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Best Security Suite
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Excellent protection against malware, ransomware, and hacking with perfect test results
Full security suite available to protect every aspect of your digital life
Protect with confidence thanks to their 100% virus removal guarantee
Best Budget-Friendly Antivirus
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Tried and true real-time antivirus protection
Free plan comes with antivirus protection, software updates, and web protection
Norton and Avira are two of the biggest names in antivirus, but Avira wins by the tiniest margin. While Norton offers a full security suite, Avira also has great features at a more affordable price.
We’ve broken them down side by side for you here so you can decide which one is right for you. If you’ve been trying to decide between Norton and Avira, then you’re in the right place.
Antivirus software protects you from malware, including ransomware, viruses, trojans, and other nasty things floating around the internet.
Norton is a full security suite with features that range from parental controls to identity theft protection to cloud storage. Avira offers standard features like a password manager and a firewall but at a more economical price.
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| Star rating | ||
| Starting price | Starts at $29.99/first yr | Free or $26.99/first yr |
| Max number of protected devices | Up to unlimited | Up to 25 |
| Malware scans | Manual and scheduled | Manual and scheduled |
| Real-time protection | ||
| Phishing protection | ||
| Ransomware protection | ||
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Compatibility | Android, iOS, Windows, macOS | Android, iOS, Windows, macOS |
| Learn more | Get Norton | Get Avira |
We use our proprietary grading rubric in all of our testing, which considers ease-of-use, third-party testing scores, internal testing scores, price, compatibility, and features offered, among other metrics.
This means that our testing process is designed to ensure that the product isn't too confusing, protects as it claims, and offers you a lot for a reasonable price. We download and run each program on our own computers on home networks, just like you would. Our ratings reflect the real-world performance of the antivirus product. This ensures that we can recreate a similar experience for you and give our best advice on whether or not it's worthwhile.
To learn more about how we test, check out our full antivirus testing methodology here.
Norton's comprehensive list of extras is a bit mesmerizing, especially when you start looking at the bundle options. Between all of the plan options, Norton offers a bunch of ways to protect your devices from malware and other parasites.
Avira has automatic and manual malware scans and can protect up to 25 devices. It does have a free plan, but it's missing the advanced features and doesn't have 24/7 support like the paid plans.
While Norton has a great suite of features, Avira is the better value with lower prices and its free plan.
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Our Pick
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| Price range | $29.99–$99.99/first yr | $26.99–$129.99/first yr |
| Best value plan | Norton 360 with LifeLock Select plan for $99.99/first yr | Avira Prime plan for $59.99/first yr |
| Money-back guarantee | Yes — 60 days | Yes — 60 days |
| Learn more | Get Norton | Get Avira |
Norton and Avira’s standard plans don’t vary too much in price. Avira starts out more inexpensively, tops out for less than Norton, and lets you customize based on the number of devices used, but Norton has more options when it comes to the features that come in its packages.
Avira’s best value plan is Avira Prime. This is Avira’s highest tier plan, which allows you either five or 25 device connections. It comes with antivirus protection, a virtual private network (VPN), a password manager, and other cybersecurity tools.
Norton tends to be more expensive overall because it’s basically like buying several services in one. The advantage is that you won’t have to piecemeal a security suite together; the disadvantage is that it’s pricey. Avira, on the other hand, offers a free plan so you can test out its protection for yourself before committing to its premium service.
Norton’s best value plan is Norton 360 with LifeLock Select. It’s one of Norton’s most expensive plans but it covers unlimited devices and it comes with antivirus, VPN, dark web monitoring, and more. Plus, it includes LifeLock identity theft protection.
Both services give you 60 days to evaluate their services and get a full refund if you aren’t interested.
| Feature | Our Pick
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| Manual and scheduled scans | ||
| Real-time protection | ||
| Phishing protection | ||
| Ransomware protection | ||
| Firewall | ||
| Parental controls | ||
| Password manager | ||
| VPN | ||
| Ad blocker | ||
| Device optimization tools | ||
| Learn more | Get Norton | Get Avira |
Norton and Avira have the standard antivirus features including antivirus scans, real-time protection, and a firewall. The two services differ when you consider how much cybersecurity you want bundled in one product.
Norton includes features like identity theft protection, cloud storage, and dark web monitoring, which you won’t find in Avira’s software. Coupled with other things like parental controls, a password manager, and a VPN, you have a complete, fully rounded security stack with everything you’ll need to protect yourself online and off.
