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Best Full Security Kit
Free version comes with malware, spyware, and ransomware protection
Includes unsafe email attachment blocking
Various scanning options may be confusing to some people
Best No-Frills Security
Free version with manual scans
Near-perfect protection scores for Premium plan
High starting price point for paid plans
Malwarebytes and AVG regularly top the best antivirus lists, but which one is best for you depends on the features you need. AVG antivirus is a good option if you want an antivirus program that won’t interrupt your flow. It boasts a near-perfect protection rating in third-party testing, which makes it a top contender when you want security protection you can trust.
While Malwarebytes is also a top-tier antivirus, you won’t get as much of a benefit if you’re an Apple user, as some features aren’t available for Macs or iPhones. Windows users will also miss out on a firewall with Malwarebytes — but we do like its 60-day money-back guarantee.
Both have free antivirus plans so you can try out the product before you commit, giving you a chance to make sure your antivirus app of choice works with your operating system and provides the security you need.
Let’s look at the features and prices for Malwarebytes vs. AVG to help you narrow down your choice of the best cybersecurity product for you. Let’s get this dueling software party started.
Although we think both of these products are exceptional antivirus programs, there are some differences right out of the box.
For one, Malwarebytes doesn’t come with a firewall. AVG has a firewall, but only for Windows users. Also of note, Malwarebytes reports that it can coexist with other antivirus programs, which is not always the case with other antivirus software. But both provide excellent protection from cyber threats like phishing, adware, and ransomware.
As pricing goes, you’ll find both AVG Internet Security and AVG Ultimate reasonable — both come in at under $100 for the first year. The Internet Security subscription has fewer features but costs $46.68/first yr for 1 device for one device, or almost $20.00 less per year than Ultimate, which costs $32.50/first yr for 10 devices for 10 devices.
Malwarebytes has various options to choose from if you want more of an ala carte selection. For example, the most affordable plan, Premium, covers one device for $59.99/yr, while the Premium + Privacy VPN option covers five devices and runs you $99.99/yr.
 AVG |
 Malwarebytes |
|
| Starting price | $46.68/first yr for 1 device | $59.99/yr |
| Free version | ||
| Max number of protected devices | 10 | 5 |
| Real-time protection | ||
| Phishing protection | Yes, for Windows | |
| Ransomware protection | ||
| Compatibility | Windows, Android, macOS, iOS | Windows, Android, macOS, iOS |
| 24/7 customer support | Yes, with premium tech support | |
| Learn more | Get AVG | Get Malwarebytes |
Another big difference is that with Malwarebytes, you can only get security protection for up to five devices. AVG doubles that, allowing coverage for ten. That may not mean much if you only have just a few devices that need antivirus protection. But if your entire household needs antivirus protection on more than one device each, AVG starts to look like a better fit.
AVG also has 24/7 customer support, which many people want in case there’s technical trouble during off-peak hours. You won’t have that option with Malwarebytes, but it does have a chat feature where you can get automated replies for basic questions. You can also fill out a support ticket and wait for an emailed response.
AVG |
Malwarebytes |
|
| Price range | $24.99–$59.88/first yr | $59.99–$99.99/yr |
| Best value plan | Internet Security (10 devices) for $59.88/first yr for 10 devices | Premium + Privacy VPN for |
| Money-back guarantee | Yes, 30 days | Yes, 60 days |
| Learn more | Get AVG | Get Malwarebytes |
At a glance, the lowest prices don’t seem much different between these two products. For those prices, you get some of the things you’d expect the best antivirus programs to have like real-time protection, ransomware, and phishing protection. Keep in mind these are the prices to protect one device. Also, Malwarebytes doesn’t include phishing protection for macOS, which is unfortunate for Apple users.
As you move up to multiple device protection and features, the products begin to differ. Currently, you can get AVG’s Internet Security plan that protects 10 devices for $59.88/first yr for 10 devices. What you won’t get for that cost is the AVG Secure VPN, but you could also easily buy VPN service from NordVPN, Surfshark, or ExpressVPN if you don’t want all the extras that come with upgrading to AVG Ultimate.
If you do want privacy and device clean-up tools to use alongside your antivirus and VPN, AVG Ultimate costs about $20.00 extra each year.
You could also go with Malwarebytes since it includes a VPN app with the Premium + Privacy VPN plan for .
Malwarebytes also gives you a longer money-back guarantee than AVG. With the 60-day timeframe, you get twice the time to try the product. AVG only gives you 30 days to test the water.
| Feature | AVG |
Malwarebytes |
| Manual and scheduled scans | ||
| Real-time protection | ||
| Phishing protection | Yes, for Windows | |
| Ransomware protection | Yes, for Windows | |
| Firewall | Yes, for Windows | |
| VPN | ||
| Wi-Fi security | Yes, with Privacy VPN | |
| Browser security | ||
| Ad blocker | ||
| Device optimization tools | Yes, with Ultimate plan | |
| Learn more | Get AVG | Get Malwarebytes |
When searching for the best anti-malware tools, you want software that guards your data from malicious threats. That means the product you choose should protect against phishing, ransomware, spyware, and adware — and have real-time protection to secure your device at all times.
