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The best free antivirus should help keep your device free of nasty malware without putting a hole in your pocket with all the premium features. But does this mean it's any less effective?

Best free antivirus - quick links

Some of the best antivirus solutions offer a free-tier basic level of protection to keep you secure from the most common threats, and may even offer a free trial of their best features to tempt you into upgrading.

In order to put these services through their paces, we looked at the features on offer with each free version and put them to the test detecting and quarantining malware and other suspicious files, while also searching for potential downsides such as annoying pop-ups and in-app advertisements.

So, first we will take a look at a few of the best antivirus solutions, before diving into some of the problems with free subscriptions, and then going through our top picks for the best free antivirus.

Free is greatbut sometimes a paid option is a better bet.

Paid antivirus subscriptions give you a lot more in your security tool bag. Often higher-tiered solutions have features like spam filters, parental controls, system scans, and advanced firewalls. This makes them more suitable for those who want a bit of extra security.

We also recommend paid antivirus software for families with younger, click-happy kiddos who don't recognize potential malicious links and websites. Here are our top three antivirus software picks.

With budgets getting tighter, we understand the appeal of free antivirus software. While there have been great changes in free subscriptions, the most notable being they now offer real-time malware protection, they are still minimal compared to a full antivirus security suite.

There are some exceptions, but most free antivirus programs don't offer web protections. This means they won't stop malware from downloading if you accidentally click on a malicious link. They will snatch it before it has a chance to infract your computer, but we feel better than a threatening file doesn't get that far into the process.

Web protections are also important for reducing the risk of phishing schemes, one of the most prevalent and dangerous threats to consumers right now. This is because phishing scams are the gateway to identity theft. Paid antivirus software has web protections to stop you from visiting web pages that have phishing schemes on them, and most have additional phishing nets to keep these scams from getting into your email inbox.

Other missing tools from free antivirus software are firewalls, which protect you when connected to public wifi, password managers, which help protect your online and physical identity, and access to a VPN. A virtual private network (VPN) shields you from being tracked online and gives you added privacy from cyber snoops.

Free antivirus is a good place to start, but we really do recommend eventually upgrading to one of the best antivirus software for your best chance of fighting malware.

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure youre buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Let's dig in to my top picks, where I discuss everything I liked and didn't like about each provider, as well as my most recent test results.

Impressive protection and lots of extras

Operating system: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Features: Gaming mode, password manager, VPN

Great virus protection

Works on all devices

VPN access

Lots of popup ads and messages

Sneaks in unwanted extras

Causes system slowdown

Use if:

You are a gamer: the gaming mode of Avast One is amazing. Once set, it recognizes when you're playing and suspends non-essential tasks to give you all the power and protection without lag.

You want added privacy: Avast is the only free antivirus software that includes a VPN. It's limited, but it is there.

Don't use if:

You want to avoid popup ads: you get a lot of messages and alerts with Avast. To avoid these, stick with Microsoft Defender.

You don't want your computer to drag: Avast causes apps to open and web pages to load slower. Bitdefender is a better solution to avoid this.

Bottom line

Avast One has high protection scores from top antivirus test labs and in our own in-house evaluations. It comes with so many extra tools that others reserve for paid subscriptions, which is why it's our top pick for free antivirus.

Want to know more?

Check out our Avast One review to learn details of what we found during testing and the benefits of the paid Avast One offerings.

Avast is one of the most known and used antivirus solutions worldwide. Along with Avira and AVG, Avast falls under the same company umbrella as Norton, so it has a lot of resources at its disposal. It recently released its newest antivirus offering, Avast One, including a free version.

Recent protection tests by AV-Test and AV-Comparatives rank Avast high on their list and among the few with the best malware detection rates. Our in-house tests consistently mirror these findings, flagging, blocking, and placing test malware fils into quarantines. This shows us Avast handles threats correctly. We even used a ransomware simulator to make sure Avast stops this type of dangerous malware, and it did.

Try Avast One, our top free antivirus pick

Avast One works with Windows and Mac computers and on Android phones and tablets. You can't use a single program to protect all three, but you can download the specific version on each device. Since this is a free service, there isn't a way to manage them all under one account.

Even though it is a free program, Avast One gives you some great advanced security tools that most antivirus software reserves for paid subscriptions. For example, Avast includes an automatic gaming mode to mute popups and reduces system load when you're firing up a processor-hungry game. This keeps you safe while freeing up all available resources for gameplay and pausing functions that could create lag or buffering.

There's a password manager, too, which is an undeniably good addition to your security portfolio, plus Avast gives you access to its VPN. This virtual private network (VPN) shields your online identity and movements so they can't be watched, intercepted, or traced back to you. There is a monthly usage cap with the free version, but it's enough for casual searching, social media browsing, or sending email.

Less impressive is the slight negative effect Avast has on software launch times, and its slightly popup-heavy attitude. Most free antivirus overwhelms you with messages encouraging you to upgrade to its paid subscription, but Avast has more than we'd like to see. Another sneaky motion to be aware of, Avast will download its browser and automatically set it as your default browser unless you disable this feature. This is done on the installer, but the permissions are in small text that's easy to miss.

