Aura vs. Identity Guard 2024: A Battle of Features vs. Price

Aura is the better identity protection service as it offers more features in all of its plans. However, Identity Guard has a budget tier that can give you affordable basic protection. Aura and Identity Guard take different approaches to protection, especially if you’re trying to get protection on a budget.

Finding a protection plan against ID theft can be confusing, but we’ve broken down the key features of each service, from insurance policies to fraud resolution assistance to help you choose between the two programs.

Aura vs. Identity Guard review at a glance

Aura and Identity Guard are protection and monitoring services for your personal data, public records, financial accounts, and so much more. Both services offer insurance coverage, identity restoration, and other protection features, including identity monitoring to help you catch suspicious activity with fraud alerts so you can hopefully avoid becoming a victim.

Aura identity theft protection is a robust service that offers plenty of features no matter which plan you choose. It includes parental controls, antivirus protection to fight malware and other cyber threats, and a virtual private network (VPN) for encrypted internet browsing.

Identity Guard may not offer as many features, but it still incorporates a password manager and safe browsing features into all its plans. Identity Guard also starts out at a lower cost, so even people with the tightest budgets can afford some identity theft loss protection.

• Aura: Best overall
• Identity Guard: Best for a budget

Aura vs. Identity Guard compared

Star rating	4.9 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.	4.6 AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.
Price	$12.00–$32.00/mo	$6.67–$29.99/mo
Credit monitoring
Identity theft insurance	Up to $5 million	Up to $1 million
Identity recovery
24/7 customer support
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Aura pros and cons

Identity Guard pros and cons

Which identity theft protection is the better value?

	Our Pick
Paid range	$12.00–$32.00/mo	$6.67–$29.99/mo
Best value plan	Aura Individual for $9.00/mo (billed annually)	Identity Guard Ultra for $25.00/mo (billed annually)
Money-back guarantee	14-day free trial	60 days
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Aura plans

The Aura plans are pretty simple because most of the features are available on all levels. The only real difference, other than increased storage and devices, is the addition of parental controls for the Family plan. Otherwise, Aura offers most of its great features to all customers.

• Individual: Provides all features available for adults, including $1 million in identity theft insurance, a cloud storage vault (1 GB), online and device security for up to 10 devices, removal from people search sites and spam lists, and more.
• Couple: Provides all features available in the individual plan but doubles insurance premiums to $2 million ($1 million per adult), cloud storage increases to 2 GB, and online and device security increases to up to 20 devices.
• Family: Provides all features available in the individual and couple plans, but provides $1 million in identity theft insurance for every adult on the plan (up to five adults), cloud storage to 5 GB, and online and device protection increases to 50 devices. Also includes parental control features like spam call and message protection, safe gaming with cyberbullying alerts, and child identity theft protection with the ability to freeze children’s Social Security numbers (SSNs).

Aura offers a 14-day free trial with a 60-day money-back guarantee. To sign up for this trial, you’ll need to input a payment method, either a credit/debit card, Apple Pay, or PayPal. We love using services like Apple Pay and PayPal because it makes canceling easier, but you can also use your card.

Identity Guard plans

Identity Guard offers three plans for individuals and three plans for families. The features are the same for the plan tiers, no matter if it’s individual or family.

• Value: Offers identity theft insurance, data breach notifications, dark web, and high-risk transaction monitoring, as well as safe search, a password manager, and U.S.-based customer support.
• Total: Offers everything in the Value plan in addition to bank account and three-bureau credit monitoring in addition to a monthly credit score.
• Ultra: Offers everything in the Value and Total plans as well as expanded financial account and credit monitoring. This is the only plan that offers white glove remediation services if your identity is compromised or you’re the victim of identity theft.

There don’t appear to be any free trials, but there’s a 60-day money-back guarantee. If you decide you want to try Identity Guard, we’d recommend a single-month plan, otherwise, you’ll be stuck with the service until your subscription period ends.

Which identity theft protection has the better features?

Feature	Our Pick
Social Security Number monitoring
Financial activity alerts
Credit monitoring
3-bureau credit reports	Yes — Experian, TransUnion, Equifax	Yes — Experian, TransUnion, Equifax
Credit score
Credit lock
Identity insurance	Up to $5 million	Up to $1 million
Dark web alerts
Social media account alerts
Home title monitoring
Address change alerts
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Aura and Identity Guard both provide annual credit reports from the top three credit bureaus along with monitoring features that protect your investment accounts and credit cards, offer dark web monitoring, and check any other data connected to your SSN and personal information.

However, these services have one key difference. Aura offers parental controls, which aren’t available with Identity Guard, while the latter offers social media account monitoring, which isn’t offered by the former. Depending on what you need, one may be better than the other. Identity Guard seems like a good starter service for individuals who want very basic coverage.

