⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: OpenVPN has a free tier and paid plans from $7/month. AuraVPN starts at $10/month.
- Best for: OpenVPN for tech-savvy users and teams. AuraVPN for families who want identity theft protection.
- Key difference: OpenVPN is a VPN protocol and business platform. AuraVPN is an identity protection bundle with a VPN inside.
- Our pick: OpenVPN for most people shopping for a VPN. It costs less and gives far more control.
OpenVPN and AuraVPN both show up in VPN searches, but the overlap ends there.
OpenVPN is an open source VPN protocol plus a business networking platform.
AuraVPN is an identity theft protection service with a VPN tucked inside.
The first guards your data traffic.
The second also watches your credit, your bank accounts, and the dark web.
Pick the wrong one, and you pay for features you never touch.
Overview
This OpenVPN vs AuraVPN comparison covers encryption, remote access, identity protection, pricing, and ease of use.
We reviewed documentation, pricing pages, and user reviews for both tools.
Our writers also spent hands-on time with each one.
Those observations appear in the “What Our Team Noticed” sections below.
By the end, you will know which tool fits your needs.
What is OpenVPN?
OpenVPN is an open source VPN protocol for building virtual private networks.
It launched in 2001 and still powers many VPN services today.
It builds a secure tunnel between a VPN client and a VPN server.
It uses a custom security protocol based on SSL/TLS, short for Secure Sockets Layer.
OpenVPN works at the transport layer, creating VPN tunnels through authentication and encryption.
The OpenVPN company also sells OpenVPN Access Server and a hosted cloud service for teams.
Surfshark and Private Internet Access both use the OpenVPN protocol in their apps.
You can run it free with OpenVPN Community Edition or pay for managed plans.
This video gives a quick tour of the OpenVPN software.
OpenVPN
Open source VPN protocol and business networking platform. Run your own OpenVPN server or use the hosted service.
OpenVPN Pricing
OpenVPN keeps pricing short and simple. There are three plans.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Individuals and home labs testing OpenVPN |
| Growth | $7/month | Small teams that need managed remote access |
| Enterprise | Custom | Large companies with compliance needs |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: The Free plan doubles as a trial, so you can test before paying.
Money-back guarantee: Refund terms depend on your plan and contract. Test on the free tier first.
📌 Note: OpenVPN Community Edition sits outside these plans. It stays free, but you host and manage everything yourself.
⚠️ Warning: Paid plans scale with the number of connections. Check how your bill grows as your team adds devices.
Key Benefits of OpenVPN
Here’s what makes OpenVPN worth considering:
- Open-source code: Anyone can inspect the code for flaws. A global developer community reviews and patches it quickly.
- TCP and UDP modes: OpenVPN UDP favors speed for calls and streaming. OpenVPN TCP favors reliability on shaky networks.
- Flexible encryption: It supports AES and other encryption ciphers through the OpenSSL library. Perfect Forward Secrecy limits damage if one key leaks.
- Firewall-friendly: It passes through firewalls and NAT gateways well. On TCP port 443, it looks like normal web traffic.
- Runs almost anywhere: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS are all supported. It even runs on Tomato router firmware and Solaris.
- Scales with you: It handles one remote worker or complex site-to-site links. It also carries both IPv4 and IPv6 traffic.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for OpenVPN and spent several days exploring the platform. Here is what stood out:
OpenVPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Free Community Edition with no connection fees
- Open-source code that anyone can audit
- Choice of TCP or UDP for reliability or speed
- Works on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS
❌ Cons
- Manual configuration is hard for beginners
- Slower than newer protocols like WireGuard
- Less user-friendly on mobile devices than on desktop
What is AuraVPN?
AuraVPN is the VPN inside Aura, an all-in-one identity protection service.
You cannot buy the VPN on its own.
It comes with every Aura plan, next to identity theft protection.
Aura checks your personal information against billions of data points for signs of fraud.
