Aura vs. LifeLock

When it comes to choosing your identity protection service, you need to make a decision based on more than just the bottom line alone. LifeLock scored slightly better than Aura overall, but there are other aspects you need to compare before putting down your credit card.

In this comparison guide, we’ll show you how Aura and LifeLock compare to each other in key areas such as pricing, identity, credit, and device protections, and most importantly, privacy and data protection. Let’s start!

Aura vs LifeLock: The Main Takeaway

After testing both LifeLock and Aura, we can say that they are two of the best options in the industry. They clearly have different strengths, though.

Why Choose Aura

We recommend Aura to budget-conscious users. Don’t get us wrong, though. It may be more affordable than LifeLock, but the level of protection it provides is top-notch. All plans include full identity, credit, and cybersecurity features, so even with the $12-per-month individual plan, you can get top quality protection from Aura. With LifeLock, you need to be on the highest available subscription plan to get similar features.

Aura is a good fit for larger, multi-generational households, since its Family plan covers up to five adults and unlimited children. LifeLock, on the other hand, covers only up to two adults in its family plans, although they include protection for up to 10 children which is enough for most households.

Why Choose LifeLock

If you’re willing to invest in high-quality identity theft protection service, then LifeLock is a solid choice. We particularly recommend their plans bundled with Norton 360. These plans include cybersecurity tools such as antivirus software, a password manager, and a VPN. And with a name like Norton delivering those features, you can be sure you’re getting top-notch protection.

We also recommend LifeLock if you want a healthy safety net. Its most expensive subscriptions include identity insurance, stolen fund coverage, and legal/personal expense reimbursements up to $3 million. That’s three times the $1 million industry average coverage.

Aura & LifeLock Prices

Comparing their prices side by side, it’s clear that Aura is the more affordable option. There’s more to the story, though. We think Aura and LifeLock offer equal value. They’re both worth it – you get tons of features at affordable prices from Aura, while you get premium, white-glove service from LifeLock’s more expensive plans.

Aura

Aura Dashboard

Aura makes it easy to choose a plan that suits you and your family. Here’s a quick look at Aura’s subscriptions:

The Kids subscription only comes with parental controls and other tools for keeping kids safe online. Plus, it lets you monitor an unlimited number of kids and devices. But it doesn’t provide any type of identity theft protection or credit monitoring.

The Individual, Couple, and Family subscriptions all come with the same identity theft and credit protection tools. The only difference is that the Family subscription also includes all features available in the Kids plan. Also, each subscription covers a different number of users — Individual covers one adult, Couple covers two adults, and Family covers five adults and an unlimited number of children.

Aura also comes with a free 14-day trial for all of its subscriptions, which provides enough time to see if the service is right for you. Plus, if you get an annual plan, you’ll also be covered by a 60-day money-back guarantee.

>>Read More: Aura Identity Theft Protection Review

LifeLock

LifeLock Dashboard

LifeLock has tiered subscriptions with plans tailored for individuals, couples, and families. It also has a subscription that’s bundled with Norton 360. So, its pricing can be a bit confusing.

To keep things simple, let’s start with an overview of the main LifeLock subscriptions:

In addition to those subscriptions, there’s also the LifeLock with Norton 360 Select Plus subscription. This plan provides limited identity theft protection and credit monitoring, as well as access to an antivirus, password manager, VPN, and parental controls. It’s only available via an annual plan that costs $99.99/year. Aura also has similar extra security features, but it conveniently includes them on all of its subscriptions, so you don’t need to purchase a separate one.

There’s a 30-day free trial for all LifeLock-only subscriptions, and a 7-day free trial for the Norton 360 with LifeLock with Norton 360 Select Plus subscription. The service backs all annual plans with a 60-day money-back guarantee, and all monthly plans with a 14-day money-back guarantee.

>>Learn More: LifeLock Review: A Hands-On Test in 2026

Aura & LifeLock Feature Comparison

Aura and LifeLock are both very feature-rich. We’ll go over how they handle identity theft protection, credit monitoring, extra security features, and child protection in this section.

Identity Protection

It’s pretty much a draw between the two services since they both have essential and extra identity theft protection features. Here’s a quick look at some of the features Aura and LifeLock offer:

Both services provide great identity theft insurance. We have to note that LifeLock’s insurance is more comprehensive. Not only does it go up to $3 million per user, but its Family Plan (2 Adults + 5 Kids) even offers identity theft insurance for children (up to $1.05 million per child) — this is something very few identity theft protection services offer.

On top of all features mentioned in the above table, Aura and LifeLock also come with more tools for keeping your identity safe. They also have USPS address change monitoring, lost/stolen wallet protection, and ID verification monitoring. LifeLock also has a few extras that Aura doesn’t, like social media monitoring, phone takeover monitoring, and file-sharing network searches (this means LifeLock looks for personal data leaks on file-sharing networks). The same goes for Aura; it offers features like auto title monitoring that LifeLock doesn’t.

