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Best Antivirus for Android
For over 11 years, SafeWise experts have conducted independent research and testing to create unbiased, human reviews. Learn how we test and review.
Antivirus software is like a hazmat suit for your phone: it protects against malware and allows you to download new apps confidently. Many antivirus apps can also help protect your privacy, find your phone if it gets lost, and keep your device safe from hacking and theft.
We chose Bitdefender because it does all of these tasks for a reasonable price. It also boasts excellent scores in independent testing from AV-TEST. Read on to learn why we recommend this antivirus app for most people.
Best Android antivirus apps
- : Best overall
- : Best for multiple devices
- : Best for budgets
- : Best security audit
- : Best user experience
1. Bitdefender Mobile Security: Best overall
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
If you're looking for a strong antivirus program but don't need call-blocking features, Bitdefender is a great choice. A paid Bitdefender Mobile Security subscription unlocks the best features, but you can use the Bitdefender Antivirus app for free if you want simple malware scanning. The free app even performs automatic scans on new apps—something you'll pay for with other brands.
Its reliance on cloud-based services means there's little to no impact on your device during scans, but you'll need a reliable, ongoing Wi-Fi connection for the antivirus to keep working in the background. When we looked at the latest independent test results from AT-TEST, Bitdefender earned a perfect score. It didn't miss a single virus sample or flag any safe files as false positives.
Because Bitdefender Antivirus Free is so simple, there's nothing to configure, so setup is a breeze. Suppose you decide later on that you want additional features, like anti-theft, app locking, Android Wear security, and real-time scanning as you browse. In that case, you can upgrade to Bitdefender Mobile Security.
Most antivirus software sell annual subscriptions, and Bitdefender is no different at $14.99 a year—the same as ESET. But we like that Bitdefender also includes a mobile-friendly option for $1.49 a month. In the long term, you'll technically spend more with a monthly plan, but you don't need to track when an annual plan renews.
Whether you pay yearly or monthly, Bitdefender offers a 14-day trial that you can access without entering a credit card number. Although our other top picks offer trial options, Bitdefender's the only one where you can preview every feature without sharing your payment info.
Learn more in our full Bitdefender antivirus review.
2. Norton360 Antivirus and Security: Best for multiple devices
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Norton Mobile Security doesn't have all the bells and whistles of other antivirus apps, but it may feel familiar—Norton Antivirus is also a solid choice for PCs. But if you think Norton just reconfigured a PC antivirus program to work as an Android app, think again—Norton can spot Android-specific threats and stop them in their tracks.
The app is easy to use and has clear menu selections and commands. Its Android malware detection is top-notch when it comes to anticipating threats. And unlike some antivirus programs that run silently in the background, if Norton detects an issue, it will alert you and ask how to proceed.
Our favorite Norton features are safe browsing, Wi-Fi scanning, and a security audit that tells which apps have specific access permissions. These are great for protecting sensitive data and spotting potential scams.
Unfortunately, Norton Security doesn't offer an app lock to restrict access to apps with private info like banking apps and messaging apps. There's also no anti-theft tool to help you find a lost phone or wipe the data after someone steals it.
While Norton offers a seven-day trial, it's the only brand on our list without a free version. This means you need to enter your payment info to see what the app looks like. Norton's price doubles after the first year from $14.99 to $29.99, so we don't recommend subscribing via Google Play. Instead, a Norton360 plan is a better value since its cross-platform support means you can protect other phones and computers.
Learn more in our full Norton antivirus review.
Google Find My Device is an excellent alternative to the anti-theft tools in antivirus apps, though it can't use the camera to catch a thief or spot landmarks like Bitdefender and AVG.
3. AVG AntiVirus and Security: Best for budgets
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
AVG offers the best suite of tools in a free antivirus app with the most features available without paying a dime. For example, you won't pay extra for anti-theft, safe browsing, and Wi-Fi scanning, which typically require a subscription with our other picks.
The free version of the app includes many ads, which are a small annoyance when testing features. But most folks won’t notice ads since you’re not spending all our free time on antivirus apps. The main drawback of the free app is that it won't run automatic scans or scam protection, so you'll need a Pro plan to use those. There's also no VPN unless you upgrade to the Ultimate plan.
As a paid app, AVG is less impressive. At $12, your first year is $3 cheaper than Bitdefender, but AVG's renewal price of $19.99 saves less money. It's still inexpensive enough that you might go for the ad-free experience and automatic scanning anyway.
As for the Ultimate plan, it starts at $24 a year but jumps to $40 upon renewal. That's a lot to spend for an extra VPN but still more affordable than the 10-device plan on AVG's website.
Learn more in our full AVG antivirus review.
AVG and Avast share the same parent company, and their respective apps are identical at first glance. Since we couldn't find any real differences, we chose not to highlight Avast Mobile Security on this page. If you want to learn more about this brand, we recommend checking out our full Avast antivirus review.
4. Kaspersky Security and VPN: Best security audit
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
Kaspersky is another service with a solid reputation for malware protection on its Android security app—it received perfect scores from AV-TEST for protection and usability and has excellent user reviews. It has all the standard features of a good antivirus program, including anti-theft features, call blocking, and anti-phishing protection.
We love the security auditing options in Kaspersky. It can show you weak settings on your phone and social media. Plus, it helps you track devices on your home network. You can also tell the app to activate the VPN when you're on an unsecured public Wi-Fi network.
Kaspersky mobile antivirus is one of the more expensive options on our list—it costs about $28 a year. Still, it's worth the money, especially if you bundle your mobile devices and computers under a single plan.
