ESET Antivirus Review 2024: Is the Protection Worth the Price?

ESET antivirus is a good product that’s proven its effectiveness through third-party tests. Although the price per device is higher than its competitors, such as McAfee and Norton, ESET provides equally as strong protection against malware and viruses. 

With additional features meant to keep your browsing safe, and even anti-theft protection for your computer, ESET has a lot of qualities a person with one or two devices may be looking for in an antivirus package. 

Let's dig into ESET's features and pricing to find out if it's the right antivirus program for you.

ESET antivirus review at a glance

Price	$49.99–$204.99/first yr
Free plan	No
# of devices protected	1 – 10
Malware scans	Manual and scheduled
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	3/3
Firewall	Yes
Phishing protection	Yes
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android
Extras	Password manager, secure data encryption, identity theft protection, VPN
24/7 customer support	No
Details	Get ESET

Our experience

ESET was relatively easy to install and setup was very fast. We tested it on a laptop running Windows 10 and had no issues. You can have this security software downloaded, installed, and running in less than 30 minutes (depending on your internet speed) without needing advanced knowledge of how antivirus software works. 

The full scan of our hard drive was fast (coming in at less than two minutes) and alerted us to files that may need cleaning. We found all of the features to be easy to use, most with off/on toggles, and useful.

While we were trying out the features, ESET would set annoying yellow reminders to let us know we hadn’t finished setting up our anti-theft, firewall, and some other features we’d clicked on. There was no option to clear these reminders so we had to continue to set them up. We didn’t love that.

We also found that the dashboard could be confusing for beginner antivirus users. Along with the cyberthreats found, our virus results mention "Detection engine used" without an explanation of the detection engine. Other antivirus we've tested provide explanations or helpful tips throughout its dashboard, which we think would be a good addition to ESET.  

Otherwise, we had a pleasant experience testing ESET. The overview tab on the dashboard links to all the other ESET features like your password manager, browser privacy and security, safe banking and browsing, and more.

Who is ESET best for?

• Recommended for advanced antivirus protection for one or two devices

ESET has a lot of features like anti-phishing protection, an exploit blocker, and advanced machine learning that provide superior protection against viruses and malware. 

Its essential security features, alongside additional features such as Gamer Mode and cloud-powered scanning, offer a well-rounded security option that’s constantly evolving to keep you protected.

Unfortunately, ESET’s price is determined by how many devices you’re looking to cover. If you have one or two devices, you’ll reap many benefits of this antivirus. If you have a family to cover with multiple devices between family members, it's probably bes to find an antivirus program that offers more devices at a single price.

ESET prices and subscriptions

ESET has a wide price range of Free-$119.88/yr (first year only) and your plan price depends on three factors: how many devices you want to cover, how many years you need coverage for, and how much protection you need beyond the standard antivirus. 

As you increase each of these factors, your price continues to rise. Although this is a reasonable yearly price for one person with one device, if you need a family subscription this could become expensive quickly.

Compared to other popular antivirus programs, ESET is on the higher end. However, the difference is minimal if you opt for the starting plan:

• TotalAV: $29.00/yr (first year only)
• Bitdefender: $29.99/yr (first year only)
• Norton: $29.99/first yr
• ESET: $49.99/first yr

The Premium Security plan seems the most beneficial to most people. Although it doesn’t include the identity theft protection or the virtual private network (VPN) that comes with Ultimate Security, it does include a password manager along with everying in the Essential Security plan. 

	ESET Essential Security	ESET Premium Security	ESET Ultimate Security
Starting price	$49.99/first yr	$59.99/first yr	$179.99/first yr
# of devices supported	1 - 10	1 - 10	5 - 10
Manual and auto scan
Phishing protection
Firewall
Real-time protection
Ransomware protection
Parental controls
Performance optimization tools
Password manager
VPN
Identity protection features
Details	View plan	View plan	View plan

ESET security features

ESET provides a long list of features for customers that only expands as you go up in price plans. Although protections such as antivirus and advanced machine learning are available to everyone, most privacy and identity protection features are only for Advanced and Premium subscriptions. 

That doesn’t exclude ESET from the conversation; however, as all pricing tiers have useful tools for every need.

