Aura vs. McAfee 2024: Who Protects Your Identity and Family Better?

Aura’s family-focused plans and McAfee’s robust identity recovery features each present significant benefits. If you need comprehensive family coverage or identity recovery tools, this detailed analysis will help you to make an informed choice.

Keep reading to see which identity theft protection service comes out on top in this head-to-head matchup.

Aura vs. McAfee review at a glance

Aura’s Family plans include dark web monitoring, social media account alerts, and protection tools for children such as parental controls, cyberbullying alerts, Social Security number (SSN) monitoring, and sex offender alerts.

In contrast, McAfee offers valuable identity recovery assistance that goes beyond the fraud alert basics, with full-service restoration help, detailed financial monitoring, and $25K ransomware coverage.

ID theft protection proactively protects against the devastating consequences that identity theft can bring to you and your family’s reputation, credit, and finances.

• Aura: Best for families and children
• McAfee: Best for identity recovery

Aura vs. McAfee compared

Price	$12.00–$32.00/mo	$4.16-$20.83/mo
Identity theft insurance	Up to $5 million	Up to $2 million
Credit monitoring
3-bureau credit reports		Yes (some plans)
Credit score
Identity recovery
Dark web alerts
Social media account alerts
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get McAfee Read McAfee Review

Aura pros and cons

McAfee pros and cons

Aura vs. McAfee: prices

	Our Pick
Paid annually	$108–$300/yr	$49.99–$249.99/yr
Paid monthly	$12.00–$30.00/mo	$7.49–$20.83/mo
Best value plan	Family plan for $300.00/yr	Advanced plan (individual) for $89.99/yr
Identity theft insurance	Up to $5 million	Up to $2 million
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get McAfee Read McAfee Review

Aura plans

Aura provides a 14-day free trial — you need a credit card — for its three premium plans: Family, Couple, and Individual. There are no free plans offered.

Aura stands out with its 60-day money-back promise, whereas McAfee restricts refunds to a 30-day window if you're not satisfied.

Aura’s longer period gives you plenty of time to explore its features and decide with confidence if a chosen plan suits your needs well.

Here's a quick look at each of Aura’s plans:

• Family: This plan covers five adults, unlimited kids, and devices. It provides $5 million in identity theft insurance ($1 million per adult) and three-bureau credit monitoring. Additional features include parental controls, safe gaming with cyberbullying alerts, child credit freeze support, child SSN monitoring, and sex offender geo-alerts. Plus, it’s the only plan offering spam call and message protection.
• Couple: Covering two adults and 20 devices, this plan includes $2 million in insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and financial transaction alerts. It offers an ad blocker, helps protect you from phishing websites, and offers an antivirus, a password manager, and a virtual private network (VPN). It lacks only the advanced monitoring features found in the Family plan.
• Individual: Designed for one adult and 10 devices, it offers $1 million in insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring, and comprehensive identity monitoring features. It monitors your SSN, home and auto title, criminal and court records, financial transactions, and bank accounts, as well as your 401K and investments on the dark web. However, it lacks social media account monitoring.

All plans provide an antivirus, VPN, and password manager to secure your data privacy, including a 24/7 White Glove Fraud Resolution service that helps react to identity theft activity.

McAfee plans

McAfee offers multiple plans tailored for individuals and families with features that monitor credit and personally identifiable information (PII) extremely closely, taking extensive precautions against identity theft, fraud, and data breaches.

There isn’t a free trial, but you can take advantage of the 30-day refund window.

Below is a breakdown of what each McAfee plan secures:

• Core Protection: This plan includes antivirus across unlimited devices, alerting of suspicious activity, a VPN for anonymous online browsing, and McAfee Scam Protection. Additionally, its personal data and online account cleanup features scan and remove your personal information to help secure your online accounts. Despite its advantages, it falls short of robust financial monitoring capabilities and it doesn’t have three-bureau credit monitoring.
• Advanced: This plan adds $1 million in identity theft insurance, bank transaction monitoring, and one-bureau credit monitoring with monthly score updates. It also includes full-service personal data cleanup, identity restoration support, and lost wallet protection, making it a solid choice for those needing more extensive protection. Unfortunately, it lacks three-bureau credit monitoring, which Aura provides in all of its plans.
• Ultimate: The Ultimate plan provides up to $2 million in identity theft insurance, three-bureau credit monitoring with daily score updates, and extensive financial monitoring, including investment accounts and bank account takeover. Plus, it offers $25K in ransomware coverage and McAfee Assist protection setup session (where you receive a live session with an expert to set up your service), providing the highest level of protection. However, it lacks the comprehensive child-specific protections found in Aura.
  

Every plan also includes McAfee's Social Privacy Manager, which provides personalized privacy suggestions for leading social media platforms. This feature enables you to easily and swiftly set privacy options.

Aura vs. McAfee: monitoring and alerts

Feature	Our Pick
Credit monitoring
Financial activity alerts
3-bureau credit reports	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion	Yes — Experian, Equifax, TransUnion (Ultimate plan only)
Credit score
FICO score
Credit lock and freeze
Identity recovery
Dark web alerts
Social media account alerts
Social Security number monitoring
Home title monitoring
Address change alerts
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get McAfee Read McAfee Review

Aura focuses on family security with features like social media account alerts and child-specific identity protection. These help safeguard children's online activities against cyberbullying and child ID theft.

