online-safety
Aura vs LifeLock
LifeLock has the bigger brand name from two decades of ads. Aura is the newer all-in-one bundle that also does device security and parental controls. Neither is wrong, but they're built for different households.
Compared using each company's published plan pages and feature lists as of August 2026; both companies adjust pricing tiers often enough that you should re-check before checkout.
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Short answer
Aura fits better if you want one subscription covering identity monitoring, a VPN, antivirus, and parental controls for a household with kids or teens. LifeLock (now part of Norton/Gen Digital) fits better if you specifically want Norton's antivirus ecosystem and don't need the parental control layer.
Neither company is going to stop every scam. What you're really buying is faster detection and someone to call when something slips through.
Feature by feature
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Parental controls | Aura includes screen-time and content filtering; LifeLock has no equivalent feature. |
| VPN included | Aura bundles a VPN at every tier; LifeLock does not include one directly. |
| Antivirus | Aura bundles its own; LifeLock is typically paired with a separate Norton 360 subscription. |
| Family plan structure | Aura's family tier covers multiple adults and kids under one price; LifeLock's family options are more limited. |
| Brand history | LifeLock has the longer public track record; Aura is the newer, broader bundle. |
| Renewal pricing | Both use first-year promo pricing — check the second-year renewal rate before committing to either. |
Where the two companies actually come from
LifeLock built its reputation in the 2000s and 2010s on aggressive TV advertising and was acquired by Symantec, then folded into Norton under Gen Digital. It's now sold mostly as a Norton 360 add-on tier.
Aura is newer, launched with an "all-in-one" pitch from the start — identity monitoring, a VPN, antivirus, password manager, and child safety monitoring under a single app and a single price, aimed at families rather than individual security buyers.
The parental controls gap
This is the single biggest functional difference. Aura includes screen-time limits, content filtering, and location sharing built into the same subscription. LifeLock has none of that — if you need to monitor a teen's phone activity, you're buying a second product regardless of which identity plan you pick.
Bundled VPN and antivirus, or not
Aura folds in its own VPN and antivirus at every plan tier. LifeLock's identity plans are typically sold as an add-on to a separate Norton 360 antivirus subscription, which usually costs more if you stack both on renewal pricing rather than a first-year promo.
Brand trust versus feature breadth
LifeLock's advantage is name recognition and a longer public track record, which matters to some buyers more than a feature checklist. Aura's advantage is that you're not assembling four separate apps to get VPN, antivirus, password manager, and identity monitoring.
How to decide in five minutes
- Check if you need parental controls: If yes, that alone usually settles it in Aura's favor since LifeLock doesn't offer an equivalent feature.
- Check what antivirus you're already paying for: If you already have Norton 360, adding LifeLock as a tier may be cheaper than switching everything to Aura.
- Compare renewal-year pricing, not just the first invoice: Pull up both companies' pricing pages and look specifically for the renewal rate, not the introductory offer.
- Decide how many adults need coverage: If it's more than two, compare each company's family-plan structure since per-person cost varies more than the base price suggests.
Before you pick one
- Check the second-year renewal price for both — first-year promo pricing on either can be misleading if you're comparing sticker prices.
- If you don't need parental controls or a bundled VPN, the feature gap between the two narrows a lot and price becomes the deciding factor.
- Look up each company's current data broker count, since that number changes as they add or drop broker partnerships.
Deal link pending affiliate approval — guide content stays live for search indexing.
Aura vs LifeLock questions
Is Aura owned by the same company as LifeLock?
No. LifeLock is owned by Gen Digital (formerly Symantec/NortonLifeLock); Aura is a separate, independently operated company.
Does LifeLock include a VPN?
Not directly in its identity plans — it's typically sold alongside a separate Norton 360 subscription that includes VPN access.
Which one is better for a family with teenagers?
Aura, mainly because of its built-in parental controls and screen-time features, which LifeLock's identity plans don't offer.
Do both cover all three credit bureaus?
Both offer three-bureau credit monitoring on their higher plan tiers — check the specific tier, since entry-level plans from either company sometimes limit this.
Is switching from LifeLock to Aura difficult?
It's a normal cancel-and-resubscribe process with no data migration between the two, since they're unrelated companies with separate account systems.