It also bundles antivirus software, a password manager, and parental controls.
Aura’s VPN encrypts your internet connection on public Wi-Fi at airports and cafes.
It is a decent all-rounder, not a tool built for streaming or torrenting.
This video shows how the pieces fit together.
AuraVPN
Identity theft protection with a built-in VPN, antivirus, and password manager. Every plan includes $1 million in identity theft insurance.
AuraVPN Pricing
Aura plans all share the same core features. You pay based on how many people you cover. Family plans cost less per person than stacking Individual plans.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Family | $32/month | Households with up to five adults plus kids |
| Couple | $22/month | Two adults sharing one account |
| Individual | $12/month | One adult who wants full identity protection |
| Kids | $10/month | Parents focused on child safety online |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: Aura offers a 14-day free trial on all plans. Cancel before it ends and you won’t be charged.
Money-back guarantee: A 60-day money back guarantee covers every plan.
📌 Note: The Family plan covers up to five adults and unlimited kids. Each adult member can protect up to 10 devices.
⚠️ Price check: Some review sites list Aura at $15, $29, and $50 per month. Promotions and billing terms change often, so confirm the price at checkout.
Key Benefits of AuraVPN
Here’s what makes AuraVPN worth considering:
- $1 million insurance: Aura covers eligible losses and legal fees from identity theft. U.S.-based fraud specialists help you recover.
- Fast credit alerts: Aura tracks your credit reports and flags credit fraud. The company claims its alerts arrive up to 250 times faster than rivals.
- Instant credit lock: You can lock your Experian credit file with one tap. That stops identity thieves from opening new credit there.
- Dark web monitoring: Aura scans dark web sources for leaked passwords and personal details. You get an alert when something turns up.
- Family safety tools: Aura helps parents with safe gaming alerts, screen time limits, and filters. Cyberbullying warnings give kids added protection.
- Password manager: Aura’s password manager creates strong passwords and warns you about data breaches. It syncs across your apps.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for Aura and spent several days exploring its alerts. Here is what stood out:
AuraVPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- $1 million identity theft insurance on every plan
- VPN, antivirus, and password manager in one app
- Family plan covers five adults and unlimited kids
- 14-day free trial plus a 60-day money-back guarantee
❌ Cons
- VPN has no kill switch
- You cannot choose your VPN server location
- Not built for streaming, torrenting, or use in China
- Antivirus lacks a firewall and scheduled scans
Feature Comparison
OpenVPN and AuraVPN solve different problems, so this is not a spec-for-spec race. Each tool has unique features the other simply lacks. We compare 10 areas that matter when you choose a VPN or a protection bundle.
| Feature | OpenVPN | AuraVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | Free ($7/month paid) | $10/month |
| Free Plan | ✅ | ❌ (14-day trial) |
| Self-Hosted VPN Servers | ✅ | ❌ |
| Server Location Choice | ✅ | ❌ |
| Site-to-Site Networking | ✅ | ❌ |
| Malicious Site Blocking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Identity Theft Insurance | ❌ | ✅ |
| Credit Monitoring | ❌ | ✅ |
| Antivirus & Password Manager | ❌ | ✅ |
| Best For | Tech users and teams | Families and individuals |
1. Encryption & VPN Tunnels
OpenVPN: OpenVPN wraps each data packet in extra layers for routing and encryption. It supports AES, Blowfish, and other encryption algorithms with adjustable key lengths. The tls auth option adds an HMAC firewall that drops unsigned packets.
AuraVPN: Aura’s VPN encrypts your traffic, but the settings stay minimal. Aura advertises 100+ virtual locations, yet the app picks the server for you. Split tunneling lets chosen apps skip the VPN. There is no kill switch.
HMAC stands for hash message authentication code. Perfect Forward Secrecy also creates fresh encryption keys for each session. So one leaked key never exposes all your past VPN connections.