Malware and antivirus scan

Malware is a constant threat in all its forms. ESET’s anti-malware protection provides you with manual scan options for all types of malware, such as ransomware, spyware, adware, and other viruses. 

You can scan your entire device, run a custom scan and define your scan targets, and schedule scans to run on a recurring basis. 

ESET will even alert you to potentially dangerous files that might not have allowed a scan. You can find these by going to the Tools section of your dashboard, then selecting Quarantine.

Phishing protection

ESET protects you from phishing attempts through a series of safety measures. If you go to Tools < Internet protection, you'll find a series of toggles to protect against various types of phishing.

ESET compares websites you’re visiting with its own database of safe or suspicious websites.  If you do happen across a malicious site, it severs the connection to the site. 

ESET does this through its proprietary phishing detection, which is always up-to-date, and by learning the behaviors of malicious sites and scripts. All this boils down to a safer way to browse online.

Firewall

All ESET plans include a firewall. It has several different methods for configuration including integrating Windows firewall rules into its own firewall. Because the firewall feature is filtering out content on multiple levels, it allows you to configure those specifics within its portal. 

If you aren’t comfortable configuring your firewall, no worries; ESET has permissions for the most common usage already set up and ready for you. All you’ll need to do is turn it on.

Real-time protection

The real-time protection feature is set to launch and scan automatically without you needing to configure anything. 

ESET also scans files as you receive and open them to make sure what you’re accessing doesn’t contain anything malicious. Because these permissions are always looking at what’s passing over your machine, it’s not recommended to disable them.

Ransomware protection

Ransomware is just one form of malware, but it’s the one that gets most of the press. A ransomware attack can devastate a business (or your personal finances). 

ESET protects you from ransomware with the Ransomware Shield. This feature blocks any malware that tries to lock you out of your personal data. It even goes a step further to provide you with free cybersecurity training to help you become a more vigilant internet user.

Anti-fraud protection

ESET provides you with a secured browser to help thwart fraudulent attempts when you’re using the internet for sensitive information. It works through your default browser and can be accessed through your ESET portal on your device when you go to Advanced setup then Browser protection. 

ESET even includes a handy guide for adding or blocking websites within the browser configurations.

Bonus features

Depending on what plan you choose, ESET offers a variety of bonus features to enhance your security and performance. Although antivirus protection and performance optimization tools come standard on every pricing plan, tools for privacy and identity protection come with the Premium and Ultimate plans.

Performance optimization tools

The performance optimization tools offered by ESET include Gamer Mode, cloud-powered scanning, and a small system footprint. Gamer Mode disables pop-ups and notifications when you’re gaming so you can have an uninterrupted experience.

Cloud-powered scanning whitelists files to speed up scanning. The small system footprint feature takes the majority of the computing power off your computer so more memory is left for you.

Secure web browsing tools

In addition to ESET’s safe browsing tools, you'll have access to network attack protection, antispam, banking and payment protection, and botnet protection. Each of these tools employs various filters to keep potentially harmful executables from planting themselves on your device. 

An executable is anything that executes on your computer, like when you download an attachment from your email or a file from the internet.

Network and device monitoring tools

Parental controls, webcam protection, network inspector, anti-theft, and brute force attack protection are included with all plans. Although some of these features are self-explanatory, such as webcam protection, other features like the network inspector are useful surprises. 

Network inpector scans the network you’re connected to so you can find devices that shouldn’t be connected as well as see the vulnerabilities of devices you have authorized.

ESET test results

Scan speeds

• Result: Fast

Scan type	Time spent
Full	1 minute, 45 seconds

EICAR test results

• Result: EICAR aced all of its EICAR tests.

One way to test an antivirus program yourself is through EICAR testing. The European Institute for Computer Antivirus Research (EICAR) developed test files that mimic malware and phishing links. That way, you can test antivirus programs without downloading real viruses. 

Test	ESET score
Malware detection	Pass
Drive-by malware downloads	Pass
Phishing pages detection	Pass

ESET passed all the EICAR tests with flying colors. It was quick to block the malware test files from downloading and quarantine them. When we opened the phishing test link, ESET blocked us from accessing the site and explained why.

AV-TEST results

• Result: ESET received perfect scores for Windows and Android, didn't test its macOS product.

