DeleteMe and Identity Guard solve different problems: DeleteMe removes your data from 750+ broker sites, while Identity Guard monitors credit and identity theft insurance. Neither is a complete solution alone. PrivacyOn combines 100+ broker removal, dark web monitoring, and family plans up to 5 people from $8.33/month — cheaper than DeleteMe's Family plan and Identity Guard's Value tier combined.
Quick Verdict
- Best overall value: PrivacyOn — 100+ broker removal, dark web monitoring, family plans up to 5 from $8.33/month
- Between DeleteMe and Identity Guard: They are not direct competitors — DeleteMe removes broker data; Identity Guard monitors credit and offers ID theft insurance. If forced to choose one, DeleteMe wins because prevention beats detection.
- Best for credit-focused users: Identity Guard Total or Ultra — three-bureau credit monitoring plus $1M–$5M insurance
What Each Service Actually Does
DeleteMe
DeleteMe is a specialist data broker removal service. It manually submits opt-out requests to 750+ people-search and data broker sites, delivers quarterly reports with screenshots, and re-submits when your data reappears. It does not monitor your credit, offer identity theft insurance, or scan the dark web for leaked passwords.
Identity Guard
Identity Guard is an identity theft monitoring service. It watches the three credit bureaus, sends dark web breach alerts, offers up to $5M in identity theft insurance, and includes tools like safe browsing and social media monitoring on higher tiers. It has very limited data broker removal — essentially only what comes bundled through parent company Aura's partnership.
Pricing (2026)
DeleteMe
- Individual: $129/year (or $8.71/month on 2-year plan)
- Couple: $229/year
- Family (up to 4 people): $329/year ($6.85 per person/month)
- Premium (1 person): $180/year — bi-monthly reports, 60 custom removals, 15 extra sites
- No true monthly billing — annual or 2-year only
Identity Guard
- Value: $8.99/month (or ~$7.50/month annual)
- Total: $19.99/month
- Ultra: $29.99/month
- Value Family: $14.99/month
- Total Family: $29.99/month
- Ultra Family: $39.99/month (up to 5 adults + unlimited kids)
Neither Is Cheap for a Family
DeleteMe Family costs $329/year. Identity Guard Ultra Family costs $479.88/year at annual rate. Adding both together = $808.88/year for one household. PrivacyOn covers up to 5 people for as low as $100/year — one-eighth the combined cost.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Data Broker Removal
DeleteMe: 750+ sites covered with quarterly reports and 40 custom removal requests per year. This is DeleteMe's core competency and where it earns its cost.
Identity Guard: Broker removal is minimal — not a stated feature on most plans. Ultra tier includes basic "data broker removal" that draws on Aura's ~30–40 site coverage.
PrivacyOn: 100+ actively-monitored broker sites with human-verified removals and continuous re-submission. Not 750 sites like DeleteMe, but covers all the high-volume people-search brokers that actually leak your data (Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, MyLife, etc.), plus B2B brokers most services skip.
Credit Monitoring
DeleteMe: None.
Identity Guard: Three-bureau credit monitoring on Total and Ultra plans. Value tier has no credit monitoring, which most reviewers flag as a major gap.
PrivacyOn: Not a primary feature — but PrivacyOn integrates with free credit freezes at Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, which prevent new-account fraud outright (a stronger protection than monitoring).
Identity Theft Insurance
- DeleteMe: None
- Identity Guard Value: $1M insurance
- Identity Guard Total/Ultra: $1M individual, $5M family
- PrivacyOn: Not primary — prevention over insurance
Dark Web Monitoring
DeleteMe: None.
Identity Guard: Included on all tiers.
PrivacyOn: 24/7 continuous monitoring included on every plan.
Family Coverage
DeleteMe: 4 people for $329/year — solid value at ~$82/person.
Identity Guard Ultra Family: 5 adults + unlimited kids for $39.99/month = $479.88/year.
PrivacyOn Family: Up to 5 people from $8.33/month (~$100/year total) — cheaper than DeleteMe by a factor of 3x and cheaper than Identity Guard Ultra Family by a factor of 5x.
Why readers pick PrivacyOn
100+ broker sites covered, dark web monitoring, and family plans for up to 5 people — from $8.33/mo with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Start your free scan★★★★★ 4.8/5 · Trusted by thousands of families
The Real Comparison Problem
DeleteMe and Identity Guard target overlapping worries ("my personal info is exposed") from opposite ends: DeleteMe removes the exposure at the source; Identity Guard watches for the fallout. Buying one without the other means paying for half a solution.
