In 2023, Americans lost almost $52 billion to identity thieves. It is a growing crime, making it tough to free ourselves from its traps. However, thankfully, identity theft protection services are available to protect you. Among them, LifeLock and Aura are quite popular.
So, which one should you get? It’s LifeLock vs Aura! Read to find out who takes the crown.
Key Features to Look For in Identity Theft Protection
- Key Features to Look For in Identity Theft Protection
- Overview of LifeLock and Aura
- Lifelock vs Aura Feature Comparison
- Pros and Cons of Each Service
- Final Verdict
When choosing an identity theft protection tool for your security, you must look into the different attributes they offer. This way, you can weigh the different options available and pick a top one.
Identity Monitoring and Protection
There is no point in getting a tool if it doesn’t offer worthy identity monitoring and protection. You must pick a service that monitors and protects you from a wide range of identity theft risks.
For instance, they must be capable of monitoring and reporting changes in your records or the use of your personal information on the dark web. Certain services also help monitor your online or social media activity and alert you to any compromised data.
Credit Monitoring With all Three Bureaus
You must always pick a service that offers detailed protection. It should provide you with monitoring credit reports from all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
A comprehensive protection gives you the comfort that any sort of suspicious activity that you may face will be detected properly.
Financial Account Monitoring and Alerts
Go for a tool that offers financial account monitoring features. This way, you can use it to track your credit cards, bank transactions, and a lot more. You can also receive alerts for suspicious or large transactions, allowing you to take quick actions as required.
Identity Theft Insurance Coverage
The best identity theft plan comes with insurance that covers all the expenses connected with identity recovery. Each plan has its own coverage limit, which may vary. So, make sure you are aware of the limit before picking one.
Digital Security and Online Safety Features
All top identity theft protection tools offer digital and online security. These usually contain VPNs, password managers, and antivirus software to help you escape the online monsters.
If you don’t want to waste your money on a weak tool, ensure to evaluate the above features when finding the right one. A service that has all or most of the attributes mentioned above may be your best choice.
Overview of LifeLock and Aura
There are many identity theft protection tools, but LifeLock and Aura truly stand out for multiple reasons. Here is an overview of their world.
Aura
Launched in 2014 by Hari Ravichandran, Aura is a product of an unfortunate incident involving loss of credit information. This is a digital security company that provides many comprehensive security features, such as,
- Identity and credit monitoring
- A secure VPN
- Safe browsing
- Antivirus protection
- Alerts if your personal information has been compromised
It has a reputation as a top-notch tool designed to protect various vulnerable areas.
Aura has the label of protecting millions of users worldwide. According to the stats, Aura, the company, claims to earn an annual revenue of over $220 million. Plus, its all-in-one family online safety solution has an annual recurring revenue of around $150 million.
LifeLock
LifeLock is a similar tool to that of Aura. It is a service that monitors your credit score changes and personal information or any other threat you may come across.
What’s more, it has some pretty amazing features, such as:
- Privacy Monitor, which scans all public people-search websites for any traces of your personal information
- Dark Web Monitoring is designed to notify you of any of your personal information found on dark websites.
- Stolen Wallet Protection can help cancel your credit cards or driver’s licenses as required.
- Identity and Social Security Number Alerts help monitor your activity for fraudulent use of your Social Security number or similar data.
LifeLock was co-founded in 2005 by two individuals, Robert J. Maynard and Todd Davis. Currently owned by Norton LifeLock, this service has more than 5 million subscribers. Norton LifeLock made around $3.5 billion in annual revenue in 2023, and most of this amount was earned by its digital product, LifeLock.
Lifelock vs Aura Feature Comparison
Both Aura and LifeLock tools have one aim: to protect you from identity theft. However, they achieve this goal differently, making it easy for you to pick one over another.
Here are all the areas to compare.
Pricing and Plans
Both Aura and LifeLock have varying pricing and plans.
Aura
Aura gives you multiple pricing plans from which to choose. You can enjoy any plan for 14 days for free. There is also a 60-day money-back guarantee available on all plans.
- Plan 1 for a family of five adults for $32/month: You can pick this to benefit from family and child identity protection, instant credit lock, $5 million worth of insurance, parental controls and much more.
- Plan 2 for a couple for $22/month: This plan has features such as $2 million identity theft insurance, credit monitoring, antivirus, VPN and password manager and a lot more.