Aura's advantage here is that every subscription includes the same identity protection features. LifeLock's plans are tiered, but its entry-level Core plan now includes social media monitoring and automatic data broker removal, features that weren't previously available at that price point. Higher-tier LifeLock plans, like Advanced and Total, still unlock more advanced protections such as phone takeover monitoring and file-sharing network searches.

Credit Monitoring

Both Aura and LifeLock come with essential credit monitoring and protection features. Here’s what you get with each one:

Both services provide triple-bureau monitoring, and LifeLock has narrowed the gap here. LifeLock's mid-tier Advanced plan ($19.99/month) now includes triple-bureau monitoring too, not just its top-tier Total plan. Aura still includes it on every subscription, including its cheapest plan, so it remains the more consistent option if triple-bureau monitoring is a must-have at every price point.

Aura still has an edge in that all credit monitoring and protection features are included on every subscription. With LifeLock, monthly one-bureau credit reports and scores are now included on every plan, including Core, but triple-bureau monitoring and 401(k)/investment account monitoring remain reserved for the Advanced and Total tiers.

Additional Security Features

Aura and LifeLock both provide access to extra security features. This includes an antivirus and a password manager. The antivirus protects your device against malware infections, and the password manager secures your logins. Each service also has a VPN, which secures your internet traffic and hides your real-time location by masking your IP address.

Aura includes these tools on all of its subscriptions, while LifeLock offers them through its Norton 360 bundles at an added cost. But that added cost buys a meaningful upgrade: Norton 360 is one of the more comprehensive antivirus products on the market, with real-time protection across nearly every platform, compared to Aura's Windows-only real-time coverage.

LifeLock has also closed part of the gap on standalone extras. Automatic data broker removal is now included on every LifeLock plan, not just the Norton 360 bundles, matching Aura's data removal feature without requiring an upgrade. Aura still has a couple of extras LifeLock doesn't offer:

• Email Alias. Lets you create and use a fake email when you sign up on certain websites. This protects you from spam emails and scams.
• Spam call and message protection. Aura uses AI to protect you from robocalls and phone scams. This tool is included for free with the Family subscription, and is available as a paid add-on on the other subscriptions.

Child Protection

Both services are among the best identity theft protection services for families on the market. Aura and LifeLock both scan billions of public records to determine if someone else uses your child's SSN. In addition, they both offer help with freezing your child's credit. And for extra protection, they both offer sex-offender geo-alerts, notifying you of new or known offenders within a one mile radius of your address,

They also both provide access to parental controls, which let you filter content and sites, schedule screen time, and monitor device locations. But Aura is more convenient since it includes the parental controls in its Family subscription. With LifeLock, parental controls are only available via the Norton 360 bundles.

Both Aura and LifeLock offer solid child protection features, but LifeLock has the edge for larger families. Aura's Safe Gaming feature is a nice extra for parents of PC gamers specifically, but for most families looking for comprehensive, well-rounded child protection, LifeLock's broader coverage makes it the stronger overall pick.

>> Read About: 5 Child Identity Theft Statistics Every Parent Should Know

Comparing Aura & LifeLock’s Privacy Policies

To keep you safe, identity theft protection services need to collect a lot of your personal information. But before we started handing it over, we looked into what Aura and LifeLock do with it.

Aura

You won’t need a lawyer present to decipher Aura’s privacy policy. It’s presented well and easy to read.

But one line that stands out is that Aura can use your data to promote co-branded offers with partners. This may include contacting you about services from companies it thinks you might be interested in. However, it restricts the usage of your details to communicating, evaluating, and improving offers.

This line didn’t surprise us, as some of Aura’s services are white labeled. Its VPN is a reskin of Hotspot Shield, and Circle powers the parental controls. Even the gaming and cyberbullying alerts are backed by ProtectMe by Kidas. So, some of your details are shared with these partners to power them.

LifeLock

LifeLock’s privacy policy is very straightforward about what data the service collects. This includes account data, device data, identity data, service data, and more. The privacy policy makes it clear that LifeLock only uses this data to authenticate your account, deliver you the services you have selected, communicate with you, troubleshoot issues, and improve the LifeLock service.

Since LifeLock is a Gen Digital product, we also checked out Gen Digital's general privacy policy. We found that the company shares your data with:

• Data analytics providers
• Payment processors
• Public authorities and legal proceedings
• Social media and internet platforms
• Restoration services

But none of these raised alarm bells for us, as most identity theft protection services partner with third-party providers to improve their services.

Bottom Line: Our Recommendations

There’s no doubt in our minds that Aura and LifeLock are two of the best identity theft protection services. Our latest head-to-head testing proves this. However, your choice depends on what exactly you’re looking for.

Overall, we think LifeLock is better. It scores higher across Features & Technology, Ease of Use, and overall SecureScore, and its insurance coverage, up to $3 million, is triple the industry average. If comprehensive protection and a stronger safety net matter most to you, LifeLock is the stronger choice.

Aura, on the other hand, remains the better pick if budget is your top priority. Its flat, all-inclusive pricing makes it easy to get full protection at a lower monthly cost, even if its coverage ceiling doesn't go as high as LifeLock's.

Both are great options, but which identity protection service is right for you?

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