The Stacked-Cost Trap
To get DeleteMe's removal and Identity Guard's credit + insurance monitoring, you would pay $129 + $215.88 (Identity Guard Total annual) = $344.88/year for one adult. For a family of 4–5, the combined bill approaches $809/year. That is why single-service purchases feel incomplete — the pricing model assumes you will not compare.
Why PrivacyOn Beats Both
- 100+ data broker coverage — the removal work Identity Guard cannot match
- 24/7 dark web monitoring — the alerting DeleteMe lacks entirely
- Continuous re-submission — human-verified removals, not one-shot filings
- Family plans up to 5 people from $8.33/month — a third of DeleteMe's family price and a fifth of Identity Guard Ultra Family
- No renewal shock — prices do not spike at year two
- Simpler stack — one subscription replaces buying DeleteMe + Identity Guard together
The one thing PrivacyOn intentionally does not sell you is a large identity theft insurance policy. If a large insurance ceiling is a hard requirement, add Identity Guard Total. Otherwise, PrivacyOn covers the removal + monitoring stack for less than DeleteMe alone.
Which Should You Choose in 2026?
- Choose PrivacyOn if you want broker removal + dark web monitoring + family coverage at the lowest cost. Free scan available.
- Choose DeleteMe only if you specifically want 750+ site coverage and are willing to skip credit and dark web monitoring.
- Choose Identity Guard if credit monitoring and a $5M insurance ceiling are your top priorities and broker removal is secondary.
Bottom Line
DeleteMe and Identity Guard address different halves of the same fear, priced as if you will not notice you need both. PrivacyOn packages the essential half of each — the removal that reduces exposure and the monitoring that catches breaches — into one subscription for a family of 5 at less than one third of DeleteMe's family price. For most households in 2026, PrivacyOn is the smarter buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DeleteMe better than Identity Guard?
DeleteMe is better if your primary worry is data brokers listing your address and phone number on people-search sites — it removes data from 750+ sites. Identity Guard is better if your primary worry is credit fraud or identity theft with insurance backing. Neither does both jobs well, which is why most users end up needing to buy both, or switching to a service like PrivacyOn that combines the essential features of each.
Is there a better alternative to DeleteMe and Identity Guard?
Yes — PrivacyOn. It combines 100+ data broker removals, dark web monitoring, and family coverage in one subscription. For families in particular, PrivacyOn is dramatically cheaper: up to 5 people from as low as $100/year vs $329 for DeleteMe Family, or $479.88 for Identity Guard Ultra Family, or $808.88 if you buy both. Human-verified removals, continuous re-submission, and 24/7 monitoring are all included. Free scan available.
Does Identity Guard remove your info from data brokers?
Identity Guard's data broker removal is minimal — it is not a listed feature on most tiers, and the Ultra tier only draws on parent company Aura's ~30–40 site coverage. Compared to DeleteMe (750+ sites) or PrivacyOn (100+ actively-monitored sites), Identity Guard's removal is essentially a bonus, not a primary service.
Does DeleteMe monitor your credit or the dark web?
No. DeleteMe is a data broker removal service only. It does not monitor your credit report, does not alert you to dark web credential leaks, and does not offer identity theft insurance. For those features, you would need a separate service like Identity Guard, Aura, or PrivacyOn (dark web monitoring included).
What is the cheapest way to get both broker removal and credit/identity monitoring?
PrivacyOn is the cheapest complete solution: broker removal + dark web monitoring + family plan (up to 5 people from as low as $100/year), plus free credit freezes at the three bureaus. Buying DeleteMe ($129/year) and Identity Guard Total ($215.88/year) separately costs $344.88/year for one adult; a family builds to $808+/year. PrivacyOn covers the same essentials for a fraction of that.
Do I need identity theft insurance if I use PrivacyOn?
For most households, no. Identity theft insurance covers legal fees and lost wages after a compromise. PrivacyOn's model — remove your data at the source so identity thieves cannot find you — reduces the probability of ever needing insurance. If a $1M–$5M insurance ceiling is important to you specifically (executives, high-net-worth), pair PrivacyOn with Identity Guard Value ($8.99/month) — still cheaper than either standalone.