An in-depth comparison of the major consumer-facing breach and dark-web scanners, what each one actually does, who it's for, and what it'll cost you.
The twenty services in the table cover essentially the entire consumer-facing data scanner and dark-web monitoring market. Beyond these, dozens of enterprise threat-intelligence platforms (Recorded Future, SpyCloud, Flare, Breachsense, CrowdStrike, Flashpoint, DarkOwl) target corporate security teams rather than individuals.
The lineup spans free lookup tools, free teasers attached to paid suites, full paid identity-protection bundles, family/fintech plays, and credit-bureau-backed services, sorted by composite review score.
Sorted by composite review score · green pill = free service, red pill = paid · scroll horizontally for full table
| Service | Type | Paid Plan Cost | What Gets Scanned | Continuous Monitoring | Data Broker Removal | User Ratings | Composite Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton LifeLock Breach Detection lifelock.norton.com/learn/data-breaches/breach-detection Gen Digital (Norton + LifeLock + Avast) Read full review | Paid Suite with free teaser scan | LifeLock Core $12.49/mo · Advanced $19.99/mo · Total $34.99/mo. Annual plans cheaper. Renewal prices typically jump 30-45%. | Dark web, SSN, bank accounts, credit applications, public records, USPS address changes, phone porting, BNPL, utility accounts. | Yes Continuous after subscription begins. One of the broadest monitoring footprints in the consumer space. | Yes, automatic on all new plans; scans every 90 days | 4.80/5 | |
| Greenlight Dark Web Scan get.greenlight.com/dark-web-scan Greenlight Financial Technology Read full review | Paid Suite (family fintech bundle) | Core $5.99/mo · Max $9.98/mo · Infinity $14.98/mo · Family Shield $19.98/mo (the tier that includes full ID monitoring). Family Shield is the relevant one for scanning. | Whole-family PII, SSN, dark web, credit file, financial accounts across most US banks. Optional senior fraud protection (+2 elders). | Yes Continuous on Family Shield tier | No | 4.75/5 | |
| Aura scan.aura.com Aura · also owns Identity Guard Read full review | Paid Suite with free teaser scan | Individual $12/mo (annual) · Couple $22/mo · Family $30/mo · Kids $10/mo. 14-day free trial; 60-day money-back. Renewal price stays flat (unlike LifeLock). | ~130 data points: SSN, credit cards, bank, home/auto title, medical IDs, 401(k), investment, gaming tags. Flags malware-linked breaches. | Yes AI-driven continuous monitoring. Claims fraud alerts up to 650× faster than competitors. | Yes, data broker and spam list removal included in every plan | 4.64/5 | |
| IDShield idshield.com LegalShield (Pre-Paid Legal Services) Read full review | Paid Suite | Individual $14.95/mo · Family $29.95/mo. 3-bureau credit monitoring +$5/mo. Up to $3M insurance, highest on this list. | SSN, dark web, social media, financial accounts, court records, child SSN (family plan), high-risk apps. Licensed PIs handle restoration. | Yes Continuous; 24/7 emergency support | Yes, PrivacyCheck data broker scrubbing on all plans | 4.40/5 | |
| PrivacyGuard privacyguard.com Trilegiant / Affinion Read full review | Paid Suite | Identity $9.99/mo · Credit $19.99/mo · Total Protection $24.99/mo. Up to $1M insurance on Total tier only. | 3-bureau credit monitoring, SSN (up to 10 kids), dark web, public records, bank monitoring. Includes secure browser + secure keyboard. | Yes Continuous with email + SMS alerts | No | 4.40/5 | |
