TotalAV vs. Norton 2023: Which Guards Your Devices Better?

TotalAV and Norton are both highly rated and well-known antivirus programs with different approaches to features that may or may not appeal to you based on your needs.
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Best for Device Optimization

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On TotalAV's website

Best for Increased Privacy & Security

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On Norton 360 Antivirus's website

Picking an antivirus is personal. Whether you’re looking strictly for highly rated antivirus software that guarantees malware protection or you need a complete package with lots of extras, TotalAV and Norton both have offerings to meet your needs.

Based solely on test scores, functionality, features, and customer service, Norton is a step ahead of TotalAV. However, TotalAV takes a different approach than Norton does and pairs its antivirus with device optimization tools, so it may be more worth it for you. Let’s take a deeper look at these two antivirus choices to see what additional features they offer.

In this article
TotalAV vs. Norton antivirus review at a glance
TotalAV vs. Norton: prices
TotalAV vs. Norton: features
TotalAV vs. Norton: test results
TotalAV vs. Norton 360 Antivirus: compatibility and ease of use
TotalAV vs. Norton: customer service
TotalAV vs. Norton FAQs
Bottom line: Is TotalAV antivirus better than Norton?

TotalAV vs. Norton antivirus review at a glance

Norton and TotalAV are both highly-rated antivirus programs with a variety of features. TotalAV’s additional features focus more on device optimization and system tune-ups in addition to security features. Norton, on the other hand, offers a broader range of tools for complete privacy across the web, including a VPN, dark web monitoring, and parental controls.

  • TotalAV: Best for additional device optimization tools
  • Norton: Best for increased privacy and security

TotalAV vs. Norton compared


TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
Starting price Starts at $29.00/first yr Starts at $19.99/first yr
Free version
Max number of protected devices Up to 6 Up to 10
Compatibility Android, iOS, Windows, macOS Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Firewall
Real-time protection
Learn more Get TotalAV
Read TotalAV Review
Get Norton
Read Norton Antivirus Review
Prices as of 08/04/2023.

TotalAV and Norton do a lot of things the same way. They both protect against viruses and malware, they both offer additional features on all plans, and they both have a variety of price points.

TotalAV focuses more on offering diagnostic as well as web protection tools with its antivirus product while Norton is focused more on broad safety with identity protection.

If you’re wondering about Norton vs. TotalAV in regard to essentials like a full system scan or defense against online threats, both did well in independent third-party testing. As far as protection for your wallet, TotalAV offers a 30-day money-back guarantee while Norton offers a 60-day guarantee.

Pricing is close, but Norton does offer a less expensive starting price for the Norton AntiVirus Plus plan at $19.99/first yr as opposed to TotalAV’s $29.00/first yr price for the Antivirus Pro plan. While Norton tops out at $99.99/first yr for the Select + LifeLock plan, the Norton 360 Deluxe plan is comparable to TotalAV’s Total Security plan — both are about $50.00/yr. Each of these includes a ton of extra features. Be mindful of your renewal date, however, because renewal pricing is much higher than the first-year costs listed here.

Is Kaspersky better than TotalAV or Norton?

While Kaspersky excels in third-party testing, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) required it to be removed from all government computers. This was due to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) declaration of a potential security risk since Kaspersky is based in Russia. For that reason, we cannot recommend Kaspersky antivirus.

TotalAV vs. Norton: prices


TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
Price range $29.00–$49.00/first yr $19.99–$99.99/first yr
Best value plan Internet Security for $39.00/first yr Norton 360 Deluxe for $49.99/first yr
Money-back guarantee Yes — 30 days for annual plans, 14 days for monthly plans Yes — 60 days for annual plans, 14 days for monthly plans
Learn more Get TotalAV
Read TotalAV Review
Get Norton
Read Norton Antivirus Review
Prices as of 08/04/2023.

TotalAV prices range from $29.00–$49.00/first yr. We chose the middle plan, Internet Security, as the best value because it includes a VPN. While the Total Security plan, TotalAV’s top tier, was only $10 more per year (for the first year), we felt the device security portion wasn’t great since TotalAV isn’t as strong on Apple products.

Norton told us the Norton 360 Deluxe plan was the “Best Value,” but if you’re looking for identity theft protection on top of an antivirus, you might disagree. It doesn’t include LifeLock like the next choice up, but it does have parental controls and a privacy monitor to help keep you and your family safer online.

Norton’s renewal rate isn’t such a leap from the starting cost either. The Norton 360 Deluxe plan begins at $49.99/first yr and jumps to $114.99 for the renewal, whereas TotalAV’s Total Security plan starts at $49.00/first yr and then leaps all the way to $179.00 for year two.

