Best for customizable protection

4.8

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On Bitdefender's website

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Bitdefender

• Antivirus software offering reliable security
• Simple yet powerful interface tools
• Perfect protection score in third-party tests
• Premium features incur additional subscription fees

Best for no-frills trusted protection

4.8

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On AVG's website

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AVG

• Free version comes with malware, spyware, and ransomware protection
• Includes unsafe email attachment blocking
• Various scanning options may be confusing to some people

Are you worried about hackers, need malware protection, or just want good cybersecurity but don’t know where to start? Bitdefender and AVG are two of the best antivirus with free products, but their paid subscriptions really bring the features to life.

Both come with anti-phishing technology and malware detection abilities, as well as real-time protection. AVG and Bitdefender’s security features also offer tuneups for better system performance as well as user-friendly protection against cyber threats.

In this Bitdefender vs. AVG antivirus showdown, the winner may be determined based on your own needs and preferences. We’ll go over their pricing, features, third-party test results, and more.

Bitdefender vs. AVG review at a glance

The biggest difference between Bitdefender and AVG has to be the features included with each antivirus. Bitdefender’s approach to security is customizable and charges a variety of prices based on what you need. AVG, on the other hand, offers a solid set of tools for a reasonable price without too many fancy extras. Depending on your needs, one product may outweigh the other.

• Bitdefender: Best for customizable protection
• AVG: Best for no-frills trusted protection

Bitdefender vs. AVG compared

	Bitdefender	AVG
Starting price	Starts at $59.99/first yr	Starts at $46.68/first yr for 1 device
Max number of protected devices	Up to 10	Up to 10
24/7 customer support	Yes	No
Compatibility	Android, iOS, Windows, macOS	Android, iOS, Windows, macOS
Free version
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Ad blocker
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get AVG Read AVG Review

Bitdefender and AVG both have a lot of positives that make them attractive to anyone shopping for antivirus software. While both service providers offer a free product, they both also offer paid tiers with additional features. Both also come with phishing and ransomware protection, so you can rest assured that your devices will be protected.

Bitdefender looks like it has a lower starting price, but that’s the most basic protection for only one device. On the other hand, AVG has only three plans (AVG Antivirus Free, AVG Internet Security, and AVG Ultimate), which don’t fluctuate too much in price. Both allow for a maximum of 10 protected devices, and both offer compatibility with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS.

Bitdefender vs. AVG: prices

Bitdefender has a massive range of prices, and that’s for antivirus-only protection plans. If you want a bundle with additional features, the price can go up even higher. This is great for people who only want to pay for the features they want. If you want a complete cybersecurity solution, Bitdefender Total Security comes with antivirus, performance optimization tools, parental controls, a virtual private network (VPN), and more for $39.99/first yr.

AVG has three plans available, and one of them is free. There aren’t a lot of frilly extras with a paid AVG plan, but you will get top-notch tested protection. If you want to go for the most expensive plan, the AVG Ultimate Plan, it’ll cost $32.50/first yr for 10 devices for the first year, and it includes performance-enhancing features as well as anti-tracking, an ad blocker, and a VPN.

Bitdefender vs. AVG: features

Bitdefender and AVG have plenty of basic antivirus features in common, including manual and scheduled scans, phishing protection, a firewall, and more.

Because of AVG’s paired-down approach to security, you won’t get things like parental controls or a password manager. You will get an ad blocker, which is a feature that will make your browsing experience so much easier and safer.

The same can be said for Bitdefender’s password manager. You’ll be able to create and save complex passwords to keep your accounts safe without worrying about whether or not you’ll remember them.

If you have kiddos whose devices also need protection, Bitdefender offers parental controls. The internet is a weird place, and helping your kids navigate it can be more exhausting than having to rush a science fair project the night before the competition. If a feature-rich antivirus is on your list, Bitdefender has plenty of tools for you to enjoy.

Bitdefender vs. AVG: test results

Third-party testing is necessary to make sure antivirus software works as advertised. Since new threats are constantly emerging, the best antivirus software should be submitting itself for independent testing at least twice a year.

AV-TEST is one of the most trusted third-party testing sites available. It hammers security products with the most up-to-date malware, including ransomware, spyware, and adware. It also tests for performance issues caused by antivirus software as well as false positives, which are when an antivirus flags something as malicious when it’s not.

Bitdefender vs. AVG AV-TEST scores

Both AVG and Bitdefender did very well during the testing. The half-point deduction you see in Bitdefender’s Windows testing is from a false positive. There were no breaches of the software by actual viruses or malicious code, and it didn’t slow down the test computer. False positives can be annoying, especially when you’re trying to download or install something and your antivirus blocks it.

