For over two decades, Identity Guard has protected more than 37 million customers and resolved over 140,000 fraud cases.
Aura, meanwhile, has been around for only 10 years, but it has already made an excellent first impression as an all-in-one identity theft protection service. The company has even started using AI to detect new threats faster and create solutions before they become larger issues. That’s one reason it’s one of our favorite identity protection services.
Would you be surprised to learn that Aura is the parent company of Identity Guard? Surely, that would mean they offer a similar level of protection, right?
Not quite. There are some distinct differences between how Aura and Identity Guard keep you safe online, and, in our opinion, the former does it better.
Here’s why.
Comparing Prices and Packages
Before figuring out which one is right for you, let’s make sure they can fit in your budget. We’ll go over what we found out when we bought our subscriptions to Aura and Identity Guard.
Aura
Aura Dashboard
Aura has a plan for every member of the family. You can choose something just for the kids or a package that protects everyone under your roof. The included features are tailored to the individuals on the plan. Here’s what each Aura plan costs:
| Plan | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kids | $13 | $120 |
| Individual | $15 | $144 |
| Couple | $29 | $264 |
| Family | $50 | $444 |
The Kids plan, for example, includes content filtering so your children aren’t exposed to certain websites and a tool to limit screen time when you don’t want them staring at devices all day long.
Couples without kids get access to inclusions that matter to them, such as three-bureau credit monitoring, financial transaction alerts, and fraud remediation services. We went with that plan when we tested Aura so we didn’t end up paying for things we don’t need, like cyberbullying alerts or safe gaming controls.
You can try any Aura plan free for 14 days, and there is a 60-day money-back guarantee when you pay annually.
>> Check Out: Aura Identity Theft Protection Plans and Pricing
Identity Guard
Identity Guard Dashboard
We got to choose from any Identity Guard tier, since the company offers each one as an individual or a family plan. Before we tell you which one we went with, here’s how much each one costs:
| Plan | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Individual
$6.67 Family $10 |
Individual
$107.88 Family $179.88 |
| Total | Individual
$11.99 Family $17.99 |
Individual
$227.88 Family $359.88 |
| Ultra | Individual
$17.99 Family $23.99 |
Individual
$359.88 Family $479.88 |
The most significant differences among Identity Guard’s plans are the included features. The Value tier provides basic protection, but it includes $1 million in identity theft insurance. You’ll also get data breach notifications, dark web monitoring, and high-risk transaction monitoring. But that’s about it.
The Total package adds three-bureau credit monitoring and updates you on your monthly credit score. The Ultra tier offers more extensive protection, with monitoring for your credit and debit cards, 401(k), investments, and home title. You can also lock your credit card if any suspicious activity occurs.
We went with the Ultra plan since we wanted to test everything Identity Guard has to offer against Aura. There is no free trial, but Identity Guard provides a 60-day money-back guarantee when you pay for a year up front.
How Are They Similar?
Aura and Identity Guard provide excellent protection against identity theft. Some of their monitoring features include:
| Feature | Aura | Identity Guard |
|---|---|---|
| Identity theft insurance | Up to $5 million | $1 million |
| Data breach notifications | Yes | Yes |
| Dark web monitoring | Yes | Yes |
| Bank account monitoring | Yes | Only on Total and Ultra |
| Credit and debit card monitoring | Yes | Only on Ultra |
| 401(k) and investment monitoring | Yes | Only on Total and Ultra |
| Home title monitoring | Yes | Only on Total and Ultra |
| 3-bureau credit monitoring | Yes | Only on Total and Ultra |
| Monthly credit score | Yes | Only on Total and Ultra |
| Credit lock | Yes | Only on Ultra |
The features included with Aura and Identity Guard differ slightly, but they worked identically for us since we got Identity Guard’s Ultra plan. You might not need every feature though.
Identity Guard Monitoring
If you don’t, choosing Identity Guard may be the right decision. We think the extra features are well worth the increased price.
How Are They Different?
What sets Aura apart from Identity Guard is everything else it includes in its plans. In addition to the features above, you’ll also score antivirus software and a VPN.
Did You Know? Identity Guard’s founding company was one of the first businesses of its kind, and it helped establish the identity theft protection industry.
