Best Free Antivirus to Secure Your Devices

Being short on the budget doesn’t cancel the need for antivirus protection. In this case, the best possible solution is to pick a decent free edition to browse the Internet more or less securely. Here, we’ll go over the best free antivirus options on the market and define how to pick a good one.

The free antivirus programs worth exploring

To make an easier choice, we’ve selected the top 4 options. Pick one based on your needs and preferences for the best possible experience.

  1. Avast Free is the most popular free antivirus worldwide. Millions of people trust their devices with this software and enjoy the virus-free experience. The free edition is available for personal use only. Unlike most options offered by competitors, this one comes with extras. For instance, users get a password manager, a security inspector, a safe browser tool, etc. Keep in mind, that the latter works on Chrome and Firefox only. According to the tests run by AV-Comparatives, SE Labs, and some other independent companies, this antivirus delivers very good protection.
  2. Bitdefender is Avast’s main competitor here. Its Free Edition has the same antivirus engine premium Bitdefender editions have. This is a huge advantage. The software scores nearly excellent scored detecting viruses and malware in the independent testing labs. Unlike Avast, it is more primitive and lacks the abundance of extra features. Yet, it’s definitely worth your while.
  3. Kaspersky Free is another great choice unless you live in the US (it’s currently banned in the region due to some politic issues between Russia and the United States). The software is very simple and basic but the regular updates maintain great protection from various threats. Aside from that, users may also add a free password manager as a separate app. The program doesn’t bother users with tons of notifications and blocks threats in the background. It’s also great at detecting and blocking phishing sites.
  4. AVG Antivirus Free runs on the same antivirus engine Avast does. Yet, it remains a separate product with its peculiarities. Aside from good scores detecting malware and threats, AVG is simple and effective in use. However, it has slower scans compared to other solutions from the list. If this is crucial for you, pick from the other three options.

How to choose a free antivirus?

To be honest, the choice is very simple. There is no more need to think about the variety of choices and possibilities once you’ve got this list of the main five antivirus programs. All of them deliver nearly the same quality of protection and some tools. However, each one offers something different. Compare those features to pick what you need.

Things might get more complicated when a user realizes that he wants two certain features and no free antivirus can offer both. In this case, a person will have to pick the one that is more important to him or pick a premium plan and buy the wanted features.

It’s important to take into account different aspects like the impact on the system performance, the speed of scans, etc. On the other hand, average users don’t often pay attention to these details but care more about the protection level only.

If you don’t seem to make up your mind, simply pick the free antivirus from our list based on the interface you like. It must be not only appealing but convenient, too. These are all reputable developers that are completely trustworthy. Their free editions are limited in extra features (like a personal firewall, parental control, a VPN, etc.) but have the same quality of protection.