Quick malware detection and full threat scrubbing

Operating system: Windows, Mac, Android

Features: System scanner

Real-time protection

Securely deletes threats

Low use of resources

Works on Android

Use if:

You want fast protection: Bitdefender is so efficient it blocks and scrubs threats before you realize what's happened.

You need an antivirus that doesn't use too many resources: this software is light on your system and doesn't create noticeable lag.

Don't use if:

You want quicker scans: this antivirus takes a long time to finish both virus and system scans, though it doesn't cause lag while doing so.

You need extra protections: Bitdefender free doesn't come with anything more than real-time malware protection. For other tools like a VPN, check out Avast.

Bottom line

Bitdefender is our top, paid antivirus software pick because of how well and fast it blocks threats. Its free version is basic but still impresses with its level of overall security.

Bitdefender Total Security is our top pick as the best antivirus software, so it makes sense to put Bitdefender Antivirus Free in this guide. You get the same level of malware protection with the free antivirus as you do with the paid subscription, including real-time detection and web protection.

With the Bitdefender browser extension enabled, this antivirus stops malicious files before they have a chance to start the download process. The threat is not only blocked but scooped up and scrubbed clean so there isn't a way for it to accidentally attack your system in the future.

Try Bitdefender Antivirus free, the fastest malware-blocking software

Web protection also blocks you from accessing webpages that are known to hide threats on them. These could be malicious downloads or phishing schemes designed to trick you into providing personal and financial information.

If a threat does sneak in, Bitdefender can usually scoop it up quickly and neutralize it. However, if you already have a malware attack on your computer, Bitdefender isn't the best for dealing with it. For current malware on your computer, we recommend using Malwarebytes.

Malware removal tools are specifically designed to fight against threats and remove them from your system. This allows an antivirus program, like Bitdefender, to then protect your computer from future attacks.

Bitdefender Antivirus Free doesn't come with any other security tools. It doesn't have a firewall, no system scanners, or a VPN. These are available with paid subscriptions, though, and we recommend using one of Bitdefender's higher-tiered options for the best system security. Regardless, you won't experience the same slowdown that other antivirus software creates because Bitdefender doesn't use much of your device's resources.

Malware blocking for iOS and Android devices

Operating system: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS

Features: Phishing protection, built-in VPN, system scanner

Decent malware detection

Unexpected list of features

iOS protection

Quite a few popups when running

Some impact on system performance

Use if:

You need antivirus for your iPhone or iPad: Avira works with iOS and has a high malware detection rate with this operating system.

You want more than just basic protection: this free antivirus comes with phishing detection, a system scanner, and a VPN to protect you from more than just malicious downloads.

Don't use if:

You need everything ready from the get-go: the tools you need have to be turned on for Avira to work correctly. Bitdefender is set up for you.

You don't want annoying ads: other than Microsoft Defender, all free antivirus has popups. Bitdefender has the second least.

Bottom line

Avira antivirus and AVG are essentially the same programs, but Avira is a bit more advanced and includes a few more tools.

Want to know more?

Our Avira antivirus review breaks down the differences and similarities between this software and AVG and why Avira is the better pick.

Avira Free Security does a good job at stopping malware attacks and comes with a few extra protection tools, which is why it earns a spot on our best free antivirus list. Like Avast and AVG, Avira falls under the same corporate umbrella as Norton but it tends to look, feel, and run more like AVG than the other antivirus solutions. One advantage that Avira has over both Avast and AVG is that it has an iOS app to protect iPhones and iPads.

The dark mode interface and tool icons look similar to AVG. It's clean and easy to find the settings and tools you need. This is important because Avira needs a lot of tools turned on or set up before you can use them.

Try Avira Free Security on your Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS device

Some of the tools Avira includes are also similar to AVG. For example, you do get a system scanner that will find old files, outdated software, and other vulnerabilities on your computer, but require you to manually take care of them unless you upgrade to a paid subscription. One tool Avira includes that AVG doesn't is a built-in VPN. You're limited to only 500 MB per month, which isn't a lot at all when you compare it to the best VPNs, but it is there.

Avira also has phishing protections that check out emails and attachments to see if there is anything fishy or threatening in them. If you enable the Avira browser extension, its web protection will alert you if you attempt to visit a site that has a phishing scam associated with it.

If there's one thing we'd change, then it's the tad overeager badgering - although popups and advertisements are very common to free products, and that doesn't prevent us from recommending Avira Free Antivirus.

Another downfall is that Avira is rather heavy on your system. Even third-party testing labs showed that running Avira caused apps to open slower and webpages to take longer to load.

Tandem protection for double security

Operating system: Windows, Mac, Android

Features: Tandem protection, firewall, system scanner

Works alongside other antivirus software

Includes a system scanner

Easy to use

Real-time protection needs to be enabled

More:
Best free antivirus in 2024 - TechRadar