As you look at the features both AVG and Malwarebytes include, there are a few differences you should know. For one, AVG comes with a firewall, but it’s only accessible to Windows users. Malwarebytes doesn’t include a firewall at all.
Also, the phishing protection Malwarebytes includes is only for Windows users. The same is true for its ransomware and zero-day exploit protection. These are some of the main reasons people buy antivirus software, so we’re disappointed to see them excluded from other operating systems.
AVG includes optimization tools with the Ultimate plan, but Malwarebytes doesn’t offer device optimization tools at all. This isn’t necessarily a make-or-break difference between these two, but device optimization tools can come in handy if you need to speed up your system performance.
We don’t take our antivirus reviews lightly because we know data security is crucial. Not only do we test the products we write about, but we also look at third-party testing scores to get a clear picture of how an antivirus program performs under a microscope. For this review, we relied on AV-TEST to give us a bird’s eye view of each product under rigorous testing pressure.
AVG |
Malwarebytes |
|
| AV-TEST Windows score | 18/18 | 17.5/18 |
| AV-TEST macOS score | 18/18 | N/A |
| AV-TEST Android score | 18/18 | N/A |
| Learn more | Get AVG | Get Malwarebytes |
For testing, Malwarebytes did not have any scores for Android or macOS systems. It did, however, score slightly less than AVG on Windows.[1] Meanwhile, AVG earned perfect scores across the board on all systems.[2,3,4]
When checking Malwarebytes for protection against malware infections, it scored less than the industry average for zero-day malware attacks. The industry average is a 99.6% detection rate, but Malwarebytes only scored a 98.5% detection rate in May 2023 and 98.6% in June 2023.
Malwarebytes also scored less than the industry average when tested for the detection of recently discovered widespread malware. The industry average is a perfect 100%, and Malwarebytes fell short with a detection rate of 99.9% for both May and June.
In contrast, AVG scored 100% protection against zero-day malware attacks, which is higher than the industry average of 99.6%. AVG had one false blockage while installing and using legitimate software, but that’s also the industry standard, so it shouldn’t be too concerning.
AVG |
Malwarebytes |
|
| Windows | ||
| macOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| Browser extensions | Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Opera | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari |
| 24/7 customer support | Yes, with Premium Tech Support | |
| Customer support options | Knowledge base articles, support tickets, phone support, social media, live chat | Knowledge base articles, support tickets, product guides, automated chat |
| Learn more | Get AVG | Get Malwarebytes |
The compatibility of the two antivirus programs is similar. They work for any type of device and with most browser extensions. We didn’t see Opera listed for Malwarebytes and AVG does work with that browser, so if Opera is your browser of choice you may want to opt for AVG.
The interfaces for both were easy to use, and the scanning worked without any issues. With Malwarebytes, the full scan option only works for Windows, so we had to use the quick scan on our Mac.
We ran a deep scan using AVG on our MacBook and were pleased with the speed, and it had no noticeable impact on the device’s performance. It scanned over one million files in just over 13 minutes.
The customer support options couldn’t be further apart, though. AVG gives you a host of options to pursue if you need assistance. The chat feature is live, so you can communicate with a person, not an automated chatbot like the one Malwarebytes offers. You can also choose to purchase Premium Tech Support that covers both AVG and non-AVG issues and costs $79.00–$119.00/per call or $199/yr.
The other option AVG has for customer support is social media. If you’d like, you can reach out to its customer service team on Facebook or Twitter. The caveat we’d like to mention is when we used the customer support phone number, we didn’t have great success with the representative. She was friendly and tried to be helpful, but wasn’t able to explain why we were missing a firewall.
Malwarebytes is a good antivirus program, and it comes with features many users will enjoy (like phishing and ransomware protection for Windows), but we wouldn’t say it’s better than AVG. AVG is an outstanding antivirus software with multiple features and near-perfect third-party test scores as well as better support for macOS.
You do not need both AVG and Malwarebytes, as running two antivirus programs can slow your device down and interfere with performance. Malwarebytes coexists with other antivirus software, but you must add that antivirus’ files and drivers to the exclusions list to allow it to run. For the average user, that may be a cumbersome process.
There are many differences between Malwarebytes and AVG like the number of devices you can cover, customer support options, and features that work with macOS.
It’s sometimes difficult to call one product better than another when they are both good for different reasons. Depending on your situation, either of these antivirus programs may work for you.
Malwarebytes is more for those who don’t want overwhelming features and need a straightforward product to keep data secure when using Windows. It’s not the best program for Apple users, as the features are severely lacking for macOS.
When you want the most security features, we think AVG is the better antivirus overall because of the numerous options included: fair prices, excellent third-party test scores, and numerous customer support choices.
If neither of these antivirus programs scratches that security itch, we have some alternatives. These are all good options when optimal data security is what you need.
Free version comes with malware, spyware, and ransomware protection
Includes unsafe email attachment blocking
Various scanning options may be confusing to some people
[1] Test Malwarebytes Premium 4.5 for Windows 10
[2] Test AVG Internet Security 23.4 & 23.5 for Windows 10
