Introduction
Three of the best antiviruses on the market: TotalAV, Norton, and Bitdefender but which one is actually the most secure and reliable? In this best antivirus for Windows 11 and 10 comparison, I’ll discuss each antivirus’s pros, cons, malware testing results, and everything else you need to know. There are four main things that I look for in a solid antivirus.
Criteria for Choosing an Antivirus
It has to be effective at catching malware, but not drag my PC’s performance down. I’d also like to see real-time protection for constant malware monitoring as well as constantly updated malware databases. And of course, good protection shouldn’t cost a ton. All three best antivirus picks meet these criteria, but they have some significant differences as well, so let’s look at them one by one, starting with one of the most affordable antivirus for PC providers, TotalAV.
TotalAV
To me, this one also proved to be the most lightweight antivirus option CPU usage-wise. Plus, the app is very minimal and beginner-friendly. If you ever had to deal with Windows Defender, this is going to be a lot easier, and you’ll get much stronger protection as well. Now, a free version of TotalAV exists, but it’s not for continuous protection as all you can really do with it is run a basic scan on one device.
There’s no real-time protection or any other of the vital anti malware tools. If you really want TotalAV for only a short time, it’s much better to grab the premium plan and then use the 30-day money-back guarantee. That said, the premium version is less than 20 bucks if you grab it with the discount code, and that’s an incredibly low price for all-around protection.
If you look at independent testing, TotalAV didn’t flag a single false positive in the most recent testing match. Besides the multiple scanning options and real-time protection functionality, you get a bunch of additional features, from a really effective ad blocker to Web Shield. This one prevents me from accessing malicious websites and even filters them out of search results.
I also really liked their PC optimization tools. It helped me clear up a lot of space in one of my old testing PCs and actually made it work a bit faster. That said, I’m missing some tools such as a firewall for some extra protection, and overall, TotalAV isn’t the most feature-rich provider, especially when you’re comparing it to Norton and Bitdefender.
But with such an affordable price point, I can’t really complain. If you do want more features though, Norton is absolutely stuffed with the best antivirus for Windows 10 and 11 option on top of the usual tools, you get extensive hacking and ransomware protection mainly the Smart Firewall that comes with the Intrusion Prevention system.
Norton
Basically, this is one of the strongest layers of protection that monitors your device for suspicious activity. What’s more almost everything in the app is customizable, and I really enjoy setting things up exactly how I like it. Then there’s cloud backup, parental controls, and a ton of other features depending on the plan you choose.
To me, the best value comes from the Deluxe plan, as with this one, you also get a VPN on top of their password manager. This way, Norton becomes a full cybersecurity suite, and that’s not one, not two, but five devices. Now while there’s no free version, Norton Antivirus has an exceptionally long money-back guarantee spanning over 60 days.
With all that said, the extensive features list comes with a couple of drawbacks. For one, if you compare it to other best antivirus for Windows 11 picks, Norton has a more complex UI. Notice how many window pop-ups. This can get a bit cluttered and confusing. On top of that, because there are so many malware protection features, the CPU usage is a little higher.
So you can see a lower performance rating in AV TEST results as well. That’s why Norton, in my opinion, is not the best fit for old and slow devices, but their malware protection scores are absolutely growing with a 100% rating in both zero-day and widespread malware detection. It’s a very powerful antivirus.
It’s just that it requires a powerful PC. So then what about Bitdefender? This one also comes with flawless malware detection scores, and what’s more, it has been collecting awards from independent testers for years. For example, it received the Advanced Plus rating after the most recent AV-Comparatives evaluation.
Bitdefender
I had to see what the hype was myself, so I ran a test. To nobody’s surprise, Bitdefender managed to get the highest score. Now there is an option to install this antivirus in Windows 10 and 11 for free but it’s limited to a basic scan and real-time protection. That’s an important thing when compared with the TotalAV free version but again, it’s not enough for all-around protection.
Sure, it’s a smidge better than Windows Defender, but nothing more than that. Now while Bitdefender’s premium plan pricing is a bit higher, you can grab the discount through the link in the description, so check it out if you want to get an antivirus for an affordable price. That said, the best antivirus software favors Windows users, and the cheapest plans are Windows only.
Just keep in mind that the features you get heavily depend on the plan you pick. That’s why I recommend going with at least the Internet Security plan as it includes a firewall. Now the parental controls are a nice bonus as well, but if you want to protect other devices as well, then Total Security is the best antivirus plan to pick, and it adds device optimization tools to clear up junk from your PC.
Now while Bitdefender does have a lot of features, similar to Norton, the app is much easier to use. Plus, I noticed that the CPU usage is lower as well. Because of this, Bitdefender won’t be a problem for older devices. And due to the intuitive UI, it’s also a great starting point for antivirus beginners.
Conclusion
So with that all said, what is the best antivirus software for Windows 10 and 11? As you probably understood by now, the answer is very case dependent. In my view, TotalAV is the best antivirus option if you want an effective, lightweight, and affordable provider Norton is going to be great if you’re looking for a feature-rich antivirus and don’t mind a bit more of a complicated interface.