OpenVPN offers stronger security than most VPN protocols, including older PPTP. Other VPN protocols, like WireGuard, are faster but less configurable. Few tunneling protocols let you tune encryption protocols this finely.
⚠️ Warning: Without a kill switch, a dropped connection sends your traffic out unprotected. That matters most on public Wi-Fi.
2. Remote Access & Private Networks
OpenVPN: This is OpenVPN’s home turf. Companies use it so remote staff can reach private networks safely. OpenVPN Access Server manages users, permissions, and OpenVPN connections from one dashboard.
It also secures access to the SaaS apps your team logs into every day.
AuraVPN: Aura has no remote access features. Its VPN protects your own device on public Wi-Fi, not a company network.
3. Threat & Malware Protection
OpenVPN: OpenVPN’s business plans include DNS security and content filtering. They block malicious websites and unwanted domains before a page loads.
SaaS protection shows which cloud apps people use and blocks the rest.
AuraVPN: Aura antivirus gives real time protection against viruses, spyware, and ransomware. Labs that test Aura posted nearly the same score each round: 98% to 100%. That means it catches most malware, the vast majority of known threats included.
With Aura installed, safe browsing tools also block dangerous sites and known phishing pages. The real time malware protection runs on Windows, Mac, and Android.
⚠️ Warning: Aura’s antivirus has no firewall or Wi-Fi network protection. You also can’t schedule scans or read scan logs.
4. Identity Theft Protection & Insurance
OpenVPN: OpenVPN offers no identity theft tools. It protects sensitive data in transit, not your Social Security number.
AuraVPN: This is where Aura shines. It watches your personal information across dark web sources, public records, and your accounts. Address monitoring and home title monitoring flag changes you did not make.
Every plan includes up to $1 million in identity theft insurance for eligible losses.
💡 Pro Tip: Aura’s identity theft protections are reactive. They alert you after a threat appears, so act on every alert quickly.
5. Credit & Financial Fraud Monitoring
OpenVPN: Not available. OpenVPN has nothing to watch your bank accounts or credit reports.
AuraVPN: Aura monitors bank accounts, credit reports, and Social Security activity. It flags suspicious financial transactions in connected financial accounts. Investment account monitoring and an annual credit report round it out.
Credit alerts land in the same dashboard as everything else Aura monitored for you.
The one-tap credit lock covers your Experian file. Aura alerts you to most credit inquiries within that bureau. Lenders use different credit scoring systems, so Aura’s score may not match your bank’s number.
6. Data Broker & Spam Removal
OpenVPN: OpenVPN doesn’t touch data brokers or spam calls. Its job ends at the VPN tunnel.
AuraVPN: Aura scans data broker sites and asks data brokers to delete your records. It also filters spam calls and texts. Spam list removal cuts down robocalls over time.
Spam call and message protection works quietly in the background.
7. Access Control & Password Security
OpenVPN: OpenVPN enforces zero trust access, so every user and device must prove identity. The certificate authentication OpenVPN uses relies on a public key infrastructure.
AuraVPN: Aura’s password manager builds strong passwords for all your online accounts. It warns you when a saved password appears in a breach. A digital vault also stores sensitive information and files.
8. Business Networking vs Family Protection
OpenVPN: OpenVPN links offices together with site-to-site networking. It also secures IoT devices like sensors and cameras. That is powerful for companies but overkill for most households.
IoT traffic gets the same encrypted treatment as laptops and phones.
AuraVPN: Aura’s Family plan is built for households. Parents get safe gaming alerts, screen time limits, and filters for harmful sites. It also flags early signs of cyberbullying.
9. Ease of Use & Speed
OpenVPN: OpenVPN takes real effort to set up by hand. Install OpenVPN, import a .ovpn file, then connect with OpenVPN GUI or OpenVPN Connect. It is also slower than WireGuard.
