Best antivirus, and whether you need to pay at all

On Windows, you probably don't need to buy anything. Microsoft Defender is built in, costs nothing extra and scans in real time. If you want to pay anyway, or you need cover beyond one Windows PC, buy Bitdefender at $29.99 for the first year, as of November 1, 2026.

What do you get for free?

Real-time scanning, on Windows. Microsoft's support page says the Windows Security app integrates Microsoft Defender Antivirus in Windows 10 and 11, and scans files as they're opened or downloaded.

Malwarebytes also has a free version, and it's a different thing. It finds and removes existing infections, with no real-time or ransomware protection. So run it next to Defender as a second opinion. Don't run it in place of Defender.

Avast has a free antivirus too, with virus, malware and ransomware blocking listed on its page (checked Nov 1, 2026). Read the FTC section below first.

Bitdefender and Norton have no free plan. Bitdefender has a 30-day trial with no card.

When does paying make sense?

Mostly when your devices aren't all Windows PCs. Defender on Mac, iOS and Android needs a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription. Bitdefender, Norton, Malwarebytes and Avast all list those platforms (checked Nov 1, 2026).

The other reason is extras. Just check what the extras are.

Norton AntiVirus Plus has 2 GB of cloud backup and a password manager. Backblaze keeps unlimited data for $99 a year, so 2 GB isn't a backup plan. Norton 360 Standard, at $94.99 first year for 3 devices, adds a VPN and dark web monitoring.

Bitdefender Total Security, at $59.99 first year for 5 devices, has a password manager and a VPN limited to 200 MB a day. Two hundred megabytes. Proton VPN's free plan lists no daily cap among its limits, and it's $0 (checked Nov 1, 2026).

Which first-year price is real?

Don't budget on the first-year number. Here's what each page says, per year.

• Bitdefender Antivirus Plus: $29.99 first year, up to 3 devices. Renewal is billed at a higher price, amount not stated.
• Avast One Premium Security: $49.08 first year, then $77.99. That's 1 PC plus 1 mobile device.
• Malwarebytes Standard: "starts from" $59.99 for 3 devices. The discount is first year only, and renewal isn't stated.
• Norton AntiVirus Plus: $59.99 first year, 1 device. Renewal displayed as an unfilled placeholder.

Credit where it's due: Avast is the only one here that prints the renewal number, a $28.91 jump. Norton's page, when read, showed 0% off and a blank where the renewal should be. Hard to call that a promise.

On devices per dollar, Malwarebytes gives you 3 for the $59.99 that Norton charges for 1. Norton and Malwarebytes both have 60-day money-back guarantees, against Bitdefender's 30-day refund window. Avast's 10-device plan is $69.48 first year.

Do lab scores decide it?

Not here. Bitdefender's page cites lab scores, but they're vendor-reported on that page, and no lab's own report was read for this check. Treat the claim as marketing until you've seen the lab's report yourself.

Should Avast's FTC order change your mind?

You should at least know the facts. The FTC finalized an order against Avast in June 2024. Its press release, dated June 27, 2024, says Avast's subsidiary Jumpshot sold browsing data collected through Avast products, covering 2014 to 2020.

The order requires Avast to pay $16.5 million and stop selling or licensing such data for advertising.

That conduct ended, per the FTC's dates, in 2020, and the order now bans it. For a product whose job is watching what your computer does, I'd still pick Defender or Bitdefender.