Norton vs. PC Matic 2024: Norton's Security Suite Steals the Win

Drilling down to determine the antivirus that has the options you need at the right price isn’t always simple. For instance, Norton 360 plans run anywhere from $29.99–$99.99/first yr and come with solid malware detection rates and plenty of features. PC Matic starts at $100.00/yr and caps at $199.00/yr for a lifetime subscription. It also comes with unique whitelisting technology to identify safe websites and software.

Prices aside, Norton's security suite is one of the best antivirus programs we've tested. It includes more features, like parental controls, a password manager, and a virtual private network (VPN). Although PC Matic’s approach includes fewer frills, its lower-cost options — especially its lifetime plan — may make more sense for your budget.

We dig into the pros and cons of these two antivirus programs and give you a comprehensive breakdown of Norton vs. PC Matic.

Review at a glance

The best antivirus programs typically offer several options for your needs, and in looking at these antivirus products, you can see Norton has some lower pricing options for more budget-friendly plans. PC Matic is more rigid with only two options, either $60.00/yr or $150,00 for a lifetime plan. However, it also offers a free plan for Windows that’s limited to three devices.

Still, Norton’s higher price nets you more digital security features. It gives you a firewall and parental controls, which PC Matic doesn’t offer.

• Norton 360 Antivirus: Best for extra cybersecurity features
• PC Matic: Best for no-frills malware protection

Norton vs. PC Matic compared

Starting price	Starts at $29.99/first yr	Starts at $60.00/yr
Max number of protected devices	Up to 10 devices	Up to 10 devices with a paid plan Up to 3 devices with the free plan
24/7 customer support
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Free version
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Ad blocker
Learn more	Get Norton Read Norton Antivirus Review	Get PC Matic Read PC Matic Review

Prices

	Our Pick
Price range	$29.99–$99.99/first yr	$60.00-$199.00/yr
Best value plan	Norton 360 Deluxe for $49.99/first yr	Advanced Security + VPN for $100.00/yr
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 60 days	Yes — 30 days
Learn more	Get Norton Read Norton Antivirus Review	Get PC Matic Read PC Matic Review

If you want lots of pricing options, Norton 360 gives you at least four different plans to choose from. There’s something for almost every budget. PC Matic Home Security has the Basic plan with just antivirus; the Advanced plan with antivirus and a VPN, and the Complete plan with antivirus, a VPN, identity theft protection, and phone support. We chose the Advanced Security + VPN plan for $100.00/yr plan as the best value option.

Norton’s best value is the Norton 360 Deluxe plan for $49.99/first yr. For that price, you get coverage for five devices with a password manager and firewall included. It also comes with 50 GB of cloud backup and the Norton Secure VPN, among other extra features. If you're seeking just an antivirus without added functionality, you can opt for Norton Antivirus Plus for $29.99/first yr.. 

Both of these antivirus programs come with money-back guarantees. PC Matic offers only a 30-day money-back guarantee, while Norton gives you a 60-day money-back guarantee to get the feel of the product and thoroughly test it.

Features

Feature	Our Pick
Manual and scheduled scans
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Firewall
Parental controls
Password manager
VPN
Ad blocker
Device optimization tools	Yes — Windows only	Yes — Windows only
Learn more	Get Norton Read Norton Antivirus Review	Get PC Matic Read PC Matic Review

Norton comes jam-packed with additional features like parental controls, a password manager, cloud storage, and a VPN. And while PC Matic does include some device optimization tools and dark web monitoring, you won’t get a firewall or parental controls.

One thing to note is that PC Matic uses whitelisting technology, which can help protect against modern malware threats. PC Matic’s SuperShield feature uses application whitelisting as a way for you to create a list of trusted apps and websites.

The system tune-up tools PC Matic includes may make it worth the cost for some. You also get an ad blocker, which Norton doesn’t offer with its antivirus suite. Ad blockers help keep those pesky pop-ups to a minimum, and some people may not want to purchase an ad blocker separately, so PC Matic including this option is a smart move.

PC Matic recently introduced its PC Matic VPN, which costs $80.00/yr for five simultaneous connections or you can get PC Matic Advanced Security + VPN for $100.00/yr. While we haven’t had a chance to test it yet, we’ve found NordVPN, Surfshark, and Private Internet Access offer solid security against hackers for a lower price.

We also like that PC Matic includes dark web monitoring, which alerts you if it spots your data circulating in places it shouldn’t belong. A system that monitors this can help reduce the chances of your data being used for malicious purposes.

With Norton, you get cloud backup and, depending on the plan, dark web monitoring too. You’ll also have access to the SafeCam feature, which detects attempts to access your webcam. (Don’t get too excited about that if you’re an Apple user, because it’s available only for Windows at this time.)