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With Avira, you’ll also find a password manager and a VPN as part of its paid plans. It can offer you a pretty robust security suite, but you’ll be missing the identity protection services and parental controls that you’d get with Norton.
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Third-party testing is important with cybersecurity products to make sure that the antivirus scans work. Independent third-party sites like AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives run antivirus software through the gambit to verify that nothing is getting through.
These tests are voluntary, and cybersecurity companies can choose to submit products to these sites for testing. The lack of results doesn’t mean the product isn’t effective, it just means it hasn’t been submitted for a test.
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Our Pick
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| AV-TEST Windows score | 16.5/18.0 | 17.5/18.0 |
| AV-TEST macOS score | 18.0/18.0 | 17.5/18.0 |
| AV-TEST Android score | 18.0/18.0 | 18.0/18.0 |
| Learn more | Get Norton | Get Avira |
*AV-TEST scores are from the most recent round of testing. Windows was last tested in February 2024, macOS in December 2023, and Android in March 2024.
Both antivirus programs struggled with their Windows tests. Avira was docked 0.5 points in its performance tests, having slowed down computer speeds more than the industry average when launching popular websites. It also installed frequently used apps more slowly.
Norton was docked 1.5 points overall for its struggles with the performance and usability tests. Norton slowed down computer speeds by 59% on standard PCs and 50% on high-end PCs when launching popular websites. This is over double the industry average of 23% for standard PCs and 21% for high-end PCs.
Norton also had two false positives while installing and using legitimate software. Other than the struggles with Windows, Norton’s macOS and Android scores were perfect.
However, Avira took a hit on its Mac product. It received 99.6% in the malware protection category instead of the industry average of 100%. This is still a near-perfect score.
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| Windows | ||
| macOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extensions | Yes — Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Yes — Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera |
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Customer support options | Phone, forums, online guides, live chat, social media | Phone, email, online guides, live chat |
| Learn more | Get Norton | Get Avira |
Both services offer clean, easy-to-use dashboards. You won’t have a difficult time navigating either of them, although the more products you have with Norton, the more there will be to find. That might be the only hiccup in an otherwise robust product.
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We were pleased to see that both Norton and Avira offered 24/7 support. Avira’s support does have a catch, however, as you have to have the paid version of the antivirus to use it. If you’re using Avira Free Security, you’ll have access only to the online guides for support.
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There are several different antivirus programs that are comparable to Norton. If you’re looking for something with better protection scores, McAfee scores at the top frequently.
If you’re looking for a better price, there are several services that offer top protection for a lower price, like Avast and AVG. You may have to compromise on features, but you’ll still get great protection for less. You’ll even have the option of a free plan, which Norton lacks.
Yes, you can trust Avira antivirus. It has been independently tested by reputable third-party antivirus testing sites. Not only does it have excellent protection scores, but it also offers a variety of useful features, like a VPN, with its paid plans.
The disadvantage of Norton antivirus is its cost. It’s expensive to begin with, and then there may be a price increase on renewal. It’s our biggest complaint about the service because otherwise, it’s top of the line.
Yes, Avira is a good antivirus. It has excellent third-party testing scores and proves to be reliable and trustworthy. When we tested Avira, we gave it high scores for its pricing, extra features, and protection scores.
Avira ekes out this one. While Norton offers more plans that have additional robust features, Avira includes a free tier that will keep you protected with excellent testing results. As far as features, compatibility, and support are concerned, they’re not the same, but they are equally matched.
Whatever you decide, you need antivirus protection on your computer. The internet is full of cyberthreats, such as malware, viruses, trojans, and other unpleasant things. Keeping yourself protected is so much easier than trying to clean up a cyberattack after it happens.
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Excellent protection against malware, ransomware, and hacking with perfect test results
Full security suite available to protect every aspect of your digital life
Protect with confidence thanks to their 100% virus removal guarantee
If you’re looking for the best antivirus software and aren’t interested in Norton or Avira, we have some additional suggestions. Whether you’re looking for all the bells and whistles or another reputable free antivirus program, the suggestions here have a lot of options.
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| Best for | Parental controls | Overall protection | Phishing protection |
| Starting price | Starts at $39.99/first 2 yrs | Starts at $29.00/yr (first year only) | Starts at $29.99/yr (first year only) |
| Additional features | VPN, identity protection, parental controls, password manager | VPN, ad blocker, password manager | VPN, identity protection, parental controls |
| Learn more | Get McAfee | Get TotalAV | Get Bitdefender |
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