| Malwarebytes Digital Footprint malwarebytes.com/digital-footprint Malwarebytes Corp. Read full review | Free Tool | Free standalone. Continuous monitoring lives inside Malwarebytes ID Theft Protection ($7.99-$15.99/mo). | Deepest free scan: email, plaintext passwords (actually shown), DOB, phone, address, SSN, driver's license, cards, bank, crypto, socials, botnet status. | Free tier: one-time Continuous monitoring requires the paid ID Theft Protection product. | Yes, on paid tiers | 4.33/5 | |
| Surfshark Alert surfshark.com/alert Surfshark (Nord Security) Read full review | Paid Suite (Surfshark One bundle) | Surfshark One $2.69-$3.49/mo (2-yr plan). Up to 71% off intro pricing. Bundles VPN, antivirus, Search, Alternative ID. | Emails, credit cards, national IDs (90+ countries). Real-time breach alerts with leaked details (passwords, IPs, etc.) shown. | Yes 24/7 continuous + quarterly data security reports | Via Incogni (separate Nord product, not bundled) | 4.25/5 | |
| Identity Guard identityguard.com Aura · founded 1996 · IBM Watson AI Read full review | Paid Suite | Value $7.50/mo · Total $19.99/mo · Ultra $29.99/mo (individual). Family plans $14.99-$39.99/mo. Renewal price climbs ~20% in year two. | SSN, dark web, financial accounts, credit file, public records, social media. IBM Watson AI risk scoring. Top tier: 3-bureau credit. | Yes 24/7 continuous; near real-time alerts | Yes, automatic data broker scrubbing on Total and Ultra tiers | 4.20/5 | |
| Allstate Identity Protection aip.com Allstate Corp. · formerly InfoArmor Read full review | Paid Suite | Essentials $9.99/mo · Premier $17.99/mo · Blue Family $24.99/mo. $1-2M insurance + stolen funds reimbursement. | SSN, dark web, social media monitoring, financial accounts, 401(k)/HSA/tax-return reimbursement. TransUnion credit (1 bureau standard). | Yes 24/7 continuous; 98% post-theft satisfaction | Yes, included on most plans | 4.15/5 | |
| NordProtect nordprotect.com Nord Security · launched 2023 Read full review | Paid Suite | Starter $6.99/mo · Silver $9.99/mo · Gold $14.99/mo · Platinum $19.99/mo (2-year plan pricing; standalone is higher). HSB-underwritten insurance. | Dark web, SSN, credit (1 bureau / 3 on Platinum), financial accounts. Up to 5 emails + phones. US only (excludes NY). | Yes 24/7 continuous dark web + credit monitoring | Via Incogni Included only on Platinum bundle | 4.10/5 | |
| Experian IdentityWorks experian.com/protection Experian · credit bureau giant Read full review | Free Tier + paid upgrades | Basic $0 · Plus $9.99/mo · Premium $24.99/mo. Family $34.99/mo (covers up to 10 kids). 7-day full trial on paid plans. | Free: Experian credit + FICO + dark web. Paid: 3-bureau, SSN, financial accounts, socials, $1M insurance. No standalone app. | Yes Continuous on all tiers including free | Limited Privacy scans only on paid tiers | 4.05/5 | |
| Microsoft Defender microsoft.com/microsoft-365/microsoft-defender-for-individuals Microsoft · Experian-powered ID monitoring Read full review | Bundled (M365 sub required) | $6.99/mo (M365 Personal) · $9.99/mo (M365 Family). Defender alone isn't sold separately. $1M insurance + $100K lost funds. | 60+ types of PII (emails, SSNs, passport, bank, cards, etc.) for self + family. Experian-powered credit monitoring + dark web scans. | Yes Continuous; alerts across all signed-in devices | No | 4.05/5 | |
| ID Watchdog idwatchdog.com Equifax · founded 2005 Read full review | Paid Suite | Select $14.95/mo · Premium $21.95/mo. Family +$9/mo (2 adults + 4 kids). Up to $2M insurance + $1M for 401(k)/HSA. | 1 bureau (Select) or 3 bureaus (Premium), SSN, dark web, sex offender registry, USPS address changes, high-risk transactions, subprime loan block. | Yes Continuous; daily Equifax credit reports | No | 3.95/5 | |
