Aura vs. Identity Guard 2026: A Battle of Features vs. Price

Aura is our top pick for identity theft protection because it includes more security features, such as a password manager and antivirus protection, across all its plans. However, Identity Guard offers a budget tier with basic protection at an affordable price. Aura and Identity Guard share the same parent company and are both AI-powered, meaning they work 24/7 to monitor your identity and credit for suspicious activity. 

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 with fraud alerts, to help you catch suspicious activity and 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 antivirus protection to fight malware and other cyber threats, a secure password vault, data removal services, credit monitoring, and even a basic virtual private network (VPN) for encrypted internet browsing. The Family plan includes parental controls.

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	4.8 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	$9.00–$30.00/mo	$7.50–$39.99/mo
Credit monitoring
Identity theft insurance	$1 million	$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	$9.00–$30.00/mo	$7.50–$39.99/mo
Best value plan	Aura Individual for $9.00/mo	Identity Guard Ultra for $25.00/mo
Money-back guarantee	14-day free trial, 60-day money-back guarantee	60-day money-back guarantee
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get Identity Guard Read Identity Guard Review

Aura plans

The Aura plans are pretty simple because most features are available across all levels. The only real difference, aside from increased storage and device support, is the addition of parental controls to 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), increases cloud storage to 2 GB, and increases online and device security to up to 20 devices.
• Family: Provides all features available in the individual and couple plans, plus $1 million in identity theft insurance for every adult on the plan (up to five adults), 5 GB of cloud storage, and online and device protection increased to 50 devices. Also includes parental control features such as spam call and message protection, safe gaming with cyberbullying alerts, and child identity theft protection, including 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 they make 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 across the plan tiers, whether 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, plus bank account monitoring, three-bureau credit monitoring, and a monthly credit score.
• Ultra: Offers everything in the Value and Total plans, plus 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	$1 million	$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 Identity Guard offers social media account monitoring, which isn’t available with Aura. 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 of 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 whether what you provide is protected by two-factor authentication (2FA), whether either service collects that information internally, and whether it’s sold or given to a third party. You shouldn’t have to worry about additional security, potential scams, and spam while you’re working to protect your identity.

Aura vs. Identity Guard data security

Encryption	AES-265	AES-265
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 is an independent 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 sometimes confuse Identity Guard and Aura. 

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 better compatibility and customer support?

	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 Mac or iOS apps, 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 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.

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. 

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 isn’t the right choice for you, here's how Aura compares to other top identity theft protection services: 

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