Best Antivirus Software
Top antivirus software ranked by transparent trust scores.
8 products ranked
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Top Pick
9.4
Excellent
Bitdefender Total Security
Ranked #1 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
#1
9.4
Excellent
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #1 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Top malware detection rates in independent tests
- Very low system performance impact
- Includes VPN and parental controls
Cons
- VPN limited to 200MB/day unless upgraded
- Full-scan can be slow on HDDs
Don't buy this if…
- The included VPN has a 200MB daily cap — it is essentially a trial and not a replacement for a dedicated VPN service.
#2
9.2
Excellent
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #2 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Full unlimited VPN included
- 50GB cloud backup for PC
- Dark web monitoring for personal info
Cons
- Noticeably impacts system performance
- Renewal price is much higher than introductory
Don't buy this if…
- The first-year promotional price roughly doubles at renewal — set a reminder to evaluate before auto-renewal kicks in.
#3
9.0
Excellent
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #3 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Excellent at catching zero-day threats
- Very lightweight with minimal system impact
- Clean interface with no bloatware
Cons
- Fewer extra features than full security suites
- No firewall included
Don't buy this if…
- Malwarebytes works best as a complement to Windows Defender rather than as your only security layer.
#4
8.7
Excellent
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #4 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Consistently top malware detection scores
- Unlimited VPN included
- Safe Money browser for financial transactions
Cons
- US government ban on federal systems
- Some privacy concerns due to Russian origin
Don't buy this if…
- Kaspersky has been banned from US government systems due to national security concerns — evaluate this in context of your own risk tolerance.
#5
8.5
Excellent
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #5 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Unlimited device coverage on family plan
- Identity theft insurance included
- Personal data cleanup tool
Cons
- Heavier system impact than competitors
- Aggressive upselling within the app
Don't buy this if…
- McAfee aggressively pushes pop-up notifications and upsells — you may need to configure notification settings after installation.
#6
8.3
Good
Consensus
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Ranked #6 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Extremely lightweight on system resources
- Gamer mode minimizes interruptions
- Strong heuristic detection engine
Cons
- Fewer features than competing suites
- No VPN or parental controls included
Don't buy this if…
- ESET NOD32 is antivirus only — you need the higher-tier ESET Smart Security for firewall, parental controls, and other suite features.
#7
8.1
Good
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #7 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Excellent web threat and phishing protection
- Pay Guard secures online transactions
- Covers up to 10 devices
Cons
- Higher false positive rate than some competitors
- Can slow down older systems during scans
Don't buy this if…
- Trend Micro can be overly aggressive with detections — expect some false positives that require manual whitelisting.
#8
7.9
Good
Consensus
Compare
Ranked #8 based on expert reviews, user sentiment, and value analysis.
Pros
- Generous free tier available
- Includes VPN and performance tools
- Clean, modern interface redesign
Cons
- Past controversy over selling user browsing data
- Free version shows frequent upgrade prompts
Don't buy this if…
- Avast was fined for selling anonymized user browsing data through its Jumpshot subsidiary — they claim to have ceased this practice.
Quick Comparison
How We Rank
Composite trust score from expert reviews, user sentiment, complaint analysis, and value assessment.
Trust Score
Weighted composite of all factor scores
Expert Score
Aggregated expert review ratings
User Sentiment
Community votes and review analysis
Value Score
Price-to-performance ratio
Freshness
Recency of reviews and data
Change Log
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