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The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
Best Overall
Excellent identity theft protection service
Includes a password manager and VPN
Robust tools for children’s security
Best for a budget
Easy-to-use identity theft protection service
Includes extra features like a password manager
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 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.
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| Star rating | ||
| Price | $12.00–$32.00/mo | $6.67–$31.99/mo |
| Credit monitoring | ||
| Identity theft insurance | Up to $5 million | Up to $1 million |
| Identity recovery | ||
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Learn more | Get Aura | Get Identity Guard |
Our Pick
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| Paid range | $12.00–$32.00/mo | $6.67–$31.99/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 | Get Identity Guard |
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.
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 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.
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.
| Feature | Our Pick
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| 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 | Get Identity Guard |
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.
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.
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| Collects data | ||
| Shares data with third parties | ||
| Learn more | Get Aura | Get Identity Guard |
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.
Our Pick
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| 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 | Get Identity Guard |
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.
No, Identity Guard and Aura aren't the same company, but they’re owned by the same parent company. Because of this, each service shares similarities with the other, which can be confusing to consumers. Identity Guard does seem to be the less expensive option, but Aura has more features and functionality.
In our opinion, Aura is the best identity theft protection solution available. It’s secure, robust, and affordable. We find that Aura offers a truly worthwhile product that can spare you a lot of time, money, and stress if you’re ever the victim of identity theft. It can also assist if your wallet is ever lost or stolen and gives parents powerful tools to keep their kids safe online.
Yes, Identity Guard is a good product. While it isn’t as robust as some of its competitors, it also isn’t as expensive. Identity Guard is a great product for singles or couples who have tight budgets but also want to be protected against identity theft.
After a lot of research, testing, and evaluation, we believe that Aura is better than LifeLock. It offers more robust features on less expensive plans, has a lower renewal pricing structure, offers parental controls with its family plan, and provides all users with antivirus protection.
LifeLock requires separate purchases for parental controls and antivirus, requires more expensive plans for features that Aura provides to all customers, and has exorbitant renewal pricing.
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.
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.
Excellent identity theft protection service
Includes a password manager and VPN
Robust tools for children’s security