5. ESET Mobile Security Antivirus: Best user experience
Info current as of post date. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.
ESET offers fast virus scanning and a user-friendly interface. We like the color-coded push notifications that show priority at a glance: red for threat detection, yellow for a task to be completed, and green for all clear.
While the free version has fewer security features, its detailed activity log and security report help you keep up with the latest scan results. You need a paid plan for anti-theft, app lock, and call blocking. Our biggest beef with ESET is that there's no VPN like our other top picks.
We also like the ability to schedule scans when your device is charging. ESET's latest AV-TEST result comes from 2021, so its performance in real-world tests isn't as recent as with rivals. Still, it's one of the highest-rated antivirus apps on Google Play. You'll pay about $7 for your first year with ESET, though the renewal price is approximately $15 a year.
Learn more in our full ESET antivirus review.
More Android antivirus apps
Avira Security Antivirus and VPN
Avira has one of the most comprehensive free plans in an Android antivirus app. Beyond the basic scanning and anti-theft features, it comes with a call blocker and VPN. This sweetens the deal and makes it the best of our honorable mentions. While Avira antivirus failed to make our top five because it had slightly weaker user scores than AVG, it remains an excellent option for most folks.
Lookout Security and Antivirus
Lookout is one of the most popular free antivirus apps on Google Play and an excellent option for a quick virus scan. But there's a drought of independent testing data—its most recent result from AV-TEST dates back to 2016. Without a way to compare it to the competition, it's hard to recommend Lookout. Still, you might consider Lookout's top-tier plan for another reason: it includes affordable identity theft protection for about $100 a year.
Malwarebytes Mobile Security
We like Malwarebytes for its simplified approach, but its paid plan—about $12 a year—boasts fewer features than the similarly-priced AVG. This is a strength for folks who won't use features like app lock and anti-theft, but it keeps Malwarebytes from claiming our budget spot.
Learn more in our full Malwarebytes antivirus review.
McAfee Security: Antivirus VPN
Like Norton, McAfee Mobile Security has all the scanning, browsing, and Wi-Fi vulnerability-checking features of other top antivirus apps. But it offers even fewer features than Malwarebytes for more than twice the price—about $30 a year. It's a nice bonus for folks buying the cross-platform McAfee Total Protection plan, but it falls flat as a standalone service for Android.
Trend Micro Mobile Security and Antivirus
Trend Micro checks almost all the boxes for an excellent Android antivirus app: virus scanning, app lock, anti-theft, safe browsing, and solid AV-TEST scores. But we can't see ourselves paying $30 a year unless there's an integrated VPN in the app like Bitdefender, Norton, AVG, and Kaspersky offer.
Final word
Bitdefender claims our top spot because it offers an excellent suite of anti-malware features on a monthly or annual plan. Unlike most competitors, it doesn't raise the price upon renewal, which is especially helpful for keeping your annual payments predictable.
It's also our top pick for antivirus software on any platform, so head over to our review of the best antivirus software to learn how it handles the competition in a larger arena.
FAQ
Using antivirus on Android is a good idea, especially when browsing the web. Although Android phones use Google Play Protect to watch for malicious apps, it won't look for anything else on your phone.
We think Bitdefender is the best Android antivirus for most people.
Most antivirus apps are free to download, but the version you download won't be the one you keep unless you want to pay for it after the free trial is up.
Free trials last between 7 and 30 days. Once the trial period ends, use in-app purchases to continue with the full-featured app. Otherwise, you'll automatically revert to the stripped-down free version.
Yes. Android antivirus apps work on any Android device, but some internet security features may not work on tablets without SMS text messaging capabilities.
If a computer virus is like a messy toddler, real-time protection is like following along behind the toddler, picking up and putting things away as they scatter, and stopping them before they make too big of a mess.
Virus scanning, on the other hand, is like leaving the toddler alone in a room for a few minutes and then returning to clean up the aftermath. Real-time protection keeps you from downloading malicious apps and stumbling upon unsafe websites, but it can take more effort from your device and may interfere with your phone's normal functions.
If you don't want that side effect, you can opt for scheduled scans, but these won't give you the same level of continuous antivirus security.
Once you've exhausted all normal methods of searching—calling your phone, searching where you last used it, etc.—it's time to employ your anti-theft features:
- Log in to your mobile security web portal and use your phone's GPS to locate the device.
- If you believe someone stole your phone, you should immediately activate the app's remote wiping and snapshot features to protect your data and get a photo of the thief.
- Use the web portal to send a text message with instructions for returning the phone.
Use caution when installing apps on your phone. Most apps in the app store are trustworthy, but some slip through the gate onto people's phones. Always check an app's permissions before installing it, and regularly audit your app permissions to ensure your privacy. Many apps will ask for permissions they don't need, and there's no reason to make your phone unnecessarily vulnerable.
As a bonus, eliminating some permissions may cause apps to use less battery life.
Check out our identity theft protection services and password manager guides to learn more about products that can help protect your sensitive data.
How we reviewed the best antivirus for Android
To determine the best antivirus service for Android devices, we downloaded each antivirus app on a Google Pixel 5. Although all these apps are available for other platforms, we looked at features and pricing unique to the Google Play store. In-app purchase pricing usually covers a single Android phone, so buying multi-device plans that cover other platforms like iOS, PC, and macOS is often cheaper.
We examined each app to study features that you can use for free and those that require a subscription. To balance out our brief time with each app, we read user reviews to learn more about how well each performs in real-world situations. We also checked test results from the independent testing lab AV-TEST.
Check out our methodology to learn more about how we evaluate and review products.
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