Best for involved 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 a hands-off experience

4.5

Learn More

On Avira's website

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Avira

• Advanced registry cleaner and VPN included
• Firewall feature for Windows
• Somewhat pricey

In order to choose the best antivirus software, you can end up researching multiple products. In the end, you may choose the one that’s widely advertised but doesn’t fit your needs. Luckily, our team has done the heavy lifting for you and compared two leading antivirus: Bitdefender and Avira.

Bitdefender and Avira both have a free service that you can upgrade for more features at a monthly or annual price. Bitdefender Antivirus Free is primarily available for Windows users, while Avira Antivirus covers both Windows and Mac users for free. But how do the two paid antiviruses stack up against each other?

We’ll dive into Bitdefender vs. Avira and discuss their competitive pricing plans, malware protection abilities, bonus features like a virtual private network (VPN), and more, so you can focus on protecting your devices with the right antivirus for you.

Bitdefender vs. Avira review at a glance

At first glance, Avira stands out because of its free downloadable software for both Windows and Mac users. Avira Free also comes with a password manager and a VPN, which allows for an encrypted web surfing experience. Bitdefender Free is available only for Windows users. Unlike Avira Free, it doesn’t come with a free VPN, ransomware protection, or a junk cleaner.

Upgrading to Bitdefender’s Ultimate Security unlocks a lot more security features. It protects hard drives and SSDs from ransomware attacks and also has features like credit card fraud alerts. Bitdefender not only protects your computer with antivirus across multiple platforms but also protects physical and digital belongings that may be important to you.

Bitdefender acts as a shield that pushes attackers away, while Avira acts as a sword that finds viruses and clears them out.

• Bitdefender: Best for involved protection
• Avira: Best for a hands-off experience

Bitdefender vs. Avira compared

	Bitdefender	Avira
Price	$14.99–$59.99/first yr	$26.99–$129.99/first yr
Max number of protected devices	10	25
24/7 customer support
Compatibility	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, and more
Free version
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Ad blocker	Yes (with VPN)
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get Avira Read Avira Review

If you opt to pay for a plan, Avira’s mighty sword comes with plenty of features, and the free version sets up a great antivirus foundation. Avira Prime comes with features like VIP customer support, a password manager, data breach scans, and an unlimited VPN. Plus, it runs scans to block malware and phishing threats.

Avira Prime’s price ranges from $59.99–$129.99/first yr depending on how many devices you wish to protect. You can start by protecting up to five devices, but it also has a 25-device subscription if you need more devices protected. If you are a Mac user, Avira runs natively on Apple’s M series silicon chips, as well as Windows 11 and current versions of Android and iOS.

Bitdefender’s Ultimate Security plan costs Free, protects up to 10 devices, and its features both protect you and predict when threats are on their way. Ultimate Security has three categories of features: protection and performance, privacy, and identity protection. Protection features include multi-layered ransomware blockers, anti-phishing, advanced threat defense, and many more.

Bitdefender vs. Avira: prices

	Bitdefender Best Pricing	Avira
Price range	$14.99–$59.99/first yr	$26.99–$129.99/first yr
Best value plan	Bitdefender Ultimate Security for Free	Avira Prime for $59.99–$129.99/first yr
Money-back guarantee	Yes — 30 days	Yes — 60 days
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get Avira Read Avira Review

The biggest difference between Bitdefender and Avira is in the cost of their premium security suites. Avira Prime can cost anywhere between , and it comes with comprehensive antivirus software, a PC cleaner (junk cleaner for macOS), an unlimited VPN, and a password manager. Bitdefender Ultimate Security at Free also comes with the antivirus, plus security features that protect you from malware, tracking, identity fraud, and other cyberthreats.

From a financial standpoint, Bitdefender gives much more for a comparable price. Bitdefender Ultimate Security protects up to 10 devices, while Avira Prime starts by protecting five. If you were to choose to cover up to 25 devices with Avira Prime, you would cover more devices but with fewer features than Bitdefender, at more than twice the base cost of Avira Prime.

When it comes to their free versions, Avira has the advantage over Bitdefender by offering more features to test out before deciding to upgrade. With fewer features, the only true way to try out Bitdefender is to take advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee. This contrasts with Avira’s 60-day money-back guarantee.

Bitdefender vs. Avira: features

	Bitdefender Best Features	Avira
Manual and scheduled scans
Phishing protection
Ransomware protection
Firewall	Yes (Windows only)	Yes (Windows only)
Parental controls
Password manager
VPN
Ad blocker	Yes (with VPN)
Device optimization tools
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get Avira Read Avira Review

If you choose to test out the free versions of Bitdefender and Avira, you’ll find scanning for phishing attempts, ransomware, and malware. However, Bitdefender free is only compatible with Windows PCs. For macOS, we found Bitdefender’s Virus Scanner in the Apple App Store. This app can scan for malware and quarantine dangerous files, just like the Windows counterpart.

Now if detecting viruses is all you need, then both programs will do just fine. But if you want more protection while surfing the internet, then Avira has got you covered with a VPN and a password manager, so you can feel more secure with your day-to-day online activities.

