UltraAV Review 2025: Is This Kaspersky Alternative Good?

UltraAV was supposed to be the best alternative for Kaspersky users who no longer have access to software updates after the U.S. ban; however, we found it lacking. 

UltraAV was easy to install and presented no issues while we were using it. But there were no advanced antivirus features, like performance enhancements or a firewall, and we were disappointed when we had to enable real-time protection manually.

We didn’t find UltraAV to rank among the best antivirus software, especially not at that price point. We have all the information you need regarding UltraAV, from the surprising pricing and refund policies to the actual test results, in our full review below.

At a glance

Price	$99/first yr
Free plan	No
# of devices protected	20
Malware scans	Manual and scheduled
Real-time protection	Yes
EICAR test results	2/3
Firewall	No
Phishing protection	No
Compatibility	Windows, macOS
Extras	Password manager, VPN, dark web scanner
24/7 customer support	Yes
Learn more	Get UltraAV

We last tested UltraAV on October 16, 2025.

Our experience

Overall, testing UltraAV was easy since it's a no-frills antivirus product. Downloading the antivirus software was easy and went smoothly. 

The main dashboard allows you to access the antivirus, VPN, password manager, and dark web browser. When we launched the antivirus product, it came up with a simple screen displaying a few options.

We went right to the scan first. The quick scan took less than 10 seconds. It barely scanned anything, returning results in less than a second.

We clicked it a few more times to make sure, but it kept running that very quick scan without really catching anything. We already had some malware test files on our hard drive, and were surprised that the scan didn’t find them.

Next, we tested the full scan. The full scan took a long time, just over 33 minutes, but this time it detected the malware test files. 

Overall, UltraAV is a fine product. We also appreciate that it's included with Zander Identity Theft Protection. It detected old malicious files on our device and new ones with its real-time protection. 

Who is UltraAV best for?

• Recommended for backup protection

If you get UltraAV as an add-on with something else, you could enable it as backup protection. Due to poor test scores and a lack of overall features, we don’t suggest it as your primary antivirus or the best alternative to Kaspersky Antivirus. Still, if it’s the only option you have on your computer, then you should enable it.

UltraAV cost

UltraAV starts at $99/first yr, and then doubles upon renewal. There’s no monthly payment option, free trial, or less expensive option. The annual price isn’t outrageous by antivirus standards, but the renewal price is high, especially considering what you get.

We didn’t find UltraAV to be the most effective antivirus, and it lacked a lot of features you’ll find with other products. UltraAV is a basic service, and there are others we’ve found that are better while costing the same or less.

Overall, it’s not antivirus software we’d use or recommend.

	Annual Plan
Price for first year	$99/first yr
# devices supported	20
Compatible with	Windows, macOS
Manual and auto scan
Phishing protection
Firewall
Real-time protection
Ransomware protection
Parental controls
Performance optimization tools
VPN
Learn more	View plan

UltraAV features

Despite its name, UltraAV is pretty basic. There aren’t a lot of features aside from the VPN, the password manager, and the dark web scanner. Those are all located in the dashboard, leaving the actual antivirus menu sparse. We didn’t find a lot of useful tools within UltraAV’s offerings, but we did test what we could find.

Malware and antivirus scan

UltraAV has two scan options: quick scans and full scans. The quick scan reviews your systems files, while the full scan reviews everything in your hard drive. 

There's also the option to check off the deep scan on the full scan tab, but the difference is unclear. 

Phishing protection

UltraAV doesn’t have phishing protection and failed the phishing tests we put it through. 

Intuitive antivirus products can help you recognize phishing emails and websites when the protection is active. It’s a useful tool, especially considering phishing emails are getting more convincing.

Firewall

There's no firewall option with UltraAV. 

You can use the included VPN, but it’s not the same. Mac users will find that the internal firewall built into their machines will provide that protection, since you won’t see it from UltraAV.

Network protection

There’s no network protection included with UltraAV. 

If it were available, this feature would scan your network to see whether there are any additional threats beyond those found on your machine. It’s important to help stop network attacks before they can take over.

Real-time protection

We were surprised that the real-time protection feature was disabled when we installed UltraAV. Had we not gone into the settings and clicked around, we wouldn’t have known to turn it on. 

Once we turned it on, we noticed that UltraAV actually stopped the test virus files we downloaded.