- Plan 3 for an individual for $12/month: You can have this plan to get $1 million identity theft insurance, financial transaction alerts, VPNs, password manager, support and more.
- Plan 4 for kids for $10/month: This plan offers features like content filtering, site blocking, screen time limits and scheduling, online history and overall usage reports.
LifeLock
LifeLock has fewer protection plans than Aura. But they are less expensive, which is great for anyone looking for a budget-friendly option.
- Standard Plan for $7.50 per month: This plan covers up to $1 million in coverage, alerts and credit monitoring coverage.
- Advantage Plan for $14.99/month: The plan offers up to $1.2 million of coverage. Other features include identity and social security number alerts, credit monitoring coverage, personal expense reimbursement, phone takeover monitoring and a lot more.
- Ultimate Plus Plan for $19.99/month: You can buy this plan for up to $3 million coverage, credit monitoring coverage, alerts on crimes committed in your name, investment account alerts, identity alerts, and a lot more.
Which Service Offers More Bang for Your Buck?
Aura offers more comprehensive features and better value for money.
LifeLock offers more limited features but at a lower price point.
LifeLock is an appropriate option for anyone looking for basic features that are available within a limited budget.
Identity Theft Insurance
As the name suggests, identity theft insurance is a policy designed to provide financial protection for all victims of identity theft online. Mostly credit card companies and insurance companies provide it. But services like Aura and LifeLock also help you get this facility.
Aura provides up to $5 million in insurance. This is almost $1 million per adult on family plans. On the other hand, LifeLock provides a maximum of $3 million in insurance, and that too for its most expensive plan.
How Aura and LifeLock Offer Financial Protection
Aura offers up to $5 million in identity theft insurance coverage.
LifeLock offers up to $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage, but with more limited features.
Identity Theft Insurance: What’s Covered and What’s Not
If you are a victim of identity theft, this insurance by Aura helps reimburse you for eligible losses and out-of-pocket expenditures that might be linked to recovering your identity.
The coverage on the plans includes:
- stolen funds reimbursement
- personal expense compensation
- certain legal fees
You must know that Aura Identity theft protection insurance doesn’t cover any financial loss that you may have faced from previously authorized payments from any account. However, you can freeze your account as required if you suspect fraudulent activity.
LifeLock’s identity theft insurance typically covers the following:
- Reimbursement for Stolen Funds: The insurance is designed to reimburse you for some money that may be directly stolen due to identity theft. The limit is up to $1 million, as per your plan chosen.
- Coverage for Personal Expenses: You can use the insurance plan to cover expenses that may be directly related to expenses such as lost wages or travel.
- Legal and Expert Fees: LifeLock’s insurance also provides coverage for costs that may be directly linked to hiring lawyers or experts. These costs are often incurred to help you restore your identity and resolve any relevant legal issues.
- Lost Wallet Protection: Some plans offer good protection for lost wallets. They cover replacement fees for your IDs, credit cards, and any other critical documents that you may have lost recently.
Which One is Best?
Both services offer more or less the same type of insurance coverage. However, Aura’s identity theft insurance coverage includes stolen funds, legal fees, and other expenses.
LifeLock’s identity theft insurance coverage includes stolen funds but with more limited features.
Credit Monitoring and Alerts
Both services offer credit monitoring and alerts. However, they are different in their performance.
Aura, in particular, provides credit monitoring across all three major credit bureaus: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. These alerts are real-time, making sure that you receive them as soon as there are changes in your credit reports.
You can buy Aura’s premium plans to get access to updates related to monthly credit scores with your detailed reports.
On the other hand, just like Aura, LifeLock also monitors all three credit bureaus. However, it may not give you real-time alerts for all plans.
LifeLock’s Ultimate Plus plan usually offers much more comprehensive three-bureau monitoring. The standard plan may not monitor many bureaus. The service also only offers quarterly credit score updates even if you choose a top-tier plan.
Digital Security and Online Safety
You shouldn’t buy an identity theft protection tool until it provides you with digital security and online safety.
Thankfully, both Aura and LifeLock provide this feature. However, they manage it differently.
Phishing Protection and Online Threats
Aura offers phishing protection and online threat detection. The tool employs AI technology to monitor all types of suspicious activities.
It does so by scanning your emails and accounts for any sign of phishing. Once detected, it alerts you on a timely basis so you can take action accordingly.
Aura also excels at online threat detection. It scans the dark web for any of your personal information. If it finds proof, it alerts you to know that your information could be under attack.
