Best Antivirus Software to Protect Your Devices

Bitdefender earns our vote for the best and most affordable way to keep computer viruses and malware at bay. We especially love the Total Security package, which combines effective antivirus and anti-malware protection with parental controls, a password manager, and a VPN.

But it’s a tight race, so we’ve listed out some of our other favorite antivirus and anti-malware programs to help you make a confident choice.

Bitdefender sells several different packages, but we like the Total Security option because it protects five devices (sufficient for most couples) running Windows, MacOS, iOS, or Android, and it includes a built-in speed optimizer.

Hinted at in its name, Malwarebytes is especially good at detecting, preventing, and cleaning malware, but it also has an antivirus feature for full protection. We also like that it comes with uninstall protection so that malware can’t get rid of it.

You can download a free trial from the Malwarebytes website if you want to explore its features and dashboard.

Third-party tests indicate that Malwarebytes is more likely to slow down your computer than the other options on our list, but our product tester Alina said this has never been an issue for her.

Read our full Malwarebytes review for more information.

Plus, Norton manages to block 100% of all harmful files and sites, making it one of the most effective antivirus and anti-malware solutions in the industry.¹ 

As if that’s not enough praise to pile onto Norton, it’s also unlikely to slow down your computer. Only ESET—reviewed below—was slightly more consistent than Norton in third-party speed tests.

Learn more in our full Norton Antivirus review.

Other brands like Norton and McAfee had great scores on some tests but poor scores on subsequent tests. ESET earned our trust thanks to its consistent performance. It caused minor lags only when the computer copied files.

The one thing we don’t like about ESET is that you have to pay an extra fee (about $10—$15) for each device. That adds up fast for families.

That said, the ESET Smart Security Premium package is a solid deal at about $60 a year for one device. It gets you antivirus protection with advanced machine learning to thwart unknown attacks, plus anti-phishing and anti-spam protection, a firewall, parental controls, webcam protection, and tons more. It even includes a monthly security report so you can see how many attacks it’s saved you from.

You can also check out our in-depth review of ESET NOD32 Antivirus, which is a scaled-down and more affordable version of ESET Smart Security Premium.

Webroot offers real-time scanning for threats and makes quick work out of what it finds. You can use one license on up to five devices.

While Webroot has fewer extras than our other choices, it still has some goodies in store. It misses out on any parental control tools, but it has webcam protection for gamers and remote students and integrates with the LastPass password manager. You can also bundle this antivirus software with Webroot’s VPN for extra privacy and protection.

For more information, be sure to check out our full Webroot review.

We used to enthusiastically recommend Avast, but now we do so with caution. In December 2019, Avast collected unnecessary user data such as browsing history and activity through Avast subsidiary Jumpshot. Its privacy policy defends storing user data since it’s anonymized, but the company offered no clear policy on the length of data retention.

Avast has since severed ties with Jumpshot, though we still hesitate to recommend the software.⁵ Learn more in our full Avast review.

McAfee is a well-known brand in the world of antivirus software, but we found it to be more expensive than competitors without offering significantly better protection. But it’s about as lightweight as ESET and Norton, so running McAfee shouldn’t interfere with your device usage.

MacKeeper works well for Macs—but only for Macs. We prioritized anti-virus software that could work on a variety of operating systems for our best-of list, so MacKeeper didn't make the cut. Learn more about this option in our MacKeeper review.

Bitdefender Total Security protects your files, passwords, and identity without siphoning too much of your paycheck. If you’re not sure whether it’s right for you, take advantage of the company’s 30-day trial period. If you’re not happy with its performance or speed, consider one of the other antivirus options on our list.

For our review of the best antivirus software and anti-malware protection, we leaned on the expertise of our IT security advisor Pete Canavan, as well as the performance and speed tests conducted by the AV-Comparatives group. We also relied on our team’s first-hand experience using antivirus and anti-malware software.

To learn more about how we review products, visit the SafeWise methodology page.

• AVG Antivirus Free Review
• Best Antivirus for Android
• How Can You Tell If a Website Is Safe?
• Best VPN Service

1. AV-Comparatives, “Real-World Protection Test July–October 2021,” November 2021. Accessed March 29, 2022.
2. AV-Comparatives, “Performance Test October 2020,” November 2020. Accessed March 29, 2022.
3. AV-Comparatives, “Performance Test April 2021,” May 2021. Accessed March 29, 2022.
4. AV-Comparatives, “Performance Test October 2021,” November 2021. Accessed March 29, 2022.
5. Ondřej Vlček, Avast, “A Message Drom Avast's CEO,” January 2020. Accessed March 29, 2022.