Ransomware protection

Since UltraAV is so sparse, there’s no additional information regarding ransomware protection. The site mentions that this feature is built in, but we didn’t see it in action during the scans. 

Anti-fraud protection

UltraAV doesn’t offer any specific anti-fraud protection. There is a dark web scanner available, but it contains alerts rather than actionable steps.

Bonus features

You have the option to use the password manager and VPN that are attached to UltraAV. When we tried loading both, we received error messages. 

If you’re looking for dark web scanning, identity protection, a quality VPN, antivirus, and a password manager, we suggest a product like Surfshark One+ instead of UltraAV.

UltraAV test results

We evaluate antivirus software based on a combination of third-party testing sites like AV-TEST, AV-Comparatives, and SE Labs, in addition to EICAR virus test files we administer ourselves. The three third-party sites have long histories of effective testing and evaluating antivirus software. 

It’s worth noting that software companies have to pay to have these third parties test their products and do not get a say in the results in any way.

We also test scan speeds and the performance impact of each antivirus. Even though UltraAV used a lot of our working memory — at one point 97% during its scan — our performance wasn’t impacted to the point of being unable to use our computer.

Scan speed

• Result: Slow

UltraAV's scans were drastically different. The quick scan took less than 10 seconds to scan about 5,000 files. On the other hand, the full scan took over 30 minutes and scanned 15,000 files. 

The full scan also detected the malware test files we planted on our device prior to install, so it's best to run a full scan for the most thorough experience. 

Scan type	Time spent
Quick scan	8 seconds
Full scan	33 minutes and 4 seconds

EICAR test results

• Result: 2/3

We also test the antivirus programs we review against files from the European Institute of Computer Anti-Virus Research, also known as EICAR. These are test files and pages you can access without actually harming your device. 

UltraAV stopped us from downloading the malware test from EICAR but didn’t do anything against the phishing test.

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

AV-TEST results

• Result: 15.5/18 for Windows

UltraAV only had results from AV-TEST for Windows, likely due to wanting to pay for only one test, and AV-TEST being the most widely accepted of the three. While most quality products score either 17 or a perfect 18 for protection, performance, and usability, UltraAV scored 16.5.

A test result difference of a point or two may not seem like a huge difference, but it matters. We found the lower score to be consistent with our own test results, where UltraAV missed previously installed viruses.

Test type	Windows score	macOS score	Android score
Protection	5/6	N/A	N/A
Performance	6/6	N/A	N/A
Usability	5.5/6	N/A	N/A
Total	15.5/18	N/A	N/A
Date	June 2025	N/A	N/A
Link to test	Link	N/A	N/A

UltraAV was docked one point in the protection category. The industry average for protection against zero-day malware attacks was 99.7%, and UltraAV's highest score was 98.1%.

UltraAV was also docked half a point in the usability category. The industry average for false positives during a system scan was one, but UltraAV detected two in May and five in June. 

AV-TEST does offer some wiggle room in its scoring, so having a score below 17 means the product must’ve done poorly.

UltraAV compatibility

UltraAV offers coverage for up to 20 devices at a time, but mentions compatibility only for Windows and Mac. Most quality antivirus programs offer coverage for mobile devices, too. While we found the Mac installation to be easy and seamless, we were surprised there wasn’t additional coverage for other operating systems outside of Windows.

UltraAV customer support

We found the customer support options and experience to be surprisingly quick and effortless. If you need customer support outside of your UltraAV dashboard, there’s an email option via a form submission on the website.

There’s also an AI chatbot on the website. Customers can access 24/7 live support via a chat box when logged into their portal. We didn’t have to wait for a live agent, and they answered our question quickly.

Top alternatives

We don’t feel that UltraAV is the best value for the money when it comes to features and performance. The other options we’ve listed below are some of our favorites and consistently have high performance scores. You’ll also find plenty of features and extras with each of these products.

FAQs

Bottom line: Is UltraAV good?

UltraAV is okay, but there are better antivirus programs we’d recommend. It’s fairly sparse and doesn’t offer the robust performance and protection we’ve come to expect from a quality antivirus.

The best antivirus software not only protects you from incoming threats, but it also cleans your device and rids it of any threats that may be there due to subpar protection. You should also be able to enjoy useful features, like network security, webcam protection, phishing alerts, and more from a quality antivirus. 

UltraAV doesn’t offer any of this. There are better options out there that give you more value for your money.