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6 Free & Paid Avast Alternatives

Avast Alternatives.

In the last few years, Avast, the developer of the same-name antivirus for PCs and mobile devices, sells data of its users to third parties (read the detailed investigation here). Even the large IT companies, including Microsoft and Google, buy such information.

Many tech-magazines, which conducted own investigations, accused Avast of selling users’ data. Even the users themselves noticed that they could not disable surveillance of their activity in the Avast apps. Therefore, we do not recommend to use Avast products; it is better to pay attention to other safer brands: PCMaticMcAfeeTotalAVNortonBullguard.

Nevertheless, act at your own risk.

Avast free edition has been a go-for solution for millions of users for decades. It is capable of detecting and eliminating both common and zero-day threats using the same algorithms the paid Avast packages apply. And still, while Avast antivirus is among the industry leaders, it is not in the top-3 when it comes to detection rates and performance.

If you have been using Avast for ages, but once decided you need something else with more features and better lab test results — we have some options for you to consider. Naturally, excellence comes at a price, but we have rather affordable solutions on our list as well. Moreover, if you want to try out other free antiviruses, we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to find Avast alternative that will suit you best.

Affordable Paid Alternatives for Reliable Protection

TotalAV Antivirus

Replacement for Avast - Total AV Antivirus

Pros:
  • intuitive and attractive interface
  • PC performance optimization
  • Adblocker, Safe Site, password manager
Cons:
  • quick scan is not really quick
  • not certified by independent labs

CLICK TO SAVE WITH TOTALAV

Total AV is a new player in the antivirus market. Independent labs haven’t tested it as of yet, but the tests our team has conducted proved it to be a rather efficient protection tool. TotalAV detects malware using the combination of AI, Endpoint scanning and cloud computing. This mix will keep you safe from all sorts of malicious programs, ransomware, spyware, and Trojans. You can safely surf the Internet with an anti-phishing module.

Every TotalAV package covers all the major platforms: you can protect not just Windows-based computers, but also Mac, iOS and Android devices. Moreover, whichever package you choose, you’ll get a combination of an antivirus and system boost tools. Disk Cleaner, Optimization tools, and Web Browser Manager are included in all TotalAV offers. With TotalAV Ultimate Antivirus package you’ll get priority support, safe storage, and smartphone optimization tools. Take a look at our Avast vs Total AV comparison to see all the striking difference.

New TotalAV users can get an annual subscription with 60-80% discount, which makes pricing really affordable. Just remember to cancel before 1-year time passes if you don’t think the chosen TotalAV package is worth the full price. New customers can enjoy the following promotional offers:

  • Essential Antivirus – $19.95/year
  • Antivirus Pro – $39.95/year
  • Ultimate Antivirus – $59.95/year

Intrusta

Best alternative to Avast - Intrusta

Pros:
  • simple interface;
  • 30-day trial period;
  • good value for money.
Cons:
  • limited functionality;
  • no parental control, backup, and other premium functions.
  • there is a version for PC only.

Intrusta Antivirus is another antivirus that appeared not long time ago. Just like with TotalAV, its efficiency in eliminating malware hasn’t been proved by independent labs yet. Intrusta promises to protect its users from malware ransomware, spyware, and adware. It performed well in our own tests blocking all the malware samples with no false positives. Therefore, our team believes this antivirus is capable of providing you with reliable protection.

Intrusta was designed to be an easy-to-use but powerful protection tool that will protect your device while remaining unnoticed. With low system impact, it works in the background and won’t disturb you with annoying pop-ups.

At the same time, protection from malware is all you get with Intrusta. It offers no extras that are traditionally added to antivirus packages. And this is the reason why users who crave for simplicity like Intrusta. While Norton and Bitdefender offer various packages with all sorts of extras, Intrusta has one single offering for one, three, and five devices. Windows and Mac computers are covered, but mobile devices are not currently supported. Lack of cross-platform compatibility is one of Inrusta’s most significant drawbacks. Still, PC users will appreciate the affordable pricing:

  • 1 Device – $19.99
  • 3 Devices – $34.99
  • 5 Devices – $44.99

Best Feature-Packed Avast Alternatives

Products from Norton and Bitdefender are the best solutions on the market that have been providing high-quality protection for decades. They are more expensive, but very effective alternatives to Avast.

Norton Antivirus

Alternatives to Avast: Norton Antivirus

Pros:
  • effective phishing protection;
  • reliable two-way firewall;
  • award-winning protection for Android devices;
  • full-featured macOS solution;
  • responsive support;
Cons:
  • doesn’t work smoothly with weak hardware;
  • the premium version is pretty expensive;
  • limited protection for iOS devices.

