When you use links on our website, we may earn a fee.
Prices Reflect Discount
Why Trust U.S. News
At U.S. News & World Report, we take an unbiased approach to our ratings. We adhere to strict editorial guidelines, maintain a separate business team, and provide transparency on our methodology.
Avast is a well-known antivirus software company that offers users free and paid protection tiers. The free Avast software effectively protects devices against malware, viruses, and phishing attempts. Paid tiers add additional perks and features that many users consider essential. Read on to learn more about whether Avast is right for you.
Avast is an antivirus software package that’s currently available in two forms: Avast Antivirus and Avast One. Avast ties for No. 5 in our rating of the Best Antivirus Software and rates No. 1 in our rating of the Best Antivirus for Macs. Antivirus packages are available for Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android. The basic version of both packages is free antivirus software for individuals. Avast is also available in upgraded packages that include a virtual private network (VPN) and system cleaning and tuning features. Avast also sells a version for business users. Avast is owned by Norton Lifelock, another antivirus software company we reviewed. Avast’s AVG product line is included in the merger. It’s unclear what changes will be made to Avast’s products or services following the completion of the merger.
Ranked #5 in Best Antivirus Software of 2024 (tie)
Ranked #1 in Best Mac Antivirus Software of 2024
Pros:
Protection against viruses
Malware blocking
Protection against phishing
Cons:
Boot times can be slow
The free version frequently attempts to upsell
Avast is available in four plans that offer various antivirus protections and other safeguards. The original free antivirus software is still available and supported. There are also two additional plans, Premium Security and Ultimate, which add more features but aren’t free. In addition, there’s Avast One, which is a more advanced antivirus package, and which is also free in its “Essential” version. Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android are supported.
Each of the packages includes a number of different functions, of which antivirus is one. As an antivirus package, Avast Free Antivirus ranks very well in independent lab tests, as does Avast One. Avast protects against viruses and malware, and the packages include protection against ransomware, phishing, Wi-Fi intrusion, and other cybersecurity threats. The Avast Antivirus package finds viruses and malware by two different methods, the first being signatures of known viruses and malware software. In addition, Avast examines the actions of software where it doesn’t recognize a signature for virus-like activity, and when it finds it, Avast stops it from happening.
Professional reviewers note that all levels of Avast share the same detection engine, and they praise it for its effectiveness. They also quote a series of independent lab results that rank Avast with some of the highest grades compared to other similar products. However, some reviewers note that a few other AV products do even better than Avast.
Even Avast’s free version offers extensive and effective antivirus, antimalware, and antiphishing software that will protect all of your devices. Upgrades to the relatively affordable paid tiers will add useful features such as more advanced firewalls, webcam protection, and a VPN.
Avast Free Antivirus is the basic product in the lineup. There are additional versions that add more features but which aren’t free. In addition, Avast One is a new version of Avast that offers more features than Avast Free Antivirus, and there’s a free version of that as well. Here’s what comes with each version of Avast:
Avast Free Antivirus
Avast Premium Security
Avast Premium Security includes all of the features of Avast Free Antivirus at an extra cost of $69.99 per year for one device or $89.99 per year for up to 10 devices. These are the additional features of Avast Premium Security.
Avast Ultimate
Avast Ultimate is a bundle of products that includes Avast Premium Security, Avast SecureLine VPN, Avast Cleanup Premium, and Avast Anti Track. The bundle sells for $99.99 per year for one device and $119.99 per year for 10 devices.
Avast One
Avast One is the newer version of the Avast antivirus software. Avast One includes a number of features that were add-ons previously. Avast One includes the following features.
Avast One Essential
Avast One Individual
Includes everything in Essential, plus these additional features. It costs $99.99 per year for one account and up to five devices.
Avast One Family
Avast One Family is the same as the Individual plan but can support six accounts and up to 30 devices. The cost is $139.99 per year.
Avast is currently offering first-year discounts on its home products. The following are the renewal prices.
The most obvious difference between Avast and McAfee is that Avast is free. All you need to do to use the product is to download it. When you do, you get excellent antivirus protection from Avast just as you do with McAfee. However, the free version of Avast has a more limited feature set compared to McAfee. To get a version of Avast that’s more comparable to McAfee, you will need to move to Avast Premium Security. Independent test labs have reported that McAfee is slightly more effective in blocking malware and viruses than Avast, but the differences are tiny. Those same testers also indicate that McAfee is slightly easier to use and impacts system resources slightly less.
Learn more in our McAfee review.
Independent testing labs report that Avast is the preferred antivirus and antimalware solution, primarily because Trend Micro had a higher rate of false positives and a lower off-line detection rate. However, Trend Micro has better support for premium users because it offers 24 x 7 phone support, which Avast does not. The overall performance for both products was similar in terms of overall virus and malware detection. The basic version of Avast is free, which makes it easy to start using it, but to get all of the features, you need to move to Avast Premium Security. The test labs reported that Avast was faster than Trend Micro’s antivirus.
Learn more in our Trend Micro review.
Price reflects discount.
Price reflects discount.
All Avast antivirus packages include a host of highly effective antivirus and malware protections. However, Avast antivirus software lacks some cybersecurity features that many other antivirus software vendors include, most prominently a VPN. Instead of a single all-inclusive solution, Avast sells a number of different cybersecurity protections that can be used on their own or with its antivirus software.
Avast says it updates its virus definitions more than 100 times a day. More complete software updates are issued several times a year, typically every month according to Avast. All virus definitions and software updates are conducted automatically and invisibly to the user.
Avast's "passive mode" allows users to temporarily disable antivirus protection, which it advises against. But this "passive mode" allows you to run another antivirus program alongside Avast's for extra protection.
If you need to uninstall Avast antivirus or cybersecurity software, it recommends using Avast Setup Wizard, the same program used when you initially install its products. Alternatively, Avast offers special Uninstall Utilities, which can be found on the Avast website.
Related Coupons and Deals
Still looking for more information about antivirus software or trying to find the best antivirus software for you? Explore the directory below to learn more.
At U.S. News & World Report, we rank the Best Hospitals, Best Colleges, and Best Cars to guide readers through some of life’s most complicated decisions. Our 360 Reviews team draws on this same unbiased approach to rate the products that you use every day. To build our ratings, we researched more than 37 antivirus companies and analyzed 16 antivirus reviews. Our 360 Reviews team does not take samples, gifts, or loans of products or services we review. All sample products provided for review are donated after review. In addition, we maintain a separate business team that has no influence over our methodology or recommendations.
U.S. News 360 Reviews takes an unbiased approach to our recommendations. When you use our links to buy products, we may earn a commission but that in no way affects our editorial independence.
Protect your devices and online privacy. Includes Antivirus, VPN, and Identity Theft Alerts. Covers 10 devices.
Protect your devices and online privacy. Includes Antivirus, VPN, and Identity Theft Alerts. Covers 10 devices.
