In this article:
Identity theft and fraud protection for your finances, personal info, and devices.
What’s the Difference Between Aura and LifeLock?
It can sometimes be hard to understand the differences between all-in-one identity theft protection providers like Aura and LifeLock. Both services provide some level of identity and credit monitoring, digital security tools to help protect your devices, Dark Web monitoring, fraud resolution support, and identity theft insurance.
Yet, although they provide similar services, there are important differences between the two.
The main differences between Aura and LifeLock are that:
- Aura provides a simpler approach to online protection, with all of its plans including the same high level of protective features — including identity and three-bureau credit monitoring, digital security tools for all of your devices, 24/7 U.S.-based support, and identity theft insurance. Aura also places a special focus on family safety with more robust family plans.
- LifeLock offers a more complicated, yet wider range of plans — from lower-priced barebones protection to fully-featured packages that are similar to Aura’s — but at a much higher monthly price (especially after LifeLock’s first year discount expires).
Ultimately, your choice will depend on your own specific needs, budget, and which brand you trust to keep you and your family safe.
Key takeaways:
- LifeLock and Aura both provide similar “all in one” services to help shield against identity theft, fraud, and hacking — however, LifeLock’s plans are more complicated and costly.
- Aura has been rated the #1 identity theft protection solution by Forbes, Security.org, TechRadar, Forbes, USNews.com, and others. PCMag rated LifeLock with Norton 360 as its top pick (although customers need to pay extra for the Norton 360 add-on).
- LifeLock was the victim of a cyberattack in late 2022 that exposed passwords and credentials for nearly one million users [*].
Aura vs. LifeLock: Head-to-Head Comparison
Aura and LifeLock take very different approaches to how they provide features and services.
While Aura is an all-in-one digital security solution that includes everything you need to protect yourself and your family from cybercrime, LifeLock lets you choose from a wide variety of packages that offer various tools and services.
Here’s a closer look at how both companies compare:
Both companies offer discounts when you pay for a year of service upfront. For individual plans (not including the barebones LifeLock Identity Advisor plan), Aura is slightly more expensive than LifeLock’s entry-level offering.
However, LifeLock’s more affordable Standard plan is not the best point of comparison to Aura, as it offers significantly less protection.
Instead, Aura’s individual plan is more comparable to the more expensive LifeLock Ultimate plus with Norton 360 added on.
This makes Aura the better choice for anyone looking for comprehensive security and account monitoring to safeguard against suspicious activity. LifeLock may be preferable if you want to address specific risks and avoid overpaying for additional features.
📚 Related: Is Identity Theft Protection Really Worth It? What You Need To Know →
Aura Review: Best Features, Pros & Cons, and Pricing
Aura positions itself as a complete digital security solution by combining identity and credit monitoring, digital security tools, 24/7 support, and identity theft insurance — all in a single, easy-to-use web or mobile app.
Forbes, USNews.com, TechRadar, and others have all named Aura the best identity theft protection service in the past year.
Unlike LifeLock, all of Aura’s plans basically include the same set of features. The only difference is in the number of devices protected and the addition of parental controls, child identity monitoring, and an AI-powered spam call and text blocker that’s automatically included with family plans.
Standout features on all of Aura’s plans include three-bureau credit monitoring (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) with the industry’s fastest fraud alerts, AI-powered unusual transaction alerts for all linked financial accounts, and extensive family plans that cover up to five adults and an unlimited number of children.
Aura also includes automatic data broker removal services to help protect your online privacy and limit the amount of spam and scam messages and calls that you receive.
However, Aura’s plan and pricing structure doesn’t offer a lot of flexibility. It provides its customers with one set of features and a very limited number of add-ons. You can’t pick and choose between features.
Who should choose Aura?
- Individuals and couples who want comprehensive protection against identity theft, scams, and fraud. Aura’s individual and couple plans provide some of the highest level of protection at a reasonable monthly cost.
- Large or extended families. Aura’s family plans cover up to five adults (who can reside in different households) and unlimited children, meaning you can use a single plan to protect your parents, grandparents, and children.
- Anyone who has been a part of a recent data breach. Scammers almost always try to use your leaked personal data for financial gain. A recent mystery shopper survey found that Aura notified users of changes to their credit reports more reliably and faster than competitors — giving Aura customers a better chance of avoiding identity theft.
LifeLock: Best Features, Pros & Cons, and Pricing
LifeLock offers a broad (and often complicated) range of cybersecurity and identity theft protection services bundled into three main tiers — Standard, Advantage, and Ultimate Plus. For additional costs, each plan can be expanded to cover individuals, couples, or families (two adults and five kids), along with adding on Norton 360 digital security tools.
LifeLock also recently introduced a new barebones Identity Advisor plan, which includes Dark Web monitoring, data breach notifications, and access to the company’s support and identity restoration teams.