Aura also offers sex offender alerts and monitoring of kids' Social Security numbers for added protection. Plus, its home title monitoring alerts owners to potential fraud.

Additionally, Aura includes financial transaction monitoring and credit monitoring for Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion records, making it a flagship identity theft protection solution for everyone, not just families.

In contrast, McAfee excels in identity recovery with its comprehensive support features, including lost wallet remediation and ransomware coverage. McAfee's Social Privacy Manager provides personalized privacy recommendations across major social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

However, McAfee's three-bureau credit reports are available only in its Ultimate plan, which may limit its appeal for those seeking comprehensive credit monitoring in lower-tier plans.

Both services provide financial activity alerts, dark web monitoring, and identity recovery support, essential for responding to identity theft incidents. However, there are key differences: Aura excels in family-specific protections, including child identity monitoring and sex offender alerts, while McAfee stands out with its identity recovery services and social media privacy management.

Aura includes home and auto title monitoring, which McAfee lacks. On the other hand, McAfee offers social media account alerts, which Aura does not provide.

Which is safer, Aura vs. McAfee?

While passwords alone offer basic protection, implementing additional security layers like two-factor authentication (2FA) steps up your defense by making it more difficult for anyone to gain unauthorized access to your account.

Opting for multi-factor authentication (MFA), in which users need more than two methods of authentication like a password, fingerprint, and security token to verify identity, creates layers of protection that far outperform sole reliance on passwords.

Such measures strengthen security to a far greater extent than depending on any single method alone can.

Equally crucial is the handling and sharing of user information. Services should practice reasonable data collection to maintain data privacy and prevent various types of identity theft, including medical identity theft and ghosting identity theft.

While user details are necessary for tasks like billing and account management, sensitive information should not be shared without explicit consent.

Maintaining user confidentiality by limiting unnecessary data dissemination is vital to upholding privacy and control over personal information.

Aura vs. McAfee data security

	Our Pick
Two-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication
Collects data	Minimal
Shares data with third parties
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get McAfee Read McAfee Review

Aura uses two-factor authentication (2FA) and collects only the data necessary for using its service. McAfee also uses 2FA but collects more user data in general. Aura, on the other hand, sets itself apart by not sharing user data with third parties.

Privacy and security are key to Aura’s commitment to its customers. McAfee does give over some data to third parties; this could be something that bothers more privacy-minded users.

Aura vs. McAfee: compatibility and customer support

Platform
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Live chat, phone, email, online guides	Live chat, phone, forums, online guides
Learn more	Get Aura Read Aura Review	Get McAfee Read McAfee Review

Both Aura and McAfee offer seamless compatibility across major platforms, including Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. This ensures users can access their identity protection services on any device.

McAfee's inclusion of community forums offers an extra layer of support, allowing users to seek advice and share experiences with peers — an invaluable resource for troubleshooting and tips.

Both services excel in customer support, offering 24/7 assistance through live chat, phone, and email. Aura’s support is comprehensive, with easy access to online guides, but McAfee’s additional community forums provide a unique advantage.

These forums enable users to interact and resolve issues collaboratively, enhancing the overall support experience.

Aura vs. McAfee FAQs

Aura vs. McAfee: Which is better?

Aura wins. Aura has the most to offer for families with up to $5 million in identity theft insurance, home title monitoring, and comprehensive child ID monitoring for children, including parental controls, safe gaming and cyberbullying alerts, and sex offender alerts.

All of Aura’s plans offer three-bureau credit monitoring, and Aura’s minimal data collection (and no third-party data sharing) demonstrates its commitment to protecting user privacy. Aura is simply one of the best identity theft protection services.

McAfee has a leg up on identity recovery thanks to its extensive identity support, which includes lost wallet remediation and up to $25,000 in ransomware coverage. The Social Privacy Manager tailors your privacy recommendations on leading social media sites, like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, and more.

While McAfee offers very extensive financial monitoring and recovery services, its comprehensive data collection and sharing with third parties may be a concern for privacy-focused users.

Aura vs. McAfee alternatives

If neither Aura nor McAfee meets your needs, consider these other options worth exploring:

• Lifelock: Norton Lifelock keeps an eye on the dark web, monitors your home title, and covers up to $3 million in legal fees and stolen money. The Ultimate Plus plan also watches your credit reports from all three major bureaus.
  
  Get Lifelock | Read Our Lifelock Review
  
• IDShield: A budget-friendly option, IDShield monitors your social media, checks credit reports from all three bureaus, and helps restore your identity. Plus, it includes a VPN and a password manager for extra security.
  
  Get IDShield | Read Our IDShield Review
  
• Identity Guard: Identity Guard features AI-powered identity protection with various pricing options. It sends real-time alerts, monitors the dark web, and offers up to $1 million in insurance against identity theft. You also get a password manager and safe browsing tools.
  
  Get Identity Guard | Read Our Identity Guard Review