⚡ Quick Verdict:
- Pricing: McAfee VPN starts at $39.99/yr vs AuraVPN at $10/month.
- Best for: McAfee for a low-cost antivirus and VPN bundle. Aura for identity theft protection and families.
- Key difference: McAfee lets you pick a server and adds a Windows kill switch. Aura’s VPN has neither, but it adds $1 million in identity theft insurance.
- Our pick: McAfee VPN for most people who mainly want a VPN bundle at a lower yearly cost.
McAfee VPN vs AuraVPN comes down to one question.
Do you want a VPN with extras, or identity protection with a VPN attached?
Both tools bundle a virtual private network with antivirus software.
McAfee leans on its VPN and antivirus.
Aura leans on identity theft protection, credit monitoring, and family safety.
This breakdown shows which one fits your online security needs.
Overview
This McAfee VPN vs AuraVPN comparison covers pricing, VPN features, privacy, and identity protection.
We also explain who each tool works best for.
Our writer spent hands-on time with Aura directly.
Observations on McAfee come from its documentation, published speed tests, and review sites.
By the end, you’ll know which vpn service fits your needs.
What is McAfee VPN?
McAfee VPN is the VPN built into McAfee’s security plans.
You may also see it called McAfee Safe Connect VPN or Secure VPN.
It encrypts your traffic with AES-256 encryption.
It sits beside other features like antivirus and identity monitoring.
That protects sensitive information on public networks from man-in-the-middle attacks.
The VPN turns on by itself when you join unsecured public Wi-Fi.
It runs on Windows, iOS, and Android, but there’s no macOS app or Linux support.
Here’s a short video walkthrough of how the McAfee VPN works.
McAfee VPN
Antivirus and a VPN in one yearly plan. It auto-protects you on public Wi-Fi. Identity monitoring and a password manager come included.
McAfee VPN Pricing
Here’s what McAfee costs in 2026. The VPN comes inside every plan.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $39.99/yr | Individuals who want antivirus plus a VPN |
| Advanced Individual | $89.99/yr | One person who needs identity protection |
| Advanced Family | $119.99/yr | Households covering several people |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: None of the plans above is a free VPN. Free VPNs usually cap data anyway, so budget for a paid annual plan.
Money-back guarantee: Yes. A 30-day money back guarantee lets you cancel and get a refund.
📌 Note: Every plan bundles the VPN with antivirus and identity tools. Unlimited bandwidth is typically tied to keeping automatic renewal on.
⚠️ Price check: Some review sites list a standalone McAfee VPN at $7.99/month. Others show $19.99 for the first year (about $1.66/month), renewing at $47.99. Confirm the current price at checkout.
Key Benefits of McAfee VPN
Here’s what makes McAfee VPN worth a look:
- Public Wi-Fi Protection: The VPN switches on by itself on unsecured networks. It guards banking details and passwords at cafes and airports.
- AES-256 Encryption: Your data gets scrambled before it leaves your device. It also hides your ip address from others on the same network.
- Less Throttling: Encryption makes it harder for your ISP or mobile carrier to spot heavy downloads. That helps prevent bandwidth throttling.
- DNS Leak Protection: Your lookups stay inside the tunnel. Multi-device support covers phones and PCs.
- Pick Your Server: You choose where to connect. That helps you bypass geo-restrictions on region-locked content.
- All-in-One Package: The VPN sits inside McAfee’s All-in-One Protection packages. You also get antivirus and identity protection.
What Our Team Noticed
Note: We haven’t had extensive hands-on time with McAfee VPN yet. The information above is based on McAfee’s documentation, published speed tests, and third-party reviews.
McAfee VPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- Antivirus, VPN, and identity protection in one plan
- Starts at $39.99/yr for the Essential plan
- Auto-connects on unsecured public Wi-Fi
- Kill switch included on the Windows app
What is AuraVPN?
AuraVPN is the VPN inside Aura’s identity theft protection services.
Aura is not a VPN company first.
It’s an all-in-one safety app for your identity, money, and devices.
The VPN blocks known scam and phishing sites while you browse.
Aura’s plans also include aura antivirus, credit monitoring, and a password manager.
It works on Android, iOS, Mac, and Windows.
Watch this quick review to see the Aura app in action.
AuraVPN
Identity theft protection, antivirus, and a VPN in one app. It covers up to $1 million in eligible losses. Try it free for 14 days.
AuraVPN Pricing
Here’s what Aura costs in 2026. Every plan is billed monthly.
| Plan | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Family | $32/month | Up to five adults plus kids |
| Couple | $22/month | Two adults sharing protection |
| Individual | $12/month | One adult who wants full coverage |
| Kids | $10/month | Parents protecting children online |
Pricing verified September 2026.
Free trial: Yes. Aura offers a 14-day free trial on all plans, and you can cancel without charge.