Another Avira feature that can help your device is the Junk Cleaner. It scans all storage devices to make sure there are no files that could clutter or be hiding to potentially harm your system. Downloading files off the internet can be dicey; one download could be carrying a virus that sneaks onto your SSD.

With Avira Prime, you also get dark web monitoring. This feature looks to see if your information has been compromised and is available for sale on the dark web, which is notorious for underground black markets. You also get alerts any time your identity has been compromised in security breaches.

However, Bitdefender Ultimate Security comes with unique features like comprehensive identity theft protection, including identity theft insurance. Bitdefender watches for your Social Security, credit and debit cards, address, and even medical records to see if they’re being used by someone you didn’t authorize. It also includes parental controls, so you can filter potentially dangerous or inappropriate internet content and manage your kids’ screen time.

Bitdefender vs. Avira: test results

When dealing with services that protect people’s personal information, it’s best to consult an objective third party so that our faith in these products is not swayed by biases or sponsored opinions. That’s why we use a trusted certified third-party tester like AV-TEST. Its antivirus testing is rigorous and ensures each product has gone through quality control so the marketing of the product is correct in its claims.

Bitdefender vs. Avira AV-TEST scores

	Bitdefender Best Results	Avira
Windows score	17.5/18.0	18.0/18.0
macOS score	18.0/18.0	17.5/18.0
Android score	18.0/18.0	17.0/18.0
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get Avira Read Avira Review

Both Bitdefender and Avira were tested on Windows, macOS, and Android. In our tests, Bitdefender received 100% in protection for both Windows 10 and macOS Ventura, while Avira scored 100% on Windows but came up with 99.2% on macOS. That may seem like an inconsequential difference, but it does clarify that Avira is best for Windows users.

When looking at performance, Avira outshines Bitdefender. Avira’s tests show that it slows down below the industry average, whereas Bitdefender will hover within three percentage points of the industry average. Avira also beats out Bitdefender in usability, as it came up with fewer false positives on malware in scans.

Bitdefender’s biggest strength is protection, but it suffers from computer slowdowns and recognizing threats as malware correctly. Avira has the lead in being easy on your computer’s speeds and recognizing malware but suffers in protection if you’re a Mac user.

Bitdefender vs. Avira: compatibility and customer support

	Bitdefender	Avira
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Browser extensions	Yes — Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge	Yes — Chrome, Firefox
24/7 customer support
Customer support options	Live chat, phone, email, forums, online guides	Live chat, phone, email, forums, online guides
Learn more	Get Bitdefender Read Bitdefender Review	Get Avira Read Avira Review

When it comes to ease of use, both Avira and Bitdefender are equally user-friendly. From personal testing, both programs were relatively easy, and both have a sidebar that makes it easier to search for the right tool. You can schedule scans, track the protection status on your device, and find optimization tools to help your device’s performance.

While both antiviruses are great in user experience, Avira has an advantage over Bitdefender by being the more equipped free version. Downloading Avira is quick, and it can start scanning and cleaning drives before you even think about plans.

As far as customer support, only Bitdefender offers 24/7 support. And with Avira, a paid subscription is needed to get phone support. You can reach Avira and Bitdefender by text, email, and/or calling them. In our experience, both customer support teams were polite and eager to help with the problems that were presented to them.

It’s also normal for tech companies to offer knowledge bases to aid in self-diagnosing and troubleshooting problems. Avira’s knowledge base offers guides, which are categorized based on which system you’re having trouble with, with step-by-step instructions. Bitdefender offers the same plus video tutorials for troubleshooting.

Bitdefender vs. Avira FAQs

Bitdefender vs. Avira: which is better?

If you’re in the market for an antivirus, you can’t go wrong with either Bitdefender or Avira. Both antiviruses are robust and user-friendly tools that can detect and destroy malware threats, but the differences in free vs. paid can be substantial. For paid, Bitdefender Ultimate Security wins out for its massive list of safety features, having higher AV-TEST scores, and its modest price.

Bitdefender vs. Avira alternatives

Bitdefender and Avira are just two of many stand-out antivirus providers:

• Norton Antivirus: Norton is great if you’re looking for real-time threat detection, identity theft prevention tools, and parental controls.
  Get Norton Antivirus | Read Our Norton Antivirus Review
• Kaspersky Antivirus: Kaspersky offers extensive cybersecurity protection with features like a two-way firewall, stalkerware protection, and an unlimited VPN for browsing and streaming.
  Get Kaspersky Antivirus | Read Our Kaspersky Antivirus Review
• McAfee Antivirus: McAfee is a leading name in antivirus with bonus features like parental controls and firewall security.
  Get McAfee Antivirus | Read Our McAfee Antivirus 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

Sameer Narain

About the Author

Sameer M. Narain is a freelance writer with a foundation in systems, software, and hardware. With over 10 years of experience in testing various antivirus programs, data encryption programs, VPNs, and drive defragmentation software, he is adept at synthesizing information for the everyday reader and tech enthusiast. He has a special interest in staying secure for big team-related projects where confidentiality is king, therefore his writing often attempts to solve the bigger picture with easily accessible programs.