If false positives are concerning to you, AVG didn’t have any issues with them. In fact, AVG had perfect scores across all its products in all testing categories. That’s not bad for a freemium service without a lot of bells and whistles.

Bitdefender vs. AVG: compatibility and ease of use

We had generally good experiences using both sets of software. With AVG, we found the speed of the scans and the ability to customize our experience to be very useful.

With Bitdefender, we liked the ease and accessibility of all the features. Both antivirus services provided us with clean and organized dashboards.

While running Bitdefender, it found several pieces of malware on our system. It quarantined them so we could review and remediate them. We didn’t have malware on our system when running AVG.

We had different problems with each security service. With AVG, we weren’t thrilled with the disorganization of the help pages. However, when writing this comparison, we took a second look at AVG’s help pages, and they seemed to be much cleaner and easier to navigate.

Our biggest complaint with Bitdefender was the lack of features available for Apple users. We found the scheduled scans, firewall, file shredder, and other features to not be active on the Mac version of Bitdefender. We feel that if a software company is going to charge the same price for a Mac product as they do for a Windows product, all the features should be available.

Bitdefender vs. AVG: customer service

AVG doesn’t offer a live chat, which is the biggest difference between the two antiviruses. For us, that’s a huge minus. Live chat is such a helpful tool when you’re trying to quickly troubleshoot a problem. We feel like not having this feature in AVG’s support offerings is kind of a deal-breaker, especially when the products perform so well in threat testing.

As far as our experience with either company’s customer support, we had pleasant and friendly reps that we contacted via phone support. Unfortunately, neither representative was very helpful when we were looking for specific features on our Macs. It seems they were knowledgeable enough with the Windows operating system but not the others offered.

AVG does offer a service called Premium Tech Support. It’s a yearly paid service that will help you out with more than just your AVG product. Here’s a little industry secret: any time you see an antivirus company offering paid additional support on their website, it’s likely a third-party service based in the U.S.

AVG has three tiers of premium support available, depending on your needs. Knowing what the wholesale value is for these support services, we can tell you AVG’s prices are a little high. If this comprehensive tech support is something you want because you need troubleshooting on your printer every three months (printers are the worst), then we would suggest purchasing it independently and saving yourself some money.

Bitdefender vs. AVG FAQs

Bitdefender vs. AVG: which is better?

You should definitely be using antivirus software, but choosing which one can be exhausting. On paper, Bitdefender comes out as the winner in this race, but that doesn’t mean you should discount AVG. Bitdefender offers more in the way of features and also includes live chat with its support. But AVG has stellar protection scores, did a great overhaul on its Support Center, and caters to people who aren’t looking for a lot of frills with their antivirus. We’d be comfortable using or recommending either of these products.

4.8

Learn More

On Bitdefender's website

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Bitdefender

• Antivirus software offering reliable security
• Simple yet powerful interface tools
• Perfect protection score in third-party tests
• Premium features incur additional subscription fees

Bitdefender vs. AVG alternatives

Whether you’re looking for something different for your Windows PC or you want a service that provides full features for your Mac, we have suggestions that aren’t Bitdefender or AVG. If you’re interested in the best free antivirus providers available, we included some of those too.

• Avast: If you’re looking for a free antivirus that keeps you safe, Avast may be your answer. We found it offers more features with its free product than other antivirus software. We also found it to have better compatibility than other free products. While there are some drawbacks, you may find this to be one of the best free antivirus software products overall.
  
  Get Avast | Read Our Avast Review
• McAfee: McAfee is a tried and true product. It’s one of the longest-running security products for good reason: it works. If you’re looking for features and services like a VPN that can be bundled into your antivirus software, then you should give McAfee a look. It has packages that just include antivirus as well as those that bundle everything you need for a security stack you can feel confident using.
  
  Get McAfee | Read Our McAfee Review
  
• MacKeeper: We talk a lot about how there are limited features for macOS on most antivirus programs, but MacKeeper was built for macOS. It offers antivirus for Mac, a VPN, ID theft guard, patch management, and more. We liked it so much when we reviewed it that we began using it ourselves.
  
  Get MacKeeper | Read Our MacKeeper Review
  

4.8

Learn More

On Bitdefender's website

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Bitdefender

• Antivirus software offering reliable security
• Simple yet powerful interface tools
• Perfect protection score in third-party tests
• Premium features incur additional subscription fees

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary lives in Los Angeles and has been a cybersecurity writer for over five years. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, her career in online security began in sales and content creation for a private cybersecurity firm.