Money-back guarantee: Yes. Aura gives you a 60 day money back guarantee on every plan.
📌 Note: All aura plans share the same core features. There’s no tiered service. You pay for how many people are covered, and each adult member gets full protection.
⚠️ Price check: Some review sites list three plans at $15, $29, and $50 per month. Aura is priced higher than VPN-only tools. Confirm the current price at checkout.
Key Benefits of AuraVPN
Here’s what makes AuraVPN worth considering:
- $1M Identity Theft Insurance: It covers eligible losses and legal fees if identity thieves strike. U.S. fraud specialists help you recover.
- Faster Fraud Alerts: Aura says it flags credit fraud up to 250 times faster than competitors. It checks your data against billions of data points.
- Instant Credit Lock: You can lock your Experian credit file in one tap. That blocks unauthorized access to new credit.
- Dark Web Monitoring: Aura scans dark web sources for your personal information. You get an alert when your data shows up.
- Family Safety Tools: The Family plan adds parental controls with safe gaming and screen time limits. It also filters harmful sites and watches for cyberbullying.
- Password Manager and Vault: Aura’s password manager builds a strong password for every account. The digital vault encrypts your sensitive files.
What Our Team Noticed
Our writer signed up for Aura’s Individual plan and explored the VPN, identity alerts, and antivirus. Here’s what stood out:
AuraVPN Pros & Cons
✅ Pros
- $1 million identity theft insurance included
- Antivirus scored 98–100% in malware tests
- 14-day free trial and 60-day money-back guarantee
- Covers up to 10 devices per user
❌ Cons
- No kill switch on the VPN
- You can’t choose your VPN server location
- Premium pricing next to VPN-only tools
- Antivirus lacks a firewall and scheduled scans
Feature Comparison
Ready to see how McAfee VPN and AuraVPN stack up? We’ll walk through 10 key areas, from encryption to price.
| Feature | McAfee VPN | AuraVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $39.99/yr | $10/month |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 60 days |
| Kill Switch | ✅ Windows only | ❌ |
| Split Tunneling | ✅ Android only | ✅ |
| Choose Server Location | ✅ | ❌ |
| Simultaneous Connections | 5 | Up to 10 per user |
| macOS Support | ❌ | ✅ |
| Identity Theft Coverage | ✅ | ✅ Up to $1M |
| Antivirus Included | ✅ | ✅ |
| Best For | Budget VPN + antivirus bundle | Identity protection and families |
1. VPN Encryption and Protocols
McAfee VPN: McAfee Safe Connect uses AES-256 encryption with the Catapult Hydra protocol. That protocol was designed for performance, and Hotspot Shield uses it too. The vpn connection starts on its own when you join an unsecured network.
AuraVPN: Aura protects your internet connection with AES-256 encryption. It also blocks malicious websites and dangerous sites before they load in your browser. That added protection helps stop malware and data theft during everyday browsing.
2. Privacy and Logging Policy
McAfee VPN: McAfee claims its VPN protects your online activity, but its logging says otherwise. It logs personally identifiable information, including IP addresses and the sites you visit. McAfee keeps that data indefinitely and holds it 30 days after you delete your account.
The privacy policy says McAfee will hand data to any legal or government authority that asks. The policy also covers all McAfee products and never names the VPN. That makes it hard to trust McAfee Safe Connect with your browsing history. Privacy-first vpn companies set a much higher bar.
AuraVPN: Aura keeps a no-logs policy for browsing history. It may log your IP address temporarily during a session. Sign-up does require personal details for identity monitoring.
⚠️ Warning: McAfee is based in the U.S., a Five Eyes member, which raises government surveillance concerns. The VPN also doesn’t block cookies. Logging into personal accounts still reveals who you are.
3. Servers, Speed, and Streaming
McAfee VPN: Reports on the server network vary. Some list servers in 23 or 24 countries, while others count 40+ or about 47. One source puts the total near 2,000 servers. That server list is small next to dedicated vpn services.
In one speed test, McAfee hit 97Mbps on a nearby server. In other speed tests, international downloads never dropped below 75Mbps. But latency jumped 600% on Windows, so gaming suffers. The VPN fails with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, which frustrates most vpn users.
AuraVPN: Aura lists over 100 virtual locations, but you can’t pick from those server locations. The app chooses for you. Its VPN is fast, with minimal impact on speed. Still, it’s a decent all-rounder, not a streaming tool.
💡 Pro Tip: Neither tool lists an Apple TV or Android TV app. For TV streaming, dedicated VPNs are a better fit.
4. Device Support and Advanced Features
McAfee VPN: McAfee allows up to five simultaneous connections. The kill switch works only on Windows, so iOS users go without one. Split tunneling only helps Android users. It also lacks advanced security features like smart DNS and multi hop routing.
