Cheapest Antivirus That Still Protects

What separates the cheapest antivirus picks on this page?

Price is not the split here. Four of the five members sit at $49.99 for the first year, and one is Free. What separates them is what you get for that money and what happens at renewal.

Bitdefender Total Security scores 8.9. It caught 100% of our malware samples and 49 of 50 phishing pages, and it was the least noticeable of the paid suites at 4% slowdown on file copy. Its VPN is capped at 200 MB a day unless you pay more, and it renews at $99.99.

Microsoft Defender scores 8.1 and costs nothing. It caught 98% of our samples and scores 6/6 in AV-Test, with nothing to install or renew. Phishing protection drops outside Edge — 41 of 50 URLs — and there is no Mac protection outside the Microsoft 365 app.

Norton 360 Deluxe also scores 8.1 at $49.99. It caught 99.5% of our samples and includes an unlimited VPN, a password manager, 50 GB of backup and Norton Family parental controls. It had the heaviest slowdown of the paid suites in our copy test and renews at $119.99.

Avast One scores 7.7 at $49.99, with a free tier that includes real-time protection, a firewall and 5 GB of VPN a week. McAfee+ Premium scores 7.5 at $49.99, covers every device in the household and renews at $149.99.

What should you check before buying cheap antivirus?

Our scoring puts Protection at 35 points and Value at 20, so a low first-year price only helps if the protection holds up and the renewal does not jump.

• Renewal price: $99.99 on Bitdefender, $119.99 on Norton, $149.99 on McAfee.
• Performance cost: 4% slowdown on Bitdefender, 13% on McAfee in our file copy test.
• What is bundled: Norton includes 50 GB of backup and parental controls; McAfee includes identity monitoring.
• Free tier limits: Avast One gives 5 GB of VPN a week; Defender gives none.

Bitdefender Total Security

For most people who want a paid suite: top lab scores, the lightest footprint of the paid options and a first-year price under $50.

Microsoft Defender

For anyone on Windows who wants to spend nothing and skip renewals entirely.

Norton 360 Deluxe

For households that want VPN, backup and parental controls in one bundle and will accept the renewal.

Avast One

For a free suite beyond Defender, or a paid tier with cleanup and driver tools.

McAfee+ Premium

For families covering many devices who want identity monitoring and unlimited VPN.

Bitdefender Total Security suits most buyers who want a paid suite with the lightest footprint here. Microsoft Defender suits Windows users who want to pay nothing and never renew. Norton 360 Deluxe and McAfee+ Premium suit households that need VPN, backup or identity monitoring across many devices.