include ChildWatch.
UltraSecure is a solid identity monitoring option that skips most credit-related features. We found it to be slightly cheaper than most options that include credit monitoring, but it still includes lots of non-credit identity monitoring features.
Fortunately, UltraSecure comes with social security number monitoring. It also includes a light version of credit monitoring, which would alert you if someone requested your credit report. We think you’ll appreciate this — as it’s important to know right away if a criminal is attempting to take out a loan or apply for a credit card in your name. IdentityForce also keeps an eye on public records, the Web, and the Dark Web, looking for your sensitive information being used fraudulently.
Combined, we think these features make UltraSecure a stronger entry-level plan than alternative options offered by top brands like Zander Insurance or Identity Guard. These companies focus more on identity theft recovery and insurance, and less on credit monitoring.
FYI: It takes a special browser just to access sites on the “Dark Web.”2 These sites are very secure and anonymous, but that can be a bad thing when they’re used by criminals who want to avoid the prying eyes of the law.
Some of our other favorite features of the IdentityForce UltraSecure plan include the mobile app and “online PC protection tool” to help cover our digital security needs.
UltraSecure also includes certain features we don’t typically see in entry-level plans. These include sex offender registry monitoring and social media monitoring features.
We even had the option of adding bank and credit card accounts to be monitored — not bad for a basic plan for less than $20 per month. All in all, if you’re looking for basic coverage, then UltraSecure is a safe bet. But if you fall victim to an identity crime, we think you’ll be better off with a more robust plan.
Who it’s best for: UltraSecure makes sense for anyone looking for basic identity coverage without a full suite of credit monitoring features.
You can probably tell from the name of this bundle that it includes credit features (we appreciate when companies are direct). We really enjoyed trying out this service. The UltraSecure plan will notify you if (or when!) your credit is pulled for a credit check, but UltraSecure + Credit will let you check your credit report yourself. This plan also comes with three-bureau credit monitoring, as well as access to our credit scores.
Did You Know? The scores we get from UltraSecure + Credit use the VantageScore metric. VantageScore is similar to FICO, as it takes all three bureaus into account to calculate a score.
Credit monitoring is an important feature. While identity monitoring tells you if your information may have been compromised, credit monitoring tells you if that information is used in actions that could damage your financial security and credit reputation. For example, IdentityForce will alert you if a bad actor applies for a credit card or takes out a loan in your name. With that knowledge, you’ll be able to lock down your credit to prevent any further financial damage.
It’s nice that IdentityForce offers credit scores and reports, too. Tracking your credit score is smart, especially if you’re planning to take out a large loan like a mortgage soon. Being able to keep tabs on your credit score is a great reason to get a service like IdentityGuard in your corner.
Who it’s best for: UltraSecure + Credit is ideal for folks looking for complete protection that includes three-bureau credit monitoring.
How about a plan for the whole family? The ChildWatch option is a great choice, but remember, it’s not a standalone plan. You can only add it to either the UltraSecure plan or the UltraSecure + Credit plan. With that said, at only $2.75 per month, you’d be wise to consider this coverage for your children.
Did You Know? Crooks can use children’s social security numbers to apply for credit cards, loans, and even government benefits. Fraud like this can go undiscovered for years and be a major chore to clean up later. The good news is that child identity theft is very rare.3 Nevertheless, we recommend that you cover your kids just in case.
Note that ChildWatch monitors your child’s identity in public records and online, including the Dark Web and social-media sites. It tracks your child’s personal information, like their social security number. If you have little ones in the home, we recommend having some sort of identity monitoring for kids.
IdentityForce has some really strong features, and we gave it high marks after using the service ourselves. If money is not an issue, this should be one of the top identity theft protection services on your list.
But what if money is an issue? Well, we think that’s a little trickier. At its standard price of $17.95 per month, the UltraSecure plan looks a little expensive to us. We can say that UltraSecure offers more features than some of its entry-level competitors. But the price is close to what you’d pay for bigger and better plans with three-bureau credit monitoring, recovery features, the whole deal. We’d also like to see spouse monitoring, but we guess you can’t have it all!
At $23.99 per month, we think that the UltraSecure + Credit plan offers solid value. It’s not a bargain-basement option like Zander, but it’s fairly priced for what you get. In our experience, IdentityForce’s top-tier coverage is the much better deal of the two plans.
Keep in mind, though, that right now, UltraSecure costs $9.99 per month and UltraSecure + Credit costs $15.99 thanks to an on-going, limited-time deal. These prices are hard to turn down, so if you liked what you saw, now would be the perfect time to get a subscription. At the very least, you’ll get to try IdentityForce and decide if the service is worth the price once the deal is over.
The parent company of IdentityForce is Sontiq. Sontiq is actually brand-new to the market: It formed in 2019 when EZShield acquired IdentityForce.4 And it’s worth mentioning that IdentityForce existed long before Sontiq. In fact, IdentityForce’s history dates way back to 2005.5
These days, IdentityForce enjoys a great reputation for identity theft protection. In fact, critics and customers tend to rate IdentityForce as one of the best brands in the business. We also rank them among the top identity protection services.
Yes, IdentityForce offers family protection plans for $24.90 per month or $249 per year. This plan protects two adults and unlimited children.
The basic plan is $17.99 per month, while the advanced plan is $23.99 per month. We recommend going premium, as the basic plan doesn’t include credit monitoring.
Yes, but only if you purchase the premium plan; it’s called UltraSecure+Credit. That’s the plan we covered in this review.
Yes, but for day-to-day use, we recommend using the desktop platform.
Yes, they offer a 30-day free trial of either of their services, but we’ve found this to be standard in the industry.
CSID. Gredler, C. (2016, September 9). The Real Cost of Identity Theft.
https://www.csid.com/2016/09/real-cost-identity-theft/
ZDNet. Patterson, D. (2016, September 1). How the Dark Web Works.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/how-the-dark-web-works/
Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information. (Retrieved May 13, 2020). Child Identity Theft.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0040-child-identity-theft
IdentityForce. (Retrieved June 11, 2020). Our Story.
https://www.identityforce.com/about/our-story
Sontiq. (2015, August 15). Two Powerhouses Unite: EZShield + IdentityForce.
https://www.sontiq.com/ezshield-acquires-identityforce/