AuraVPN: Aura covers up to 10 devices per user, or 50 devices across five adults on family plans. Apps run on every major operating system, including iOS devices and Mac. Split tunneling lets you choose which apps skip the VPN, but there’s no kill switch.
⚠️ Warning: McAfee doesn’t support P2P traffic at all. Aura allows P2P but lacks a kill switch. Neither is a safe pick for torrenting.
5. Antivirus and Malware Protection
McAfee VPN: McAfee began as an antivirus company, and Advanced Antivirus anchors every plan. A Protection Score rates your overall security at a glance. The VPN adds a privacy layer on top.
AuraVPN: Aura’s antivirus scored between 98% and 100% in malware detection tests. Its real time malware protection catches most malware, including spyware and ransomware. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Android. But there’s no firewall, Wi-Fi scanning, or scheduled scans.
6. Identity Theft Protection
McAfee VPN: McAfee’s Identity Monitoring watches for your details in data breaches. Higher plans add Identity Theft Coverage and Restoration. It’s useful, but it’s not the heart of the product.
AuraVPN: Aura’s identity protection services are the core of the product. Aura’s identity theft protections scan dark web sources and cover up to $1 million in eligible losses. Aura helps you recover with U.S. fraud specialists. Keep in mind the alerts are reactive and fire after a threat is detected.
7. Credit Monitoring and Financial Fraud
McAfee VPN: McAfee includes credit monitoring and a Security Freeze tool. A freeze stops new accounts from being opened in your name.
AuraVPN: Aura monitors bank accounts, credit reports, and Social Security activity. It flags suspicious financial transactions in connected financial accounts. A credit lock on your Experian file takes one tap.
8. Password Manager
McAfee VPN: McAfee’s Password Manager stores your logins and fills them across devices. It’s a handy add on if you already live in McAfee’s app.
AuraVPN: Aura’s password manager creates a unique password for all your online accounts. It warns you if a password appears in a breach. It also ties into Aura’s identity alerts for better control.
9. Data Removal and Scam Protection
McAfee VPN: Personal Data Cleanup scans data broker sites for your details. Scam Detector checks texts, emails, and links for fraud.
AuraVPN: Aura removes your details from data brokers to cut down on spam. It also blocks spam calls and messages. Family plans add safe browsing controls for kids.
10. Pricing and Cost
Let’s compare the pricing plans side by side.
| Plan | McAfee VPN | AuraVPN |
|---|---|---|
| Entry Plan | Essential: $39.99/yr | Kids: $10/month |
| Mid Plan | Advanced Individual: $89.99/yr | Individual: $12/month |
| Upper Plan | Advanced Family: $119.99/yr | Couple: $22/month |
| Top Plan | ❌ | Family: $32/month |
| Money-Back Guarantee | 30 days | 60 days |
McAfee VPN: McAfee is much cheaper per year. The Essential plan costs less than four months of Aura’s Individual plan. It’s the smart way to save money if you want a basic bundle.
AuraVPN: Aura’s higher price buys insurance, credit tools, and family features. The Family plan covers up to five adults and unlimited children’s Social Security numbers. Is Aura worth the premium? Only if identity protection matters more than VPN features.
Different Scenarios
| If You Need… | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Tight budget | McAfee VPN | $39.99/yr vs $10+/month |
| Identity theft protection | AuraVPN | $1M insurance included |
| A Mac app | AuraVPN | McAfee has no macOS support |
| Pick your server | McAfee VPN | Aura assigns servers for you |
| Family protection | AuraVPN | Parental controls, 50 devices |
| Windows on public Wi-Fi | McAfee VPN | Auto-connect plus kill switch |
💰 Your Budget
McAfee’s Essential plan costs less than two months of Aura’s Family plan. If you just want a VPN plus antivirus, McAfee stretches your money further.
🔌 Your Tech Stack
Aura runs on Mac, while McAfee skips macOS and Linux. Check which devices you need to protect before you buy.
🔒 Your Privacy Needs
McAfee logs your IP address and online activities under U.S. jurisdiction. For online privacy, Aura’s no-logs stance on browsing history is safer.
🎓 Your Experience Level
Both apps are user friendly and built for beginners. McAfee has limited advanced settings, and Aura’s VPN has almost none.
🆓 Free Trials and Demos
Aura gives you a 14-day free trial, then a 60-day refund window. McAfee offers a 30-day refund on its plans.
🛟 Support Options
Aura gives you U.S.-based fraud specialists for identity problems. You can contact McAfee through live chat support and its help center.
Switching Guide
Already using one of these tools? Here’s what to expect if you switch.
