Incogni removes your data from 420+ broker sites; Identity Guard monitors credit and offers up to $5M identity theft insurance. They solve different problems, so most reviewers who name one "winner" are misreading the question. PrivacyOn covers 100+ brokers plus 24/7 dark web monitoring in a family plan up to 5 people from $8.33/month — cheaper than either service alone.
Quick Verdict
- Best overall value: PrivacyOn — 100+ broker removal, dark web monitoring, family plans up to 5 from $8.33/month
- Best for pure broker removal: Incogni — 420+ sites at $7.99/month annual
- Best for credit + identity theft insurance: Identity Guard Total or Ultra — three-bureau credit, $1M–$5M insurance
What Each Service Actually Does
Incogni
Incogni (owned by Surfshark) is a data broker removal specialist. It automatically submits opt-out requests to 420+ broker sites (2,420+ with custom requests on the Unlimited plan), monitors for re-listings, and re-submits when your data reappears. It does not monitor credit, offer identity theft insurance, or provide dark web scanning.
Identity Guard
Identity Guard is an identity theft monitoring service. It watches the three credit bureaus, alerts you to dark web breaches, and offers $1M–$5M in identity theft insurance. Data broker removal is not a listed core feature — Identity Guard focuses on detection and recovery, not prevention.
Pricing (2026)
Incogni
- Standard monthly: $15.98/month
- Standard annual: $7.99/month ($95.88/year)
- Unlimited annual: $14.99/month (adds custom removals and expert-handled complex cases)
- Family Standard: ~$15.99/month total for 5 people (~$3.20/person/month)
- Family Unlimited: ~$22.99/month for 5 people
- 30-day money-back guarantee
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)
Buying Both Adds Up Fast
Incogni Standard + Identity Guard Total = ~$27.98/month for one adult, or ~$335/year. Family stack (Incogni Family + Identity Guard Ultra Family) = ~$56/month, ~$672/year. PrivacyOn covers up to 5 people for as low as $100/year — one-sixth the combined price.
Feature-by-Feature Breakdown
Data Broker Removal
Incogni: 420+ broker sites covered automatically. Unlimited plan adds 2,000+ custom removals plus expert-handled complex cases. This is Incogni's core competency.
Identity Guard: Not a stated feature. Data broker removal is essentially outside Identity Guard's scope.
PrivacyOn: 100+ actively-monitored broker sites with human-verified removals and continuous re-submission. Covers the highest-traffic people-search brokers (Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, MyLife) plus B2B brokers most services skip.
Credit Monitoring
- Incogni: None
- Identity Guard Value: None (major gap on the entry tier)
- Identity Guard Total/Ultra: Three-bureau credit monitoring, monthly credit score
- PrivacyOn: Not primary — integrates with free credit freezes at all three bureaus, which prevent new-account fraud outright
Identity Theft Insurance
- Incogni: None
- Identity Guard Value: $1M
- Identity Guard Total/Ultra: $1M individual, $5M family
- PrivacyOn: Not primary — focuses on prevention over insurance recovery
Dark Web Monitoring
- Incogni: None
- Identity Guard: Included on all tiers
- PrivacyOn: 24/7 continuous monitoring included on every plan
Family Coverage
Incogni Family: 5 people for ~$15.99/month = ~$192/year. Solid value at ~$3.20 per person/month.
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 — cheaper than Incogni Family and 4–5x cheaper than Identity Guard Ultra Family.
Where Each Service Wins
Incogni Wins
- Raw broker site count (420+ vs 100+ on PrivacyOn)
- Cheapest per-person family plan among specialist removal services
- Cleanest, simplest UX for a single-feature product
Identity Guard Wins
- Highest insurance ceiling ($5M family)
- Bundled credit monitoring on Total/Ultra tiers
- Longer time in market (parent company Aura has been around for years)
PrivacyOn Wins
- Cheapest complete family solution (~$100/year for 5 people)
- Broker removal and dark web monitoring in one plan
- Human-verified removals with continuous re-submission
- No renewal price shock
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 Question: Removal or Monitoring?