AV-TEST is one of the third-party testers we reference during our antivirus testing. It reviews antivirus programs for the following:

• Malware protection: How well does the antivirus detect and block malware?
• Performance: How much does the antivirus impact your device's speeds?
• Usability: How effective is the antivirus at detecting cyberthreats correctly?

Test type	Windows 11 score	macOS Monterey score	Android 11 score
Protection	6/6	6/6	6/6
Performance	6/6	5/6	6/6
Usability	6/6	6/6	6/6
Total	18/18	17/18	18/18
Date	October 2024	December 2018	September 2024
Link to test	Link	Link	Link

ESET received perfect AV-TEST scores for Windows and Android. It had perfect malware detection rates for both programs. It also had lower influence on computer speeds compared to the industry average and no false positives. 

ESET hasn't tested its macOS program since 2018, but we've found that this is common. Most antivirus companies prioritize submitting their Windows programs for third-party testing. The only mark down ESET received was for performance, having caused slower launches of standard software and slower copying of files. 

AV-Comparatives results

• Result: Solid protection rates and performance impact

ESET has also submitted for testing to AV-Comparatives, another third-party tester. The three sections tested were real-world protection, malware protection, and performance. We also check the mobile security results. 

Test type	Mobile security	Real-world protection	Malware protection	Performance impact (Lower is better)
Score	100%	99.2%	99.94%	5.1
Platform	Android	Windows	Windows	Windows
Date	June 2023	July - October 2024	September 2024	September - October 2024
Link	Link	Link	Link	Link

ESET came in third for the real-world protection test, with the top antivirus programs receiving a 99.8% protection rate. These programs were Avira, F-Secure, McAfee, and Norton. 

It came in much lower for malware protection at 10th, but was still in the highest antivirus group. Bitdefender had the best malware protection rate at 99.98%.

Finally, ESET also came in third in the performance test behind Kaspersky and McAfee. The lowest impact score was 2.6, so ESET wasn't far behind. 

SE Labs results

• Result: 100%

SE Labs is the final independent organization we refer to for third-party tests. It calculates a total accuracy rating based on protection accuracy rating (how effectively threats were blocked) and a legitimate accuracy rating (how efficiently true threats were detected).

Test type	Home Anti-Malware Protection
Total accuracy rating	100%
Date	2021 Q1
Link	Link

ESET hasn't submitted itself to SE Labs since 2021, so the most recent results are with AV-TEST and AV-Comparatives. However, ESET still had impressive performance. It was ranked among the most effective programs next to Sophos, AVG, and Microsoft Defender due to its ability to block malicious URLs, handle exploits, and correctly identify legitimate applications and websites.

ESET compatibility

ESET compatibility is relatively simple, just note that there's no coverage for iOS or Linux. 

ESET does cover the following:

• Windows 7+
• macOS
• Android

Plus, the ESET Browser Privacy & Security extension is available for the following browsers:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Microsoft Edge
• Brave

ESET customer support

ESET has a wide range of customer support options. For human support, there's phone, email, and live chat.  

Note that all the human support options are only available Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT. The live chat support is listed as being able to help with basic support like product installation and activation, lost license key or activation email, and error messages from your ESET product. 

We reached out to ESET customer support, and the agent was quick to respond and friendly.

You can also pay $20.00 per hour to chat with an ESET Home Adviser, which can help with advanced issues and troubleshooting other software.

ESET also has an extensive listed of online guides and support forums where you can chat with other ESET users.

Top alternatives

ESET offers lots of features but could be expensive depending on your budget and device coverage needs. Here are some of the best antivirus programs to consider if you're not sold on ESET:

ESET FAQs

Bottom line: Is ESET good?

Yes, ESET is a good antivirus product with a lot of extra features that enhance your protection online. It has high ratings from independent testing as well as a user-friendly interface and easy-to-use controls. With the use of advanced machine learning, real-time protection, and global research to identify new and emerging threats, ESET gives a well-rounded shield of protection to any device.

Although the cost can be a little higher than some of the best antivirus programs, it’s still a trusted product. If you aren’t interested in covering a lot of devices, ESET’s pricing falls on par with its competitors. Choosing ESET is a decision you can feel confident about.

See how ESET compares to some of our recommended alternatives:

• ESET vs. Norton
• ESET vs. Bitdefender