AuraVPN: Aura is the easier pick for beginners. You sign in, tap connect, and the app does the rest. Speed impact is minimal for everyday browsing.
OpenVPN UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is faster but does not guarantee every packet arrives. OpenVPN TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) delivers packets in order, so it is steadier but slower. Choose the UDP protocol for calls and streaming. OpenVPN Connect and the OpenVPN GUI are the two main VPN clients.
Aura allows P2P traffic, but torrenting is risky without a kill switch. Manual configuration is where OpenVPN loses most beginners.
💡 Pro Tip: Want OpenVPN without the setup work? Use an OpenVPN compatible service like ExpressVPN or CyberGhost. Both ship it preconfigured, and most VPN providers still include it.
10. Pricing & Cost
Let’s compare the pricing plans side by side.
| Plan Tier | OpenVPN | AuraVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free: $0 | ❌ (14-day trial) |
| Entry | Growth: $7/month | Kids: $10/month |
| Single User | — | Individual: $12/month |
| Two Users | — | Couple: $22/month |
| Top Tier | Enterprise: Custom | Family: $32/month |
OpenVPN: OpenVPN costs less at every level. The free tier and Community Edition cost nothing. You save money, but you spend more time on setup.
AuraVPN: Aura costs more, but you’re buying a full protection bundle. Your plan covers a VPN, antivirus, identity monitoring, and insurance with no paid add on. That pricing sits above many standalone VPN services.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A free VPN to start | OpenVPN | Free tier and Community Edition |
| Remote access for a team | OpenVPN | Access Server and site-to-site tools |
| Identity theft protection | AuraVPN | $1M insurance and credit alerts |
| Family online safety | AuraVPN | Parental controls for five adults plus kids |
| Full server control | OpenVPN | Self-host and set every option |
| Beginner-friendly setup | AuraVPN | One-tap connect, no config files |
💰 Your Budget
If you want a free VPN, OpenVPN wins easily. If you’d pay for fraud alerts anyway, Aura rolls that cost into one bill.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
OpenVPN fits teams running Linux servers, routers, or IoT gear. Aura suits Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS devices with simple apps.
🛡️ Your Main Threat
Worried about snoops on public Wi-Fi? Both help, but only Aura also fights identity thieves and financial fraud.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Beginners will find Aura far easier. OpenVPN rewards people who are comfortable with config files and certificates.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
OpenVPN’s free tier lets you test with no deadline. Aura gives you 14 days free, then a 60-day refund window.
🛟 Support Options
Aura connects you with U.S. fraud specialists when identity theft hits. OpenVPN Community Edition relies on forums, while paid plans add vendor support.
🌍 Travel & Restricted Countries
Aura doesn’t support use in China or parts of the Middle East. OpenVPN on TCP port 443 slips past many firewalls, though nothing is guaranteed.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these tools? Here is what to expect if you switch. Some people run both, since they do different jobs.
🔄 Switching from OpenVPN to AuraVPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- $1 million identity theft insurance and fraud specialist help
- Credit monitoring, dark web alerts, and an Experian lock
- Antivirus, a password manager, and parental controls
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Self-hosted VPN servers and full config control
- Server location choice and custom encryption settings
- The free tier and site-to-site networking
📋 How to switch:
- Save any .ovpn profiles or user lists you want to keep.
- Start Aura’s 14-day free trial and pick a plan.
- Install Aura on each device and turn on the VPN and monitoring.
🔄 Switching from AuraVPN to OpenVPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- A free plan and lower paid pricing
- Full control over VPN servers and ciphers
- Remote access and site-to-site networking
❌ What you’ll lose:
- Identity theft insurance and credit alerts
- Bundled antivirus and a password manager
- Parental controls and data broker removal
📋 How to switch:
- Export your saved passwords from Aura first.
- Install OpenVPN Connect or set up your own OpenVPN server.
- Import your config file, then cancel Aura within the refund window.
