
How much does it really cost to fix a laptop?
4th July 2022
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In this article
Find out which antivirus software meets your needs by using the results of our in-depth antivirus lab testing.
We bombard antivirus software with tens of thousands of threats in our tests, including viruses, ransomware and phishing attacks designed to compromise and steal data. We repeat this four times a year, as new threats are emerging all the time. So you can be confident that any antivirus program we say is the best, really is.
Thanks to our tests, we can also save you money. We know that free and paid-for versions of the same software have the same protection. So unless you want extra features or extra piece of mind, opt for one of our best free antivirus programs.
Looking for antivirus for your Mac? See our expert pick of the Best antivirus software for Apple Macs
You can save yourself around £45 to £80 a year by choosing a good free antivirus program. But be careful - not all software is created equally. We've found some free software is annoying to use, has irritating pop-ups and simply isn't as good as rivals when it comes to protecting your data. So you need to make sure the software you install is one of the best antivirus programs - which you can do by using the results of our tough, independent lab tests.
Which? members can log in to see the full results. Not yet a member? Join Which? to unlock our antivirus results, along with all of our online reviews - including laptops, desktop PCs and mobile phones.
80% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | |
77% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | |
76% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | |
72% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★☆☆☆ | |
We recommend you install one of the best free antivirus programs if you want to save money, as they can perform just as well as ones you can pay for. However, what you do get with paid-for software are extra features, such as multiple licences and password managers. So if you need these, make sure your antivirus software is worth your money by picking one of the best paid-for antivirus programs from our independent lab tests.
Which? members can log in to see the full results. Not yet a member? Join Which? to unlock our antivirus results, along with all of our online reviews - including laptops, desktop PCs and mobile phones.
83% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | |
82% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | |
81% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | |
79% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ | |
79% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | |
78% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★☆☆☆☆ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | |
78% | ★★★★★ | ★★★★★ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★☆☆ | ★★★★☆ | ★★★★★ |
Find out more about the most popular antivirus programs.
Avast is one of the best known antivirus companies that offers a free edition of its software. It might be light on features, but as long as it gets the basics of security and anti-phishing right, it could prove to be an excellent choice. We’ve put it through its paces, along with Avast’s paid-for options.
You’ll find Norton pre-installed on lots of laptops, and it’s a popular choice in high-street retailers. It can be very expensive, however, so it will need to put in a strong showing to prove it’s worth the cash.
Kaspersky offers both paid-for and free software, and we’ve tested them both.
Below we've arranged all the antivirus software we've tested alongside the key features you might expect to find. If you want to find out more about each feature, scroll past our table.
Avast Premium Security | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Avast Free Antivirus | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
AVG Internet Security | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
AVG AntiVirus Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Avira Antivirus Pro | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Avira Free Security | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Bitdefender Internet Security | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
We've found in our tests that free and paid versions of the same antivirus software have exactly the same underlying protection from viruses and phishing attacks.
In other words, free antivirus will always be as effective as a last line of defence as the paid-for version.
This means when you're paying for antivirus software, you're really just paying for extra features that won't all necessarily improve your security, but might still be handy. The features table above summarises some of the more popular extras you can get if you pay for antivirus rather than opting for a free version.
Paid-for features could also stop malware and phishing attacks sooner. For example, by paying for email protection, your antivirus could spot a virus-laden email before it ever reaches your inbox. Whereas without, you may end up downloading the malicious file only for the antivirus to block it before it can run. Either way, this is effective, but if extra peace of mind is something you think is worth paying for, it's worth considering.
Another thing worth knowing is that paid-for antivirus software will often grant you multiple licences, which is the ability to install the software on multiple devices. Some subscriptions will include different types of devices, such as Macs, Android devices and iPhones. This also allows for the use of family controls (mentioned above), which can be handy.
If being able to install the software on multiple devices is the only reason why you're paying, consider using the free software on each separate device with a different email address.
In addition to all of the packages featured above, we also test Windows' built-in security by itself. In many ways, it's a very effective tool. It is reliable to blocking malware from running, although it is a bit overzealous warning you about files and programs that are in fact completely benign.
However, it doesn't score brilliantly in our web test, and allows the downloading of some malware without blocking it. But it's worth reiterating that if you do download malware, Windows should block it if you end up running it. But this isn't helpful if you download a file and immediately share it with someone else or move it to a USB drive for use later.
It therefore rates really poorly for false positives in our tests. It also provides no additional anti-phishing tools for browsers other than the pre-installed Microsoft Edge, although Edge itself is quite good at blocking phishing attempts.
It's only mediocre at detecting Mac malware, and can't detect malware designed for Android devices.
Overall, though, Windows' built-in security is pretty effective. While it doesn't have additional features that can bolster your security further, its reputation for being toothless in the past is very much that: in the past.
Our test involves subjecting every piece of software to tens of thousands of threats, including viruses, ransomware and phishing attacks designed to compromise and steal data. We repeat the test four times each year and the scores you see below are based on a full year of testing, giving you confidence that our recommendations have performed consistently all year.
For more, see our guide on how we test antivirus software.