Winner: Norton. Even though both products are fairly close in price, Norton’s offerings are more well-rounded, and the renewal prices aren’t as drastic a change. It even includes cloud storage in each of its plans.

TotalAV vs. Norton: features

Feature
TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
Manual and scheduled scans
Real-time protection
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Firewall
Parental controls
Cloud storage
Password manager
VPN
Ad blocker
Device optimization tools
Learn more Get TotalAV
Read TotalAV Review
Get Norton
Read Norton Antivirus Review
Data as of 08/04/2023.

Each of these products offers a variety of features like ransomware protection, a password manager, anti-phishing, and malware detection including spyware and adware. Norton, however, has a few additional features that helped it take the lead. Parental controls, cloud backup, and dark web monitoring are all useful features that will increase your security. If you don’t feel you need those, TotalAV includes device optimization tools that Norton sells separately.

Diagnostic tools are available for free across the web, so that’s why we felt Norton’s additional features added more value to its antivirus product than TotalAV’s features. Products like Fortect help with PC health and tune-up while CCleaner speeds up your device and deletes your history. IObit Advanced SystemCare Pro uses AI to clean and speed up your computer.

Features are the most subjective part of antiviruses and are valuable or not based on your personal needs. We do feel that Norton offers a broader range of features for more than just antivirus protection, so we chose it as our winner.

The TotalAV Adblocker comes with several features including a Web Shield, Ad Block Pro, Clear Cookies, and Clear History.

TotalAV protects you as you surf the web.

Norton offers dark web monitoring, which checks the dark web for info like your email, address, credit card numbers, and more.

Norton monitors your identity to alert you in the case of an identity theft attempt.

Winner: Norton. Norton’s features cover a broader range of security issues like identity theft as well as offering cloud storage for free with every tier.

TotalAV vs. Norton: test results

If you’ve ever received a product that didn’t work the way it was advertised, you can appreciate the need for third-party testing. It’s an important part of the cybersecurity landscape because it tests products to make sure they use the most recent technologies and block the newest threats.

While you may not be as concerned about a product’s performance in regards to slowing down your machine, you should always strive for products that excel in protection against cyber threats.

TotalAV vs. Norton AV-TEST Windows 11 scores


TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
Protection score 5.0/6.0 6.0/6.0
Performance score 5.5/6.0 5.5/6.0
Usability score 6.0/6.0 6.0/6.0
Learn more Get TotalAV
Read TotalAV Review
Get Norton
Read Norton Antivirus Review
*March/April 2023 - Most recent testing as of 7/20/23.

TotalAV had some issues with both protection and performance. In the protection arena, TotalAV was tested against 326 real-world malware examples from web pages and email.

The industry standard in these tests is to pass with 99.4%. In March, TotalAV passed with 98.8%, but in April, it only passed with 97%. These two numbers resulted in TotalAV being docked an entire point in this category. What that means is that, when tested against real-world examples of malware, TotalAV didn’t have total protection.

In regards to performance, TotalAV met or exceeded all standards except web page loading and familiar application installation. So that means TotalAV slowed the loading of web pages and the installation of familiar applications in Windows machines more often than was considered acceptable by industry standards. While some slowdown is expected, this was significant enough to dock TotalAV a half point.

Norton also experienced significant enough performance issues to merit a half-point loss in the same categories of web page loading and familiar application installation. But while TotalAV’s scores actually got worse from March 2023 to April 2023, Norton’s improved. This shows that Norton is actively working on improvement, while TotalAV didn’t hit the same mark.

Unfortunately, TotalAV didn’t submit itself for testing recently for macOS or Android. The last macOS test was in March 2022 while the last Android test was even further back. In the world of cybersecurity, it’s important to keep up with independent testing as new threats are constantly being released.

Given TotalAV’s worsening performance from March to April, we aren’t confident that its Mac and Android products are as robust as consumers would prefer in their security products.

Winner: Norton. While both products struggled with slowing loading and installation times more than the industry standard, Norton’s scores improved from March to April. Additionally, Norton didn't experience the same protection issues TotalAV did, making it the winner.

TotalAV vs. Norton 360 Antivirus: compatibility and ease of use


TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Browser extensions Yes — Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Opera Yes — Firefox, Chrome, Edge
Learn more Get TotalAV
Read TotalAV Review
Get Norton
Read Norton Antivirus Review

There isn’t a ton of difference in compatibility when it comes to TotalAV and Norton. We found that both products delivered on promises for not just Windows but also their limited Mac functionality. Our product testers found each antivirus offered a lot of helpful features. Each one also works with Apple and Android mobile devices.