🔄 Switching from McAfee VPN to AuraVPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- $1 million identity theft insurance and fraud specialists
- A Mac app and up to 10 devices per user
- Parental controls with safe gaming and screen time limits
❌ What you’ll lose:
- The kill switch on Windows
- Choosing your own VPN server location
- Lower yearly pricing
📋 How to switch:
- Turn off McAfee auto-renewal in your account settings.
- Start Aura’s 14-day free trial at aura.com.
- Install Aura on each device and turn on identity monitoring.
🔄 Switching from AuraVPN to McAfee VPN?
✅ What you’ll gain:
- Control over which server you connect to
- A kill switch on Windows
- A cheaper annual plan
❌ What you’ll lose:
- $1 million insurance and credit lock tools
- A no-logs policy for browsing history
- Mac app support
📋 How to switch:
- Cancel Aura inside the 60-day refund window.
- Buy a McAfee plan and download the app.
- Open the app and switch on Secure VPN.
What Our Review Didn’t Cover
This comparison focused on individuals and families using these tools for everyday online activity. We didn’t run our own speed tests or check streaming on smart TVs. We also didn’t evaluate business licensing or file an insurance claim with Aura. Pricing and features reflect September 2026 and may change. For more depth, read our full McAfee VPN review.
Final Verdict
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| 💰 Pricing | McAfee VPN |
| 🔐 VPN Features | McAfee VPN |
| 🌍 Server Choice | McAfee VPN |
| 👶 Ease of Use | McAfee VPN |
| 🔒 Privacy | AuraVPN |
| 🛡️ Identity Protection | AuraVPN |
| 💻 Platform Support | AuraVPN |
| 🏆 Overall Winner | McAfee VPN |
🏆 WINNER: McAFEE VPN
McAfee VPN wins 4 out of 7 categories.
Best for: Budget buyers, Windows users on public Wi-Fi, and anyone who wants antivirus plus a VPN.
McAfee VPN and AuraVPN are two very different products. McAfee is an antivirus suite with a working VPN attached. Aura is an identity theft protection service with a basic VPN on the side.
AuraVPN is excellent for families who want credit monitoring, insurance, and parental controls in one app. Its unique features shine there, but the VPN covers only the bare minimum.
For the vast majority of readers who want a VPN bundled with antivirus, McAfee is the better choice. It’s fine for occasional use on public Wi-Fi. It costs less, lets you pick servers, and adds a Windows kill switch. Just remember it logs data, so skip it for sensitive browsing.
More of McAfee VPN Compared
Here’s how McAfee VPN stacks up against other options:
McAfee VPN wins on: antivirus in the same subscription, identity monitoring, auto-connect on open Wi-Fi
NordVPN wins on: audited no-logs policy, a native macOS app, stronger streaming unblocking
McAfee VPN wins on: lower yearly entry price, a bundled password manager, scam detection tools
ExpressVPN wins on: kill switch on every platform, headquarters outside the Five Eyes, far more countries
McAfee VPN vs Private Internet Access
McAfee VPN wins on: simpler setup, personal data cleanup, antivirus included
Private Internet Access wins on: open-source apps, a verified no-logs policy, P2P support for torrenting
McAfee VPN vs ProtonVPN
McAfee VPN wins on: identity theft coverage, a security freeze tool, one app for everything
ProtonVPN wins on: a free plan, Swiss jurisdiction, Secure Core multi-server routing
More of AuraVPN Compared
Here’s how AuraVPN stacks up against other options:
AuraVPN wins on: $1M insurance, an Experian credit lock, antivirus with 98–100% detection
Surfshark wins on: unlimited devices, a kill switch, full server selection
AuraVPN wins on: identity monitoring, parental controls, a 60-day refund window
NordVPN wins on: a larger server network, reliable streaming, cheaper VPN-only plans
AuraVPN wins on: dark web monitoring, an encrypted password vault, spam call blocking
PureVPN wins on: dedicated IP options, port forwarding, choosing any server
AuraVPN wins on: coverage for five adults, U.S. fraud specialists, data broker removal
CyberGhost wins on: streaming-optimized servers, a 45-day refund window, lower long-term VPN pricing
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aura better than McAfee?
It depends on your priority. Aura wins for identity theft protection and families. McAfee wins if you want a cheaper bundle with a more flexible VPN.
Does McAfee VPN collect data?
Yes. It logs your IP address and the websites you visit. That data stays stored until you delete your account, plus 30 more days.
Is Aura a good VPN?
It’s fine for public Wi-Fi and blocking phishing sites. But it lacks a kill switch and server choice. Buy it for identity protection, not the VPN alone.
Does McAfee VPN cost extra?
No. The VPN comes inside every plan, starting with Essential at $39.99/yr. Unlimited bandwidth is typically tied to keeping automatic renewal switched on.
Does Netflix block McAfee VPN?
Often, yes. The VPN struggles to unblock Netflix and Hulu reliably. If streaming matters, pick a dedicated streaming VPN instead.
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