With a wide range of plan options, LifeLock can be a good choice for people who are only interested in a few specific features rather than an all-in-one plan.
For example, all Aura plans include antivirus software and other digital security features, while LifeLock offers plans without those tools.
You may also already be getting three-bureau credit monitoring from another provider and only want to “top up” your protection with one of LifeLock’s basic plans.
Is LifeLock safe? Yes, for the most part, LifeLock is a safe company to use — however, it has had its fair share of security and privacy concerns. For example, last year, a data breach compromised the passwords of nearly one million LifeLock users [*]. The company has also been fined over $100 million by the FTC for failure to secure user data [*].
Who should choose LifeLock?
- People who already receive online security services or credit monitoring from other providers and want access to specific LifeLock features, such as Dark Web monitoring.
- People who only want single-bureau credit monitoring without any additional protection against identity theft or fraud.
- Anyone who wants an identity theft protection plan that includes a specific feature that few competitors offer — like PayDay Loan Locks or social media monitoring.
📚 Related: Identity Guard vs. LifeLock Comparison: What You Need To Know →
Is Identity Guard Better Than Both Aura and LifeLock?
Aura and LifeLock aren’t your only options when it comes to identity theft protection.
Identity Guard is a leading identity theft protection provider that offers robust monitoring, alerts, and restoration features. Similar to Aura and LifeLock, Identity Guard provides protection against a wide range of threats like hackers, scammers, and identity thieves.
Identity Guard is owned by Aura, which allows it to deliver similar tools for three-bureau credit monitoring, Dark Web monitoring, and more. Unlike Aura, it offers multiple subscription tiers for customers who want specific features.
Here’s how Identity Guard compares to Aura and LifeLock:
Now, let’s look at some of the key features across all three service providers to see how they compare:
Identity monitoring
All three options offer similar levels of identity monitoring — including Dark Web monitoring, data breach notifications, and scanning of court and public records to see if anyone has used your personal information without your permission. Aura has a slight edge when it comes to the amount of data it monitors, while LifeLock includes some unique features such as utility account creation monitoring.
What you need to know: All three services offer similar levels of identity monitoring, with slight differences in the number and types of personal information they monitor. Overall, you should be safe choosing any of the three for identity monitoring and alerts.
Credit monitoring and financial fraud protection
Identity Guard, Aura, and LifeLock all offer three-bureau credit monitoring, but at different price points. Both Identity Guard and LifeLock offer single-bureau credit file monitoring with their lowest-priced plans, but Identity Guard also includes this with its mid-tier Total plan.
All services also monitor linked financial accounts. Depending on the service and plan (all Aura plans, but only the most expensive options from Identity Guard and LifeLock), this can include credit cards, bank accounts, and, in some cases, investment accounts.
What you need to know: Three-bureau credit monitoring is the standard for ID theft protection. Aura’s identity theft protection has the lowest price for monitoring all three major credit bureaus, with Identity Guard a close second.
Support and insurance
Identity Guard and Aura both offer White Glove Fraud Resolution services, but Identity Guard lets you choose not to subscribe to premium customer support. LifeLock offers 24/7 support to all of its customers, but assigns priority to its highest-paying customers first.
All companies offer at least the industry standard amount of $1 million in identity theft insurance; however, LifeLock ups its total coverage amount to $3 million on its most expensive plan.
What you need to know: Aura and Identity Guard offer better levels of support through dedicated channels for subscribers. They both also offer higher insurance coverage — unless you opt for LifeLock’s most expensive Ultimate Plus plan.
Online safety
Both Aura and LifeLock provide advanced digital security tools to their customers, but LifeLock charges an additional fee for its Norton 360 package. Identity Guard doesn’t offer additional antivirus or VPN capabilities, making it an attractive option for people who prioritize credit and identity monitoring.
What you need to know: Aura leads the way in digital security, especially for Family Plan subscribers who are concerned about cyberbullying and child identity fraud.
Pricing
IdentityGuard leads with the most affordable overall pricing for identity theft protection. Aura offers the best price for extensive protection, while LifeLock charges more than its peers for many of the same features and services — especially after your first year as a customer.
What you need to know: LifeLock’s renewal prices make it the most expensive long-term option. Identity Guard offers some of the best prices in the industry, plus a 60-day money-back guarantee.
The Final Verdict: Identity Guard Offers Practical Protection
Aura, LifeLock, and Identity Guard all let you combine credit and identity monitoring services to protect your assets from fraudsters and cybercriminals. Yet, while all three services offer high-quality protection, customers should be aware of LifeLock’s complicated (and costly) pricing structure and recent data security issues, as well as Aura’s somewhat limited plan options.
For many people, Identity Guard is the perfect balance between protection and price — offering award-winning identity and credit protection, 24/7 support, and generous insurance coverage for a reasonable monthly price.