Like its competitors, the antivirus app can conduct quick, full, and custom scans of your systems. It also provides real-time protection from viruses and malware.
Aura’s VPN is a version of Hotspot Shield, another brand the company owns. You get access to 1,800 servers in over 80 countries for hiding your location and browsing activity, as well as access Netflix catalogs from other countries.
The number of devices you can install the tools on is restricted. It’s 10 for the Individual plan and 20 for the Couple package. There is no limit on the Family tier.
There are several other exclusive features with the Family plan.
- Safe gaming: Get an alert if your kids receive written or verbal abuse while playing PC games.
- Weekly gaming reports: Monitor how long your children play video games and the titles they’re booting up.
- Child Social Security number monitoring: See if anyone is impersonating your kids by using their Social Security number. That helps prevent your kids from becoming a part of any child identity theft statistics.
- Child credit freeze support: Suspend credit files with TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian.
- Child sex offender geo-alerts: Aura will send you an alert if known or new criminals are within a one-mile radius of your address.
That’s a lot of missing features from Identity Guard. The only feature it provides that Aura doesn’t is social media monitoring, but that’s available only on the Ultra plan. You’ll get an alert if someone attempts to log in or hack your account.
It’s also something you can activate with most social media platforms. Facebook, for example, can email you when someone logs in to your account on a new device.
FYI: Some families draw up agreements with their children for the amount of time they can be on devices, the time of day they can go online, and what type of activities they can do on the internet. We dive into it further in our article on keeping kids safe in the digital age.
What Does the Fine Print Say?
Clicking on the Identity Guard privacy policy takes you to the Aura privacy policy page, which is helpful when comparing the two products. It can also be confusing, though, since there is no reference to Identity Guard within it. Aura being the parent company of Identity Guard is the missing context.
Fortunately, there is nothing else that can be misunderstood within the document. It is easy to jump to sections about the information they collect, how they use your personal information, and who they share it with and why.
The only line that rang an alarm bell for us was, “We may provide your personal data to partners to confirm your eligibility for joint or co-branded offers or to communicate and administer such offers (e.g. verify eligibility, assess effectiveness of joint offer, etc.).”
Did You Know? One of Aura’s features is the ability to request your personal info be removed from data brokers — companies that sell your information to advertisers and telemarketers.
It goes on to say partners can only use the data Aura provides to communicate, evaluate, improve, and administer the offer.
Since other partners, such as Circle and Kidas, power some of Aura’s services, you should also note that your information will be shared with them. If that concerns you, Aura and Identity Guard may not be the best solution for you. We were OK with it, since we would sign up for any of the partner services on their own.
Verdict: Aura or Identity Guard?
Identity Guard has had a stellar track record of protecting its customers for over 20 years, but its offerings don’t stack up compared to Aura.
Essential features such as credit lock, three-bureau credit monitoring, and financial transaction alerts are available on all Aura adult plans, whereas they are included only on premium tiers with Identity Guard. You also miss out on online protection tools such as a VPN and antivirus.
The addition of a 14-day free trial also means you can try any Aura plan before you commit. With annual plans, that 14-day free trial turns into a 60-day money-back guarantee, so you can fully experience the product to ensure it’s right for you.
For all those reasons, we recommend choosing Aura over Identity Guard for your identity theft protection needs.
FAQs
- Is Identity Guard owned by Aura?
Aura is Identity Guard’s parent company. The business is headquartered in Boston. It also owns Hotspot Shield, FigLeaf, PrivacyMate, and Intrusta.
- Does Aura monitor bank accounts?
You can trust Aura to alert you when unusual activity occurs on your bank account. It even has a lost wallet service, so you can easily cancel cards and organize replacements.
- Does Identity Guard have a VPN?
You get access to a password manager and safe browsing tool with Identity Guard, but it does not offer a VPN with any of its plans.
- Does Aura sell my data?
Aura shares information with partners to power some of its features, but the company clearly states that it does not sell your data.
- Can Identity Guard lock your credit?
Identity Guard’s Ultra plan lets you lock your credit file with Experian. That will stop anyone from opening unauthorized accounts or taking out loans in your name.