If you’re looking for a little more from your identity theft protection service, Aura will likely be the better choice. It does start off a little higher per month, but it offers more features, even on its lower-priced plans. 

Also, Aura includes remediation services on all its plans as well as lost wallet protection. If you get robbed or simply lose your wallet, Aura’s services could be invaluable. 

Identity Guard doesn’t seem to offer the same remediation services on all plans. The insurance is nice, but having someone to help you with the massive headache that is involved in restoring your identity may be invaluable.

For us, parental controls, remediation services, and lost wallet protection outweigh social media monitoring. While we appreciate Identity Guard’s lower starting prices, we don’t think Aura’s prices are too outrageous. Aura can definitely fit into your monthly budget, even in this economy.

Which identity theft protection is more secure?

Identity theft protection services are privy to a nerve-wracking amount of information you provide, so you want to make sure the service you’re using is protecting your data. 

We took a look at Aura and Identity Guard to see if what you provide is protected by two-factor authentication (2FA), if either service collects that information internally, and if it’s sold or given to a third party. You shouldn’t have to worry about additional security and potential scams and spam while you’re working to protect your identity.

Aura vs. Identity Guard data security

Collects data
Shares data with third parties
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Aura and Identity Guard are owned by the same parent company, even though each product is its own entity. However, because of this parent company, both services share the same privacy policy. 

When you click on it on the Identity Guard website, you’ll be taken to the Aura privacy policy. This is why people are sometimes confused about whether or not Identity Guard and Aura are the same. 

The privacy policy is pretty standard and does offer some mode of protection, although we wish everyone would stop sharing our information with third parties.

Which identity theft protection has the better compatibility and customer service?

	Our Pick
Android
iOS
Dedicated restoration specialists
Lost wallet remediation
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Online guides, email, chat, phone	Online guides, phone, email
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Identity Guard offers less compatibility than Aura, but it also offers fewer features that may require compatibility. 

Identity Guard will work on a Safari browser on both macOS and iOS (we know because that’s how we accessed the service.) Even though Identity Guard doesn’t offer apps for Mac or mobile apps for iOS devices like iPhones and iPads, it can still be accessed on those devices.

Since Aura offers antivirus protection and a VPN, it makes sense that it would have more compatibility. Identity Guard’s safe browsing features and password manager are available through a web browser and won’t be hindered by operating systems.

Both services offer 24/7 support but a little differently. With Identity Guard, you have access to guides, phone support, and email, while Aura offers guides, phone support, and live chat. 

We prefer live chat because it’s a painless way to navigate the system. Email seems more cumbersome and can take longer to receive an answer. Phone support is good if you need it, but it also feels like it could use way too much of your time. For our money, we prefer Aura’s customer support avenues.

FAQs

Bottom line

We definitely think Aura is the better value for the money. You get so many features, including white glove service and lost wallet assistance, that are invaluable if you ever find yourself in that situation. For parents, the parental control features increase peace of mind and safety across all your children’s devices. Overall, the service itself just offers more.

That’s not to say Identity Guard isn’t a good product. If you’re on a budget and want to fit in identity theft protection, even if it’s light, you can do that with Identity Guard. If you do have a little more room in your budget, we would suggest checking out Aura first, especially since it offers a trial. Whatever you decide, make sure to protect yourself from identity thieves.

Top identity theft protection alternatives

If you’re looking for the best identity theft protection services, we think Aura holds that title. But if Aura or Identity Guard aren’t the right choice for you, here are additional products we’ve reviewed that might better fit your needs.

Identity fraud can be a nightmare to resolve, which is why identity theft protection services are worth it. Don’t get caught in a situation where you’re left to pick up the pieces of a stolen identity on your own.

• IDShield: The dashboard for IDShield may not be the flashiest thing you’ve seen, but it offers a lot of different services and features in one convenient location. We were especially impressed with the licensed private investigators feature that can be used during remediation services. IDShield doesn’t have the lowest monthly prices, but they aren’t the highest either, so it might be worth checking out.
  
  Get IDShield | Read Our IDShield Review
• LifeLock: LifeLock by Norton is an identity theft protection service that provides a lot of features and a high insurance payout. With up to $3 million per person, LifeLock makes itself very attractive. You can bundle LifeLock with Norton Family parental controls and Norton 360 antivirus for even more protection.
  
  Get LifeLock | Read Our LifeLock Review
• IdentityForce: IdentityForce offers multiple categories of features that can assist you with anything from monitoring your accounts to remediation in the case of a lost or stolen wallet. IdentityForce will help you every step of the way if you require remediation services, and the overall monthly price will fit reasonably into a monthly budget.
  
  Read Our IdentityForce Review