10 Best Antivirus Software of 2026

Bitdefender ranks first because it pairs the lowest verified entry price on this list with a full suite. Antivirus Plus Multiplatform costs $29.99 for the first year on 3 devices, and Total Security, the plan most households will want, is $59.99 for the first year for 1 member on up to 5 devices across Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. Total Security adds scam protection that blocks phishing and fake shops in real time, multi-layer ransomware protection, a privacy firewall, cryptomining protection and a password manager. Bitdefender's own page quotes AV-Test giving Total Security its 2025 Best Protection award for consumer users. The limits are worth knowing: the bundled VPN stops at 200 MB a day, which covers occasional public Wi-Fi use but not streaming, and every listed price is a first-year price with renewal billed at a higher applicable rate. For a family that wants one subscription across PCs, Macs and phones, it is the strongest mix of coverage and cost we found.

Norton 360 Deluxe carries the most features of any plan here. For 5 PCs, Macs, tablets or phones it bundles antivirus, malware, ransomware and hacking protection with Scam Protection, Deepfake Protection, a VPN, a password manager, 50 GB of PC cloud backup, Dark Web Monitoring, Privacy Monitor and Parental Control. Norton backs it with its 100% Virus Protection Promise. That breadth is why it scores highest on capabilities. The cost pulls it down: the U.S. product page lists Deluxe at $119.99 for the first year, against $59.99 for Bitdefender's 5-device suite, and the cheapest Norton option, AntiVirus Plus, is $59.99 for a single device. LifeLock identity protection sits on higher tiers. Households that would otherwise pay separately for a VPN, cloud backup and parental controls can still come out ahead, but people who only want malware protection should look further down the list.

ESET HOME Security comes in three 2026 plans. Essential gives multilayered antivirus, safe payments and scam protection, including what ESET calls AI interaction security for chat tools. Premium adds unlimited VPN data and encryption of sensitive files, and Ultimate adds identity protection with dark web scanning, VPN for Router and Ransomware Remediation on 5 devices. The feature table also lists Ransomware Shield, Botnet Protection, LiveGuard on Premium, Anti-Theft and Parental Control, and covers Windows ARM, which matters for newer Copilot+ laptops. ESET offers a 30-day free trial, so you can check it on your own machine before paying. Essential is $59.99 for the first year on 3 devices, Premium $89.99 and Ultimate $179.99 on 5 devices, and ESET says these prices apply to the first term only.

Avast One is the most direct answer to the question of whether you need to pay at all. The Free Antivirus tier blocks viruses and other malware in real time on PC, Mac, Android and iPhone, and Avast says that free engine earned an AV-Test Top Product award in December 2025. Paying adds more: Premium Security costs $49.08 for the first year for 1 PC plus 1 mobile device, then renews at $77.99, and a 10-device version is $69.48 for the first year. Ultimate starts at the same $49.08 but renews at $109.99. Avast Assistant helps flag scam messages and offers. The catch is the gap between first-year and renewal prices, so set a reminder before the term ends. For someone who wants more than Microsoft Defender's built-in tools without a big bill, the free tier is the low-risk first step.

Malwarebytes keeps the paid product narrow. Standard costs $59.99 a year for 3 devices and covers Windows, Mac, Android and iOS with protection against viruses, phishing, exploits, ransomware, Trojans, botnets and spyware, plus Browser Guard for in-browser scam blocking and ad and tracking blocking, and data breach notifications. Plus adds a WireGuard VPN for $79.99 a year, and Standard Family covers 10 devices for $119.99. Malwarebytes also publishes free tools, including a malware and virus remover and AdwCleaner, which many people already use as a second-opinion scanner next to Microsoft Defender. Compared with Norton or Bitdefender, there is no password manager, cloud backup or parental control in the base plan, and identity protection needs the Ultimate tier. If you want protection that stays out of the way and a browser extension that stops scam pages, it is a sensible pick.

Microsoft Defender is the baseline every paid suite here competes with. Microsoft says the Windows Security app, which includes Microsoft Defender Antivirus, Windows Firewall and Smart App Control, is built into Windows and gives real-time protection from the moment the device starts. For many Windows users that is enough. A Microsoft 365 subscription extends it: the Defender app adds antivirus on Mac and anti-phishing on phones, a single dashboard for all devices, dark web monitoring of 60+ types of personal info, and up to $1 million in identity insurance for restoration costs. Microsoft 365 Personal is $99.99 a year and Family $129.99, which also buys Office apps, Copilot and OneDrive, so Defender is best seen as a bonus rather than a reason to subscribe. There is no VPN or password manager, and the page does not publish a device limit for the app.

Intego ONE is the only Mac-first product on this list; Intego now sells its Mac protection under this name. Its Essential plan pairs real-time antivirus built for macOS, which removes viruses, malware, spyware and adware with quick or scheduled scans, with a Smart Firewall that shows which apps try to connect and lets you set per-app rules. Advanced adds SmartClean for junk files, leftover files and full app uninstalls, and Complete adds Intego VPN. Seats come in 1, 3 or 5 Macs and can be shared with family who do not need your login, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee. Apple's own security guide says macOS already includes XProtect for signature-based malware detection and removal, so the case for Intego rests on the firewall controls, scheduled scans and cleanup tools. We could not confirm USD prices from the static page, so pricing is pending.

AVG Internet Security is the paid step above AVG AntiVirus FREE, which AVG says already covers all types of malware, including ransomware, plus unsafe links, downloads and emails. Paying adds an Enhanced Firewall for your home network, webcam protection that blocks untrusted apps, fake website protection for banking and shopping, and alerts when you join unsecured Wi-Fi. The base plan covers one Windows PC or one Mac, which keeps it simple but makes it less useful for households with several devices than Bitdefender or Avast's 10-device option. There is no VPN or password manager at this tier. AVG and Avast share an owner, so their feature sets overlap; AVG suits people who already know its interface. The U.S. page shows prices inside page scripts that our checker cannot read cleanly, so the price is marked pending.

TotalAV sells three tiers. Antivirus Plus gives real-time scanning of downloads, installs and executables, zero-day cloud scanning, PUA, phishing and ransomware protection, plus system tune-up tools: a disk cleaner, a browser cleaner and an app uninstaller. Internet Security adds Total VPN with AES-256 encryption, and Total Security adds Total Password, an AES-256 password manager. The pricing page lists 4, 6 or 8 devices, and apps exist for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android. The cleanup tools are the main difference from Microsoft Defender, which has none. When we checked, the pricing page served euro prices to our location, so the USD price is pending; read the subscription and renewal terms on the U.S. checkout before you pay.

Surfshark Antivirus makes the most sense for people who already want Surfshark's VPN. It is not sold on its own: it comes in the Surfshark One bundle, alongside Surfshark VPN, Alternative ID for proxy identities and email, and Alert for data leak notices. The antivirus scans apps and files in real time, updates its database every 3 hours, uses Cloud Protect for zero-day threats, and adds webcam protection with alerts. Surfshark says it supports up to 5 devices on Windows 10 and later, macOS Big Sur 11 and later, and Android 10 and later, but not Windows ARM or iOS. Its page shows AV-Test scores of 6 for protection, 4.5 for performance and 6 for usability. Because pricing depends on the bundle and changes with promotions, we marked the USD price pending.