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on individuals, families, and small teams. We didn’t benchmark OpenVPN Access Server at enterprise scale or test custom SSO setups. We also didn’t file a real identity theft claim, so we can’t judge Aura’s payouts. Our findings reflect the September 2026 versions of both tools.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | OpenVPN |
| 🔐 Encryption & VPN Control | OpenVPN |
| 🌐 Remote Access & Networking | OpenVPN |
| 🔑 Access Control | OpenVPN |
| 🦠 Threat & Malware Protection | AuraVPN |
| 🛡️ Identity & Credit Protection | AuraVPN |
| 👶 Ease of Use | AuraVPN |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | OpenVPN |
🏆 WINNER: OPENVPN
OpenVPN wins 4 out of 7 categories.
Best for: Free VPN setups, remote teams, self-hosted private networks
💡 Why OpenVPN takes the tie: Both tools score 4.3/5 in our reviews. OpenVPN wins on its free tier, cheaper plans, and stronger VPN features.
OpenVPN and AuraVPN are not really rivals. OpenVPN is a flexible VPN for people who want control. Aura is an identity protection bundle where the VPN is a bonus.
If your goal is a secure VPN connection, OpenVPN is the better choice. It costs less, runs on more operating systems, and lets you shape every setting.
Aura is the better buy if identity theft keeps you up at night. Few identity protection services bundle as much. Its credit monitoring, insurance, and other features have no match in OpenVPN.
More of OpenVPN Compared
Here is how OpenVPN stacks up against other VPN services:
OpenVPN vs NordVPN
OpenVPN wins on: Self-hosting your own VPN servers, a free Community Edition, full cipher control
NordVPN wins on: Ready-made apps, NordLynx speed, a large server network, a kill switch
OpenVPN wins on: Zero cost to start, auditable open code, IoT and office networking
ExpressVPN wins on: OpenVPN support preconfigured out of the box, Lightway protocol speed, streaming access
OpenVPN vs Surfshark
OpenVPN wins on: Running your own infrastructure, zero trust access controls, custom encryption settings
Surfshark wins on: Unlimited devices, one-tap apps, OpenVPN as a built-in tunneling protocol option
OpenVPN wins on: Site-to-site links, no subscription needed, full control over OpenVPN servers
CyberGhost wins on: An easy switch to OpenVPN inside its app, streaming-labeled servers, beginner-friendly design
More of AuraVPN Compared
Here is how AuraVPN stacks up against other VPN providers:
AuraVPN wins on: $1M identity theft insurance, credit monitoring, an Experian lock, data broker removal
NordVPN wins on: A kill switch, manual server choice, obfuscated servers for restrictive countries
AuraVPN wins on: Bundled antivirus, parental controls, U.S. fraud specialist support
ProtonVPN wins on: A free VPN plan, open-source apps, Secure Core routing, a kill switch
AuraVPN wins on: Family coverage for five adults, spam call filtering, identity insurance
ExpressVPN wins on: Manual server selection, Lightway speed, streaming unblocking, the Network Lock kill switch
Frequently Asked Questions
Is OpenVPN free?
Yes. The Community Edition is free and open source. Plans run $0 for Free, $7/month for Growth, and custom for Enterprise.
Is it safe to use OpenVPN?
Yes. It uses SSL/TLS, strong ciphers, and Perfect Forward Secrecy. Its open code gets constant scrutiny. Safety still depends on a trusted server and current settings.
Is Aura a good VPN?
It works for safe browsing on public Wi-Fi. But it lacks a kill switch and server choice. Buy Aura for identity protection, not streaming or torrenting.
What is the monthly cost of Aura?
Plans cost $10/month for Kids, $12/month for Individual, $22/month for Couple, and $32/month for Family. Every tier includes the same core features.
What is the difference between VPN and OpenVPN?
A VPN is a service that encrypts your traffic through a remote server. OpenVPN is one protocol that many VPN providers use to build that tunnel.
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