An analogy would be this: one is a big, heavy door with a strong lock, the other is a burglar alarm system.

A credit freeze won't keep someone from stealing your credit card number, but it will keep them from opening an account in your name. You will have to "unfreeze" the account every time you apply for any form of credit, but it should protect you from others creating false credit records in your name.

Credit monitoring won't prevent either problem, it will only tell you when something suspicious happens (i.e. after someone has created a phony account in your name.

I've been a credit card fraud victim and have used several of these monitoring services over the years. I've never found them useful and they haven't prevented new losses.

If you're paranoid about your credit information or have been a victim, use a credit report freeze. But I can't see much value in these monitoring services.

Freescore.com actually gives you all the 3 credit scores and 3 credit reports featuring all 3 major credit-reporting bureaus — TransUnion, Equifax and Experian — merged into one easy-to-read Credit Report. Yes, $29.99 is a hefty price to pay for this service but it's the Mercedes of all credit reporting services.
Here is a comparison of what you get: http://www.freescore-reviews.com/freescore-vs-annualcreditreport-compare

$29.95 a month is a hefty price to pay for something you can spend a few minutes doing yourself. You can order your reports and get your true Fico score at Myfico.com. You may not even be getting a FICO score, the one lenders use, at freescore.com.The only reason you would want to consider this is if you've been a victim of fraud. If you have been a victim of fraud you can have fraud alerts added to your reports for free.

Here are some FiLife resources on freezing your credit record:
http://www.filife.com/guides/how-to-freeze-your-credit-report
http://www.filife.com/answers/whats-the-difference-b/559
http://www.filife.com/answers/temporary-freeze-removal/146

Thank you! What is the difference between credit freeze and credit monitoring?