LifeLock also offers phishing protection but with limited features compared to Aura.
LifeLock has a unique Identity Alert System. It notifies you of any identity theft, including any possible phishing attacks. You receive an alert if your data appears on a data breach activity.
LifeLock also frequently checks the dark web for your personal data. As soon as it finds anyone misusing your information, it alerts you automatically.
Family Safety and Parental Controls
When choosing between Aura and LifeLock, you would be delighted to know that both services offer excellent parental controls.
However, Aura offers comprehensive parental controls, including content filtering and screen time limits.
Aura provides a separate family plan that can protect multiple members of your family within one subscription. When you choose this plan, you get identity theft protection and monitoring for five family members.
Additionally, the company also has tools specifically that help you monitor your children’s personal information. You can use them to get alerts for any unusual activity linked to their online presence.
LifeLock offers limited parental controls, with the option to upgrade to more advanced features. But it also offers plans that help cover multiple family members.
Additionally, you can use LifeLock to monitor your children’s identities and trace any signs of fraudulent activities.
Customer Support and Response
Both Aura and LifeLock excel at offering customer support via phone, email, and live chat. You can call the team at any time to help you with issues related to technical assistance or any identity theft incident.
The great thing is that the support teams are also quite expensive. You don’t have to wait for long to get a reply to your issue.
Customer Reviews and Ratings
Both Aura and LifeLock have received many reviews from customers. Most of them are positive.
Aura has an average rating of 4.5/5 stars on Trustpilot.
Reviewers like Johnny, Jacqueline, and Kim have praised Aura’s customer team for their professionalism and knowledge. According to them, they respond timely and take every issue seriously.
However, reviewers like Art Gow have complained of issues with billing and renewal of Aura subscriptions. There are also complaints about Aura’s high prices online.
LifeLock has an average rating of 4.2/5 stars on Trustpilot.
Karl Baker has appreciated LifeLock’s performance for 17 years. He has shared how the tool helps detect fraudulent activities easily.
DottyJ Cunningham has also commented about LifeLock’s ability to share alerts quickly. Carolann North has appreciated the service of keeping her updated about all credit card concerns.
Most reviews are positive, but a few customers have shared their bad experiences as well. For instance, M Patterson declared LifeLock a total ripoff with no accountability after an ID theft happened.
Felix has shared positive points but has suggested making the website more user-friendly.
Before you pick any of the two tools for your protection, make sure to go through each customer and expert review in detail. Then, evaluate each remark before finally choosing an option.
Pros and Cons of Each Service
To know which tool is better than the other, Lifelock vs Aura, look at the pros and cons of each and then weigh.
Aura Pros
- This tool offers comprehensive identity monitoring for your information available online.
- Aura offers excellent protection for your entire family within one subscription plan.
- Multiple pricing plans are available to help you easily pick one that meets your requirements.
- Aura offers a maximum of $5 million for identity theft insurance, making it a great option to pick from.
- You get real-time alerts that help you take the right actions as required.
- Aura has an excellent reputation and a solid customer base.
Aura Cons
- The premium and family plans provided by Aura are priced higher than competitors.
- You will have to share your personal information when subscribing to Aura, which may hurt your long-term privacy.
LifeLock Pros
- Comprehensive identity monitoring by LifeLock helps you catch attackers easily.
- You can get quick alerts via phone and email to help you take timely action against suspicious parties.
- LifeLock provides protection to you and your family. You can use the parental control features to protect your kids’ online presence.
- LifeLock offers much cheaper plans than Aura. Also, keep an eye on Lifelock discount codes to lower your cost.
LifeLock Cons
- While its plans are cheaper, LifeLock can’t beat Aura when it comes to excellent and much more advanced features.
- LifeLock’s insurance coverage is limited to $1 million, while Aura offers the same coverage for up to $5 million.
Final Verdict
So, is Aura or LifeLock for you? Both services offer great monitoring, alerts, and overall security against identity theft. They are also designed intuitively, ensuring all types of users can benefit from their features.
However, when it comes to comprehensive protection and advanced features, Aura takes the medal any day. It is much more well-designed and offers better value for money. Plus, it is a great pick for an entire family, courtesy of its excellent plans.
But, if you need a basic security tool with good features and affordable pricing, we would suggest you pick LifeLock over Aura. It is also backed by a reputable and reliable brand, Norton.
Besides Aura and Lifelock, you can also consider Experian. It will suit those who need their credit being monitored.
