Is Aura Worth It in 2025?: Security You Can Trust, Extras You Might Skip

Aura is one of the most recognizable names in identity theft protection. But with higher subscription costs and bundled digital security tools that don’t always deliver, it’s fair to question if it’s worth paying for.

In our testing, Aura proved to be a top-tier service. It excels in identity theft protection essentials, including credit monitoring, dark web scans, and identity recovery. Aura’s family plan even covers up to five adults and unlimited children, making it especially valuable for families.

If your focus is identity theft prevention and fast fraud response, Aura delivers. But some extras, like the basic virtual private network (VPN) and real-time antivirus software, are hit-or-miss.

In this review, we’ll cover Aura’s key features, restoration services, privacy practices, and apps to help you decide if it’s the right fit or if a leaner, cheaper option makes more sense.

When Aura is worth it

• Aura is worth it for families who want all-in-one protection. Aura covers up to five adults and an unlimited number of children under a single family plan. In testing, the dashboard made it simple to add accounts for credit monitoring, financial tracking, and even geo-alerts for sex offenders near a child’s location. The Aura Family plan includes solid parental control software.
• Users concerned about identity theft recovery will also value Aura because it provides 24/7 white-glove fraud resolution and remediation for lost wallets. During testing, these services were available on all plans, not locked behind premium tiers. With $1 million in identity theft insurance per adult, Aura offers peace of mind that you’ll have both dedicated support and financial coverage if something goes wrong.
• Aura is beneficial for anyone managing multiple financial accounts, as it allows you to connect bank accounts, credit cards, brokerage accounts, and retirement funds for seamless transaction monitoring. In testing, Aura credit monitoring quickly alerted us to changes, including new accounts and credit limit updates, making it especially valuable for people with diverse financial assets who need real-time oversight.

When Aura may not be worth it

• If you want more reliable extra device protections, like antivirus or a VPN, Aura may not be the best fit. Its VPN is user-friendly but lacks the advanced security features of dedicated VPNs. Similarly, the phishing protection isn’t always reliable, and the spam call filters didn’t consistently work in testing. A better alternative is Norton 360 with LifeLock, which combines strong ID theft coverage with proven device security features.

• Aura also shares some user data with third parties for co-branded offers. If privacy and transparency are your top concerns, Norton LifeLock is a stronger choice. It offers identity and financial monitoring without bundling in unreliable extras, and its policies are designed to minimize data sharing.
• Aura may not be worth it for you if you just want basic identity theft protection. OmniWatch offers budget-friendly coverage for individuals and couples, which includes 3-bureau credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, and identity theft monitoring – in addition to insurance up to $2 million. OmniWatch could be the better pick if you don’t want to pay for security features you won’t use.

How much does Aura cost?

Aura sits at the higher end of identity theft protection pricing without the first-year discount, but it also offers more expansive coverage than many competitors.

Pricing starts at $9.00/mo (billed annually) for an Individual plan, scales to $17.00/mo (billed annually) for couples, and tops out at $25.00/mo (billed annually) for families when billed annually. If you pay monthly, prices rise slightly to $12.00/mo, $20.00/mo, and $30.00/mo, respectively.

Looking at top competitors:

• LifeLock by Norton starts cheaper at $7.49/mo for first yr (billed annually) but renewal rates often double, and key features like credit monitoring are locked behind higher tiers.
• OmniWatch generally ranges from $7.00-$30.00/mo and offers simpler plan structures, but it doesn’t include the extensive family protections Aura offers.

Aura is more expensive overall, but it offsets this with larger insurance coverage and family-friendly protections that competitors can’t match, like unlimited children, child credit freezes, and parental controls.

	Individual	Couple	Family
Monthly cost	$9.00/mo (billed annually)	$17.00/mo (billed annually)	$25.00/mo (billed annually)
Annual cost	$12.00/mo	$20.00/mo	$30.00/mo
Identity theft insurance	$1million (1 adult)	$2 million (2 adults)	$5 million (5 adults + kids)
Adults covered	1	2	5
Kids covered	-	-	Unlimited
Devices covered	10	20	Unlimited
Credit monitoring	3-bureau	3-bureau	3-bureau
Credit score updates	Monthly	Monthly	Monthly
Bank & financial monitoring
Learn more	View plan	View plan	View plan

• Renewal costs: Aura offers annual billing with discounts up to 68%, but switching to monthly billing results in a higher price.
• Insurance scaling: Coverage increases significantly with each tier, ranging from $1 million for individuals, $2 million for couples, and $5 million for families. That makes the Family plan uniquely valuable for anyone with kids.
• Feature stacking: Many extras (e.g., VPN, ad blocker, antivirus, password manager, data removal) are included across all plans. Even though our testing revealed surprisingly good performance, the security features aren’t as robust as standalone providers. Consider them bonuses, not deciding factors.

Learn more about our experience testing Aura’s advanced security features:

• Aura Ad Blocker
• Aura Antivirus
• Aura Credit Monitoring
• Aura Password Manager
• Aura Parental Controls

What do you get with Aura?

Aura combines identity theft protection, financial monitoring, and online security tools in one subscription.

Here are the highlights:

• Identity & fraud protection: Up to $5 million insurance ($1 million per adult with the Family plan), dark web scans, title fraud alerts, and 24/7 fraud remediation.
• Financial monitoring: 3-bureau credit monitoring, instant credit lock, bank and transaction alerts, monthly credit score, and annual reports.
• Privacy & security tools: VPN, antivirus, password manager, spam call protection, and data broker removal.
• Family features (Family plan only): Unlimited kids covered, child SSN monitoring, parental controls, and safe gaming alerts.

Aura plans explained

Aura offers three tiers: Individual, Couple, and Family. The Individual plan is $9.00/mo (billed annually) and covers one adult with $1 million in insurance. It includes 3-bureau credit monitoring and core privacy tools, including a VPN and password manager. It’s solid for solo users but basic compared to higher tiers.

The Couple plan is $17.00/mo (billed annually), which adds a second adult and doubles insurance to $2 million, but doesn’t include child protections. The Family plan costs $25.00/mo (billed annually) and is the standout, offering $5 million in coverage, unlimited kids, parental controls, and Safe Gaming alerts. In testing, these extras worked smoothly, making the Family plan the best value for households.

FAQs

Bottom line: Is Aura worth it?

Yes. Aura is worth it if identity theft protection is your top priority. In our testing, it excelled at core safeguards like 3-bureau credit monitoring, financial and criminal alerts, and 24/7 restoration services.

While extras like the VPN and spam call filter were hit-or-miss, Aura’s Family plan, in particular, stands out for covering five adults and unlimited kids with up to $5 million in insurance and strong parental controls.

For individuals, the higher renewal price may be harder to justify, but for households, Aura delivers excellent value.