Norton is a great solution when you need all in one. AV-Test awarded Norton a perfect 18 points score in February 2019. The antivirus proved to detect 100% of widespread malware. Thanks to Proactive Exploit Protection techniques Norton Security efficiently copes with zero-day threats. 

In addition to signature-based detection, Norton applies heuristic analysis. It monitors the behavior of a possible threat to decide if they are malicious or not. It allows Norton to immediately to detect and eliminate new and unknown threats and fraudulent programs without waiting for the new signatures. The smart two-way firewall that comes with all the packages guarantee that all your data 100% protected.

Norton Security automatically backs up all your photos, financial documents, and other important files. With Standard package, you get 10GB of cloud disk space for automatic backup, and Deluxe package users have 50GB. Besides, every Norton package comes with a VPN service that will encrypt your data and keep you safe on public networks. Norton 360 Deluxe comes with advanced online parental controls. It is only a part of why Norton is better in the Avast vs. Norton duel.

Norton: Pricing:

  • Norton 360 Standard – $49.99/year
  • Norton 360 Deluxe – $59.99/year

Bitdefender Antivirus

Bitdefender Antivirus - Alternative to Avast

Pros:
  • top scores from independent test labs;
  • cross-platform compatibility;
  • data protection with safe browser, password manager and VPN;
  • smart system optimization and cleaning tools;
  • numerous useful additional features;
Cons:
  • Total Security version is pretty expensive;
  • slow full scans.

Bitdefender is a comprehensive all-in-one antivirus that provides home users with multi-level protection and guarantees a high level of data privacy. At the same it doesn’t consume much of the system resources, so you won’t even notice it working in the background.

During the latest AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, Bitdefender detected 100% of threats with only one false positive, which is an outstanding result. Its Ransomware Remediation technology will protect your devices from zero-day encrypting ransomware by detecting suspicious behavior and automatically backing up and restoring user files.

In addition to outstanding malware protection, all Bitdefender packages come with an impressive set of extra features. A password manager, a safe browser, and a file shredder are included even to the basic Antivirus Plus package. With more advanced packages you will get secure encrypted storage, system optimization tools, a VPN, Parental controls tool and more.

While top Bitdefender packages are rather expensive, they are great value for money when comparing Avast vs Bitdefender:

  • Antivirus Plus – $34.99/year
  • Internet Security – $39.99/year
  • Bitdefender Total Security – $44.99/year

Best Free Alternatives to Avast

AVG Antivirus Free

AVG - better alternative to Avast

Pros:
  • good results in independent lab tests;
  • PC Performance scans;
  • available for Windows, Mac, and Android.
Cons:
  • slow initial scan;
  • not many extras.

AVG Antivirus has been one of the major alternatives to Avast for years up until Avast bought AVG in 2016. While AVG and Avast are still sold as two separate products, they naturally have a lot in common. Malware detection rates are basically the same. Both free products are available for Windows, Mac, and Android. The only feature that AVG offers while Avast doesn’t is a performance scan.

Actually, with Avast free you get more extras, but if for some reason you want to substitute AVG with something else – AVG is an option to consider. With AVG, you get the excellent protection for free, as our Avast vs Avg comparison shows.

Avira Free Antivirus

Avira AV: alternative to Avast

Pros:
  • scores high in independent labs tests;
  • the password manager is available for free;
  • compromised files repairing;
Cons:
  • slow on-demand scanning;
  • web protection extension only available for Chrome, Firefox, and Opera.

Avira Free Edition is another popular Avast alternative that offers excellent malware protection. During AV-Comparatives testing it did better than Avast. Avira demonstrated perfect 100% detection rate with zero false positives while Avast detected 99.7% of threats with three false positives. At the same time, Avira anti-phishing protection lags behind that of Avast. Moreover, Browser Safety extension that blocks suspicious links is only available for Chrome, Opera, and Firefox.

Avira offers free antivirus package for Windows, Mac, Android, and even iOS. A password manager is also compatible with all the major platforms. Besides, Avira free will repair compromised files for you. Overall, Avira is a great alternative to Avast that offers similar features and even better protection. Check our Avast vs Avira analysis for more details.

Read Our Guides About Avast Softwares: 

  1. Avast Email Signatures: how to remove it;
  2. How to Temporarily Disable Avast;
  3. Avast Passwords: Is it enough for your security? 
  4. Avast CleanUp: Total Professional Review;
  5. Avast Secure Browser: You Should Know;
  6. Professional Avast Antivirus Review.

 

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