LifeLock Review 2026: Is It Worth the Cost?

LifeLock monitors your accounts for signs of identity theft, alerts you to trouble and helps you recover. Monthly plans range from $11.99 a month to $79.99 a month.

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Updated Jan 5, 2026

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LifeLock offers three tiers of protection. Here are highlights.

What LifeLock does and what it costs

LifeLock Standard: Standard Individual (one adult) is $11.99 per month. Standard Family (two adults) is $23.99 per month. Standard Family (two adults, five kids) is $35.99 per month. You can save more than 40% by paying for a full year upfront.

The Standard plan includes monitoring the use of your Social Security number, name, birth date or address in applications. It also offers credit monitoring at one of the three credit bureaus. It patrols the dark web for your data, verifies any change of address and includes up to $25,000 reimbursement for stolen money or personal expenses.

LifeLock Advantage: You’ll pay $22.99 per month for the middle-tier option. If you spring for a full year upfront at $179.88 the total price lowers by 34%. It will renew at the regular annual price of $239.99. Stolen money and personal expense reimbursements increase to $100,000, but you will still only get monitoring from one of the three credit bureaus.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus: This bumps up stolen money and personal expense reimbursements to $1 million each, adds credit monitoring at all three major credit bureaus and monitors investment activity. Other additions: phone takeover and social media monitoring; home title monitoring; alerts on crimes in your name, and much more.

LifeLock Ultimate Plus for two adults is $69.99 per month. You can save by paying a year at a time; the plan is $32.99 a month for the first year if you pay for the year upfront. The cost will be higher starting with the second year.

If you want coverage for children, the Ultimate Plus option for two adults and up to five children costs $79.99 per month. Like the other plans, you’ll save by purchasing a year’s subscription upfront.

You also may be able to cut costs by finding discount codes.

Is LifeLock worth the price?

You might find a NortonLifeLock product worth the cost if:

You are unwilling to freeze your credit.
You want help resolving an instance of identity theft or have other security worries.
You have more money than time to monitor your accounts for potential signs of identity theft.

Also, weigh the pros and cons:

LifeLock pros

LifeLock provides wide-ranging monitoring and alerts, making it useful if you don’t have the time or desire to monitor your own credit and other accounts for suspicious activity.

It also searches the dark web for your data. While that data cannot be removed, you can take proactive steps — such as changing passwords or notifying the agency that issued identification, such as your driver’s license — to make it less useful.

It’s especially helpful if you know you are at heightened risk because you have already been a victim of identity theft or you want a type of monitoring you cannot or won't do yourself, such as dark web monitoring or checks for criminal activity.

It can also be a good choice if you are looking to bundle virus protection with identity theft monitoring, and can get the features you want by doing so. It may cost less and be easier to use than having two separate services to do those tasks, since the systems are designed to work together.

LifeLock cons

LifeLock is more expensive than some other identity-protection services. Costs can add up quickly if you want to add another adult or children. The service also auto-renews, which can be a convenience — or a nuisance.

If you're on a tight budget, consider using free ID theft prevention services to make yourself less of a target. Your "must-have" services may already be available to you as an employee benefit or because you were affected by a data breach.

LifeLock’s identity theft monitoring, alert and recovery services aim to detect problems and help you bounce back, but it — and other similar services — cannot prevent identity theft.

Identity theft services most often tell you when your identity has already been compromised. The NortonLifeLock website acknowledges that and adds that LifeLock doesn't monitor all transactions at all businesses.

You also can perform many of LifeLock’s identity theft protection services on your own, for free, such as:

Frequently checking your credit accounts online, reading statements and setting activity alerts on financial accounts will help you quickly spot suspicious activity.
Update to secure passwords and use two-factor authentication.
Track changes to your credit score and see your credit report for free on NerdWallet.com.
If you’re a victim of identity theft, you can get a free, customized path to recovery at IdentityTheft.gov.

Finally, there are risks of LifeLock or any other identity theft monitoring service:

You may start to ignore alerts if you become accustomed to receiving many of them.
You may become lax about your own cyber hygiene and checking over statements because you think it’s been taken care of for you.

Freezing your credit reports with the three major credit bureaus is the best way to prevent someone from using your personal information to open accounts.

Freezing and unfreezing your credit at each bureau is free, and NerdWallet recommends it for consumers who aren't actively applying for credit.

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About the authors

Sean Pyles

Sean Pyles, CFP®, is producer and host of NerdWallet's "Smart Money" podcast. On "Smart Money," Sean talks with Nerds across the NerdWallet Content team to answer listeners' personal finance questions. With a focus on thoughtful and actionable money advice, Sean provides real-world guidance that can help consumers better their financial lives. Beyond answering listeners' money questions on "Smart Money," Sean also interviews guests outside of NerdWallet and produces special segments to explore topics like the racial wealth gap, how to start investing and the history of student loans.

Before Sean started podcasting at NerdWallet, he covered topics related to consumer debt. His work has appeared in USA Today, The New York Times and elsewhere. When he's not writing about personal finance, Sean can be found tending to his garden, going for runs and taking his dog for long walks. He is based in Portland, Oregon.

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Lisa Mulka

Lisa Mulka is a freelance writer specializing in personal finance content. With more than 15 years of writing experience, Lisa most recently authored a book on personal financial literacy and served as lead writer on the FDIC’s Money Smart for Young People program. She holds a bachelor’s in creative writing, and master’s degrees in written communication and in educational technology. Lisa lives with her husband and two children in Michigan, where she spends her free time teaching the next generation of writers at Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth.