Score your risk, then compare paid plans against the free DIY stack
Tier prices are typical market rates for mainstream plans, not quotes. The free DIY stack (credit freezes, free monitoring, IRS IP PIN) covers prevention basics for $0.
Paid plans are mostly a convenience layer on top of protections that are free by law. Know which is which before you subscribe.
| Protection | Typical Cost | What It Actually Does |
|---|---|---|
| Credit freeze (all 3 bureaus) | Free (federal law since 2018) | Blocks new accounts in your name; the single strongest prevention step |
| IRS IP PIN | Free | Blocks fraudulent tax returns filed in your name |
| Basic credit monitoring | Free (bank/card apps, some bureaus) | Alerts on credit changes, usually 1–2 bureaus |
| 3-bureau monitoring + alerts | $8 – $15/mo | Near-real-time alerts across all three bureaus |
| SSN + dark-web monitoring | $15 – $25/mo (bundled) | Watches for your SSN or credentials in illicit markets |
| Restoration service | Bundled in paid plans | A caseworker disputes accounts and files paperwork for you |
| Identity theft insurance | Bundled, $25k – $1M limits | Reimburses out-of-pocket recovery costs, usually not the stolen funds |
The pattern: everything in the prevention column is free. Everything in the paid column is about noticing faster and cleaning up easier.
Identity theft protection products are sold on fear and priced per month, which makes it hard to see what a subscription really costs or whether you need one. This tool does two things. First, it scores your actual exposure from the ten factors that matter. Second, it prices a paid plan honestly, total cost over years, against the free alternative most people don't know exists.
Risk points add up across the checklist: unfrozen credit carries the most weight (+3), password reuse and missing 2FA carry +2 each, and exposure factors like breach notices, public profiles, and unprotected mailboxes add +1 to +2. Scores of 0–3 read Low, 4–6 Moderate, 7–9 Elevated, and 10 or more out of a possible 15 reads High. The cost side is simple multiplication: tier price × adults × 12 × years. Standard at $19.99 per adult for a couple over three years is $19.99 × 2 × 36 = $1,439.28.
Answer the risk list honestly, and don't stop at the score. Two checkboxes in the list, freezing your credit and turning on 2FA, are the two highest-value actions on the whole page, and both are free. Then price the tier you were considering. If the multi-year total makes you flinch and your risk came back Low or Moderate, the DIY stack is a defensible choice. If you're High risk, restoration help is the feature worth paying for, not the alerts.
A couple comparing the standard tier at $19.99 per adult: $19.99 × 2 = $39.98 a month, $479.76 a year, and $1,439.28 over three years. The identical prevention outcome, freezes at all three bureaus, IRS IP PINs, free monitoring from their bank and card apps, costs $0. So the question isn't "is $1,439 a lot," it's "is detection speed plus a restoration caseworker worth $1,439 to us?" For a business owner whose SSN appeared in a breach notice, plausibly yes. For a retired couple with frozen credit and 2FA everywhere, the free stack already covers them.
Run the risk side for the same couple: reused passwords (+2), no 2FA (+2), credit not frozen (+3), and one breach notice (+1) totals 8 of 15, Elevated. Fix the top three items and the score drops to 1, Low, for free, while the paid subscription would have left every one of those holes open.
It depends on your risk and what you're buying. A credit freeze, which is free at all three bureaus, blocks most new-account fraud better than any paid plan. What paid plans add is detection speed and, above all, restoration help, a caseworker who disputes accounts and files paperwork for you. If you're a business owner, public figure, or past victim, that help earns its price. If you're a low-exposure person willing to do an hour of free setup, the DIY stack covers most of it for $0.
Four moves, all free: freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (federal law has made it free since 2018), use the free credit monitoring your bank or card issuer already offers, claim an IRS IP PIN so nobody can file a tax return in your name, and put unique passwords plus two-factor authentication on your email and financial accounts. That stack prevents or catches the large majority of identity fraud for exactly $0 a month.
No, and honest marketing admits it. Monitoring tells you something already happened; alerts reach you after a hard inquiry or a new account appears. The only tool that prevents new-account fraud outright is a credit freeze, which is free. Paid plans are best understood as faster detection plus professional cleanup, not prevention.
Out-of-pocket recovery costs: notary and certified mail fees, legal help, and sometimes lost wages for time spent fixing the fraud, with limits from $25,000 up to $1 million. What it usually does NOT cover is the stolen money itself. Fraudulent card charges are reimbursed by your bank or card issuer (federal law caps card liability at $50), and fraudulent bank transfers fall under other protections. So the insurance is narrower than the big number suggests.
Typical tiers run about $8 to $15 a month for basic 3-bureau monitoring, $15 to $25 for standard plans that add SSN and dark-web alerts with restoration help, and $25 to $35 for premium tiers with up to $1 million of expense reimbursement. Family plans and per-extra-adult pricing push higher. A couple on a $19.99 per adult standard plan pays $479.76 a year.
Go to IdentityTheft.gov, the FTC's free tool that generates your official report and a step-by-step recovery plan. Then freeze your credit at all three bureaus, place a one-year fraud alert, change passwords on email and financial accounts, and notify your banks and card issuers. Keep every record: disputes, police reports if required, and the FTC report number are what creditors will ask for.