Head to head · 8 comparisons
Two products, side by side
Each comparison lines up both products' lab results, false positives, performance impact, first-year and renewal prices, and features, then tells you which to pick in which situation.
Prices and lab results verified Editorial policy
Compare all 8 in one table
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Bitdefender vs Norton9.0 vs 8.8 · our pick: BitdefenderThese are the top two suites in our ranking, and the lab data barely separates them on protection. The real differences are the VPN, cloud backup and what you pay in year two.- vs
Norton vs McAfee8.8 vs 8.5 · our pick: NortonThe two big US consumer brands both bundle a VPN and both sell through steep first-year discounts. On the lab data, Norton protects better and McAfee runs lighter. - vs
Bitdefender vs ESET9.0 vs 8.6 · our pick: BitdefenderTwo European vendors with excellent lab records. Bitdefender wins on raw protection; ESET wins on false alarms and on predictable pricing. 
vsAvast vs Bitdefender8.5 vs 9.0 · our pick: BitdefenderBoth have a free edition and both score at the top of the labs. The questions are what the paid plans add and how much you weigh Avast's 2024 FTC order.
vsTotalAV vs Norton7.6 vs 8.8 · our pick: NortonBoth are sold hard with discounts, and both protect well in the labs. Norton includes far more in its plan and slows a PC down far less.
vsSurfshark vs Bitdefender7.5 vs 9.0 · our pick: BitdefenderOne is a VPN company's security bundle, the other an antivirus specialist with a capped VPN. Which is right depends on whether the VPN or the antivirus is the main purchase.
vsMalwarebytes vs Bitdefender7.4 vs 9.0 · our pick: BitdefenderMalwarebytes is famous as a cleanup scanner; Bitdefender as a full suite. In 2026 the lab data separates them clearly.- vsNorton vs Avast8.8 vs 8.5 · our pick: NortonNorton and Avast both belong to Gen Digital and score almost identically in AV-Comparatives' Real-World test. The differences are price structure, features and history.
Comparison matrix
Pairs with a full comparison are linked. For other pairs, open both reviews side by side or use the comparison table.
| Bitdefender | Norton | ESET | Avast | McAfee | TotalAV | Surfshark | Malwarebytes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitdefender | · | vs (Bitdefender vs Norton) | vs (Bitdefender vs ESET) | vs (Avast vs Bitdefender) | – | – | vs (Surfshark vs Bitdefender) | vs (Malwarebytes vs Bitdefender) |
| Norton | vs (Bitdefender vs Norton) | · | – | vs (Norton vs Avast) | vs (Norton vs McAfee) | vs (TotalAV vs Norton) | – | – |
| ESET | vs (Bitdefender vs ESET) | – | · | – | – | – | – | – |
| Avast | vs (Avast vs Bitdefender) | vs (Norton vs Avast) | – | · | – | – | – | – |
| McAfee | – | vs (Norton vs McAfee) | – | – | · | – | – | – |
| TotalAV | – | vs (TotalAV vs Norton) | – | – | – | · | – | – |
| Surfshark | vs (Surfshark vs Bitdefender) | – | – | – | – | – | · | – |
| Malwarebytes | vs (Malwarebytes vs Bitdefender) | – | – | – | – | – | – | · |