What Are Aura Points? The Internet's Unofficial Coolness Score

You can't see them. You can't spend them. And until recently, nobody was actually keeping score. But that hasn't stopped the internet from turning aura points into one of its favorite ways to judge just about everything.

What Are Aura Points?

Aura points are fictional points people award or subtract based on someone's actions, confidence, style, presence or overall vibe. Think of them as the internet's unofficial coolness currency.

Walk away from an explosion without looking back? +10,000 aura points. Hit a game-winning shot and barely celebrate? Massive aura. Wave back at someone only to realize they were waving at the person behind you? That's going to cost you.

The numbers are intentionally ridiculous. There is no official formula behind +500 versus +50,000. The exaggeration is part of the joke.

Do something that increases your perceived aura and you gain points. Do something that kills the vibe and you lose them.

What Does Aura Mean in Slang?

Online, aura generally describes someone's perceived presence, coolness, charisma or energy. It isn't necessarily about being famous, attractive or successful. Someone can walk into a room, say almost nothing and somehow command everyone's attention. That's aura. Aura points simply turned that abstract idea into an imaginary scoreboard.

What Does +1000 Aura Mean?

When someone comments "+1000 aura," they are essentially saying: that increased your aura. The number itself isn't important. +100 aura, +1,000 aura and +1,000,000 aura all communicate different levels of approval, usually with a healthy amount of exaggeration.

The reverse works too. -1000 aura means something damaged someone's perceived coolness. And negative aura? That's internet shorthand for someone having a particularly rough day.

Are Aura Points Real?

Not exactly. Aura points began as imaginary internet currency. There is no universally accepted system determining how many points someone earns for doing something cool.

But the idea behind them is very real. People constantly make judgments about confidence, charisma, presence and cultural relevance.

That's where The Aura 100 comes in. Instead of assigning arbitrary points to individual moments, The Aura 100 asks the internet one extremely simple question: Who has more aura? People vote in head-to-head battles between cultural figures, and those decisions contribute to a live Aura Score and global Aura Ranking.

In other words, the internet joked about keeping score. So we started keeping score.

How Do You Gain Aura Points?

There isn't a rulebook, which is exactly what makes aura fun. Generally, moments that earn aura points share a few qualities:

• Confidence without looking like you're trying
• Staying calm under pressure
• Doing something genuinely impressive
• Having unmistakable personal style
• Delivering the perfect comeback
• Showing up when it matters
• Making something difficult look effortless

Trying too hard can have the opposite effect.

Aura Points vs. Aura Farming

If aura points are the imaginary currency, aura farming is trying to earn them.

Aura farming describes intentionally doing something designed to make yourself appear cooler, more confident, mysterious or charismatic. Sometimes it works. Sometimes the internet notices you're trying to look cool and immediately deducts 50,000 points.

Read our full guide to What Is Aura Farming? to understand where the term came from, what it means and why it became such a huge part of internet culture.

What Is Aura Maxxing?

Aura maxxing, also written auramaxxing, takes the idea one step further. Instead of farming aura through one particular moment, aura maxxing is about intentionally maximizing your overall aura.

Think confidence, style, composure, body language and presence. If aura farming is trying to create an aura moment, aura maxxing is trying to become the kind of person who naturally creates them.

Read our companion guide, What Is Aura Maxxing?, for the full breakdown.

Who Has the Most Aura Points?

That's the million-point question.

The Aura 100 maintains a live ranking of actors, athletes, musicians, creators, entrepreneurs and other cultural figures based on public head-to-head voting. Because people keep voting, the rankings can change.

See the live Aura Rankings on The Aura 100 and vote on who you think has the most aura.