Originally we found both TotalAV and Norton had browser extensions for Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Microsoft Edge. TotalAV also added the Opera browser to its compatibility list. Because both products are so similar in functionality and compatibility, the addition of the Opera browser gives TotalAV a slight advantage.

TotalAV notifies you when it detects malware during its system scan. Our TotalAV flagged this FlashPlayer.dmg file as malicious.

TotalAV scans and flags potential malware.

We used Norton 360 to scan our MacBook for viruses and security risks.

Norton scanning a clean Macbook.

Winner: TotalAV. While both products are almost identical in compatibility, TotalAV supports the Opera browser which is one more browser than Norton.

TotalAV vs. Norton: customer service


TotalAV

Norton 360 Antivirus
24/7 live chat
Phone
Email
Support forums
Online guides

There’s a different feel for TotalAV customer support than there is for Norton. Norton seems much more accommodating with a variety of options for customers. When we tested TotalAV, we found more options in the portal of the product than we found on the website. If you’re looking for more than online guides with TotalAV, you won’t necessarily find them on the site.

Winner: Norton wins by a landslide. TotalAV has a very hands-off, bare-bones approach to customer service while Norton’s is fairly robust.

TotalAV vs. Norton FAQs


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Can I trust TotalAV antivirus?

Yes, you can trust TotalAV as much as any other tested and verified antivirus program. TotalAV has strong third-party testing scores as well as many useful features including device optimization. While there is less testing done on the Mac and Android products, the Windows version is tested regularly.


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What’s the strongest antivirus app?

The strength of your antivirus may not be in a single tool but rather in the ability to layer or stack your security products together. Using a highly rated and well-tested antivirus like Norton or TotalAV in conjunction with a firewall and VPN gives you a significant advantage over someone who is using just the antivirus.

This is why it’s important to find a security tool that offers many of these additional features that add layers of protection.


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What company owns TotalAV?

TotalAV is owned by Protected.net Group Ltd. Protected.net Group Ltd. is a software company located in Fareham in the UK. Protected.net’s website redirects to Total Security’s website, which is part of the security offerings the company provides.


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Should I keep Norton Antivirus?

Norton is one of the highest-rated antivirus software on the market. If you’re unhappy with your Norton product, we recommend contacting support to help with the problem.

If you’re still unhappy, many other antivirus products are on the market. We’ve compiled a list of what we find to be the best antivirus software to help you decide. Whatever you choose, make sure you have some sort of protection on your computer — especially if you use public Wi-Fi.


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Does Norton get rid of existing viruses?

Yes, as long as you have an active Norton subscription, the 100% virus protection promise covers you and any infection you may receive. If you’re looking for a virus removal tool only, Norton offers a free tool called Norton Power Eraser that you can download.

Bottom line: Is TotalAV antivirus better than Norton?

Unfortunately, we would have to say “no” to this question. While TotalAV is a completely valid and safe choice for an antivirus program, Norton does edge it out in almost every category.

Norton has better customer service, stronger testing and test scores, and a wider variety of extra features like dark web monitoring and cloud storage. We also were impressed with the fact that Norton’s renewal pricing wasn’t as severe a difference from year one to year two as TotalAV’s pricing structure.

If you decide to go with TotalAV, you’ll still get a good product that’s done well in third-party testing. You may not have as many features, but you will have solid protection. Our only strong suggestion would be to keep an eye on your renewal date. That price jump is significant!

Whichever you choose, just make sure you use an antivirus on your computer. Viruses and ransomware are no joke, and a good piece of security software can ensure you’re safe.

TotalAV vs. Norton alternatives

Still not sold on TotalAV or Norton? That’s ok, we have other options for you. We’ve tested all these products and can recommend them with confidence.

  • McAfee: McAfee is only free for iOS and Android, but you can test it out with a 30-day free trial for Windows. Since it’s one of the oldest names in the industry, McAfee knows what it’s doing when it comes to cybersecurity.

    Get McAfee | Read Our McAfee Review
  • Avast: Avast offers a free product that tests very well and provides you with protection where you need it most. If you feel you need more protection than what’s in the free product, you have the option to upgrade to a premium Avast service. You’ll even be able to access the free Avast service on your Android with its mobile app.

    Get Avast | Read Our Avast Review
  • Bitdefender: Loving the idea of free? Bitdefender provides you with diagnostic tools as well as protection for free. Your free subscription is available on up to three devices, so search away.

    Get Bitdefender | Read Our Bitdefender Review
Save up to 66% on your first year
Learn More
On Norton 360 Antivirus's website

Author Details
Mary lives in Los Angeles and has been writing about tech for over 5 years. When she's not writing for work or fun, you'll find her in a theatre, at the movies, volunteering, or hiking the gorgeous SoCal landscape.