| Have I Been Pwned haveibeenpwned.com Independent · founded 2013 by Troy Hunt Read full review | Free Tool | Free for individuals. Paid API tiers for businesses ($3.95 - $1,995/mo). | Email against 640+ disclosed breaches (~14B records). Pwned Passwords (630M+) checks passwords via k-anonymity hashing. | Yes Free email-based breach notification subscription. Domain-wide alerts free after verifying domain ownership. | No | 3.70/5 | |
| Trend Micro ID Protection idprotect.trendmicro.com/en-us/leakchecker Trend Micro Inc. Read full review | Paid Suite with free teaser scan | Roughly $2.99-$4.99/mo (varies by region and bundle). Often cheapest paid option on this list. | Up to 5 emails, 10 credit cards, SSN, bank, phone. Social login monitoring (Facebook, Google, Instagram). | Yes Continuous on paid plan, with mobile app push alerts | No | 3.27/5 | |
| McAfee Identity Theft Protection mcafee.com/plus McAfee Corp. · TransUnion data partner Read full review | Paid Suite | McAfee+ Premium $4.17/mo · Advanced $8.33/mo · Ultimate $16.67/mo (annual billing). Unlimited devices on top tiers. $1-2M insurance. | Dark web, SSN, 60+ PII points, financial accounts, credit (1 bureau low / 3 top), data broker cleanup. Bundled antivirus + VPN. | Yes 24/7 monitoring with mobile push alerts | Yes, Personal Data Cleanup on Advanced and Ultimate | 3.10/5 | |
| F-Secure ID Protection f-secure.com F-Secure Corp. · Helsinki, Finland Read full review | Paid Suite | ID Protection $49.99/yr standalone · F-Secure Total $69.99/yr (adds antivirus + VPN). 1, 3, or 5 device licenses. | Email, passwords, bank accounts, cards. Includes built-in password manager. AV-TEST "Top Product" rated. EU privacy-first. | Yes 24/7 dark web monitoring + breach alerts | No | 3.05/5 | |
| IdentityForce identityforce.com TransUnion · founded 1978 Read full review | Paid Suite | UltraSecure $19.90/mo · UltraSecure+Credit $29.99/mo. Family plans available. $1-2M insurance included. | SSN, dark web, court records, social media, address changes, medical ID fraud, lost-wallet help. Top tier: 3-bureau credit. | Yes Continuous monitoring with mobile alerts | No | 2.85/5 | |
| DataBreach.com databreach.com Atlas Privacy / Atlas Data Privacy Corp. Read full review | Free Tool | Free. Atlas Privacy's paid privacy product is sold separately as a data-removal subscription. | Email against a curated breach index. Surfaces very recent breaches with row counts and dates on the homepage. | Email alerts Optional notification for newly indexed exposures | No (sold via separate Atlas Privacy product) | N/A | |
| Mozilla Monitor monitor.mozilla.org Mozilla Foundation · powered by HIBP data Read full review | Free Tool | Free only. Mozilla Monitor Plus (the paid $8.99-$13.99/mo data-broker removal tier) was discontinued December 17, 2025. | Email against the HIBP breach corpus. Friendlier UI + step-by-step remediation guidance. | Yes Free ongoing email-based breach alerts for up to 20 addresses (raised after Plus shutdown). | No (removed when Plus was discontinued) | N/A |
Composite score = review-weighted average across iOS App Store, Google Play, and Trustpilot. Yelp had no meaningful listings for any of these (Yelp is built for local businesses).
Composite = Σ(rating × review_count) ÷ Σ(review_count) across all platforms with available data. A 4.8-star rating from 100,000 iOS reviews counts roughly five times more than a 4.0-star rating from 20,000 Trustpilot reviews.
Estimated review counts (marked "est.") were used where exact figures aren't publicly published. The composite is directionally accurate but shouldn't be treated as a precise rank.