Norton also comes with optimization tools of its own and does a good job cleaning those junk files to give you more room on your device. You can also pair its antivirus with identity theft protection from LifeLock.

Test results

When reviewing antivirus software, we rely on third-party testing to give our readers an accurate, objective picture of how products perform. These tests use real-world scenarios to find out how antivirus software withstands security threats. For our Norton vs. PC Matic assessment, we used AV-TEST to compare the products.

Norton vs. PC Matic AV-TEST scores

	Our Pick
Windows score	16.5/18	14/18
macOS score	18/18	N/A
Android score	18/18	N/A
Learn more	Get Norton Read Norton Antivirus Review	Get PC Matic Read PC Matic Review

In the March and April testing of PC Matic, AV-TEST showed three false positive detections of legitimate software. That means PC Matic flagged safe software as a possible malware threat. Overall, PC Matic scored well in the protection and performance categories but took a big hit in the usability category due to so many false positives. The biggest strike was 12 false positives while installing and using legitimate software. 

Norton also had perfect protection scores but was dinged in the performance and usability categories. Although Norton only flagged two false positives in the usability category (compared to PC Matic's 20 in total), it was still docked half a point. It was also bumped down a point for slowing down device performance on Windows. But more importantly, Norton received perfect scores for malware scanning and detection across platforms, so you can rely on its virus protection capabilities. 

We couldn’t view any scores for PC Matic on Android devices or macOS, so it would be impossible to compare how it performed on those systems against Norton. But the lack of test scores for the software doesn’t mean it’s a bad product, as antivirus companies must pay for these tests.

Compatibility and customer support

	Our Pick
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Browser extensions	Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari, Opera	Chrome, Edge, Firefox
24/7 support		Yes, with Support Unlimited
Support options	Live chat, phone, support forums, online guides	Live chat and phone (with Support Unlimited), email, support forums, online guides
Learn more	Get Norton Read Norton Antivirus Review	Get PC Matic Read PC Matic Review

With PC Matic, one cumbersome item we did note was that when scanning finished, we didn’t get a summary with the number of files scanned, which is unusual for antivirus software. That isn’t a deal breaker, but it would be nice to have in the future.

The interface isn’t the most intuitive, either. Some of PC Matic’s features aren’t explained well, such as how to add more devices to your plan.

On the other hand, PC Matic lets you check your device status, which we think is a cool option because it shows your RAM and CPU usage along with the available disk space. When you need to free up space on your device, as many of us do, you get a clear picture of your system status.

Norton is user-friendly, and the interface is very intuitive. There was no noticeable lag when multiple browser windows were open. Scanning with Norton is simple, and once it’s finished, the interface shows you how many total files were checked.

Norton’s Junk Cleaner is an impressive tool because it can quickly scan through files, checking to see which ones can be deleted or moved. That’s helpful in the case of duplicate files or documents you didn’t know were still hanging around, taking up space.

You’ll also see the different categories of data Norton monitors with the dark web feature. These are items like your email, mailing address, phone number, and bank account.

Customer support

Norton offers everything except email for its customer service assistance. Unlike most antivirus software, you can also get help by messaging the Norton support team on Facebook or Twitter, which gives you even more access to help. The chatbot feature is available 24/7, and you can call for more personalized assistance.

We contacted support for PC Matic via email with questions about its features. We received a response within a few hours. The rep was clear and helpful, and our questions were easily answered.

The downside to PC Matic support is that you must pay an extra $100.00 per year to get the Support Unlimited feature. If you opt for this, you’ll get customer service by phone, email, chat, and even remote assistance. Without paying the extra money, we found PC Matic’s support features to be lacking.

Norton vs. PC Matic alternatives

If neither of these antivirus programs top your list after reading our comparison, we recommend checking out these top anti-malware and antivirus tools:

• TotalAV: An easy-to-use antivirus program, we like TotalAV's real-time protection, which shows you whether a website is safe or not—even before you click the link in your search results. It also comes with a VPN and password manager, plus device optimization features.
  
  Get TotalAV | Read Our TotalAV Review
• Bitdefender: Another full security suite, Bitdefender's pricing and features may be a better fit for you. It also offers cross-platform malware protection to protect both Mac and Windows operating systems from Trojans and other malware.
  
  Get Bitdefender | Read Our Bitdefender Review
• McAfee: If you want parental controls and notoriously effective malware protection, McAfee is a great place to start. It also comes with phishing and ransomware protection and earned excellent scores from independent tests.
  
  Get McAfee | Read Our McAfee Review

FAQs

Norton vs. PC Matic: Which is better?

Although we think both Norton and PC Matic offer good antivirus protection and come with unique features, we believe that Norton is the better software. You get tons of options that enhance your security experience, like cloud backup, a secure VPN, parental controls, and more. Norton even includes a password manager to keep your login information more secure and is one of the best antivirus products we've seen.