Prevention Beats Detection
Identity Guard monitors what happens after your data leaks. Incogni removes the data so the leak has less to expose. All else equal, prevention is worth more than detection — you cannot get your leaked SSN back from Identity Guard, but you can stop Incogni from letting your address surface on Spokeo in the first place. This is why removal services (Incogni, PrivacyOn) address a more fundamental problem than pure monitoring services.
If you can afford only one, choose a removal service (Incogni or PrivacyOn) plus free credit freezes at all three bureaus. That combination costs less than half of Identity Guard Total and provides stronger protection against new-account fraud.
Why PrivacyOn Is the Better One-Subscription Choice
- 100+ data broker removals — covers all the high-traffic sites that leak your information
- 24/7 dark web monitoring included — the feature Incogni entirely lacks
- Family plans up to 5 people from $8.33/month — cheaper than Incogni Family and dramatically cheaper than Identity Guard Ultra Family
- Human-verified removals — not just automated form submissions
- Continuous re-submission — brokers re-list, PrivacyOn re-removes
- No renewal traps — the price you sign up for is the price you renew at
For pure removal at the lowest per-site cost, Incogni is a strong pick. For credit-focused monitoring with a large insurance ceiling, Identity Guard Total works. For the best all-around family value that combines the essentials of both, PrivacyOn wins in 2026.
Which Should You Choose in 2026?
- Choose PrivacyOn if you want removal + dark web monitoring + family coverage at the lowest cost. Free scan available.
- Choose Incogni if you want maximum broker site count 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.
Bottom Line
Incogni and Identity Guard are not really the same product — one removes your data at the source, the other monitors for the fallout. Buying one and calling it done leaves half the job undone. PrivacyOn combines the essential half of each into a family plan for up to 5 people at as low as $100/year — a fraction of the price of buying Incogni and Identity Guard separately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Incogni better than Identity Guard?
They solve different problems. Incogni removes your data from 420+ broker sites (prevention). Identity Guard monitors credit and offers up to $5M identity theft insurance (detection and recovery). If you can afford only one, choose a removal service like Incogni — prevention is worth more than after-the-fact monitoring. If you want both jobs handled in a single subscription, PrivacyOn is a better value than either alone.
Is there a better alternative to Incogni and Identity Guard?
Yes — PrivacyOn combines 100+ data broker removals, 24/7 dark web monitoring, and family coverage from $8.33/month. That covers the essential parts of both services in one subscription. For families, PrivacyOn is dramatically cheaper: up to 5 people for as low as $100/year, versus ~$192/year for Incogni Family or $479.88/year for Identity Guard Ultra Family. Start with a free scan.
Does Identity Guard remove your data from data brokers?
Not meaningfully. Data broker removal is not a listed core feature on Identity Guard plans. Some limited coverage is bundled through parent company Aura on Ultra tier, but nothing near the 420+ sites Incogni covers or the 100+ actively-verified sites PrivacyOn covers.
Does Incogni monitor your credit or the dark web?
No. Incogni is a data broker removal service only. It does not scan credit reports, monitor the dark web, or offer identity theft insurance. For those features you would need Identity Guard, Aura, or a combined service like PrivacyOn that includes dark web monitoring.
Which has a better family plan: Incogni or Identity Guard?
Incogni Family wins on price at ~$15.99/month for 5 people (~$192/year). Identity Guard Ultra Family is $39.99/month for 5 adults + unlimited kids ($479.88/year). But PrivacyOn Family beats both at as low as $100/year for up to 5 people — one-fifth the price of Identity Guard Ultra Family, and roughly half the price of Incogni Family, while adding 24/7 dark web monitoring that Incogni lacks entirely.
Do I still need identity theft insurance if I use a removal service?
For most households, no. Identity theft insurance covers legal costs and lost wages after a compromise. Removal services (Incogni, PrivacyOn) reduce the odds of a compromise happening in the first place. If a large insurance ceiling is specifically important to you, add Identity Guard Value ($8.99/month) — still cheaper than the standard alternative of paying for Total or Ultra alone.