Head to head

Avast vs Bitdefender

Both 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.

Compared by the AVSO Editorial Desk
Prices and lab results verified 12 Nov 2026How we score Editorial policy

#4 overall

Avast Premium Security (10 devices)

8.5/10

The best free engine, with a privacy history to know about.

$69.48first year

Renews at $99.99/yr

Wins 1 of 8 criteria

View Avast pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Our pick · #1 overall

Bitdefender Total Security

9.0/10

The most consistent lab record of 2026.

$59.99first year

Renewal price not stated by vendor

Wins 4 of 8 criteria

View Bitdefender pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Criterion by criterion

Bitdefender takes 4 of 8 criteria to 1, with 3 tied or not comparable. Every row uses published lab results or the vendor's own price page.

Avast and Bitdefender compared criterion by criterion. A tick marks the better figure.
Criterion	Avast	Bitdefender
Our score	8.5rank #4	9.0rank #1
Real-World protection	99.3%³ADVANCED+	99.5%³ADVANCED+
False positives (Real-World)	5³false positives	5³false positives
Malware protection (Sep 2026)	99.96%⁴ADVANCED	99.98%⁴ADVANCED+
AV-TEST Windows	6 / 6 / 6⁵18/18 · Aug 2026	6 / 6 / 6⁵18/18 · Aug 2026
Performance impact	5.2⁶ADVANCED+	8.7⁶ADVANCED+
Price, first term	$69.48¹first year · 10 devices	$59.99²first year · 5 devices
Renewal per year	$99.99	Not stated
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
VPN	Not included	200 MB/day
Password manager	Not included	Included
Cloud backup	Not included	Not included
Breach / dark-web monitoring	Not included	Not included
Parental controls	Not included	Not confirmed
Free version	Included	Windows only

Lower is better for false positives, performance impact and prices. Features refer to the ranked plan: Avast Premium Security (10 devices) and Bitdefender Total Security.

Bottom line

If you will pay, Bitdefender is our pick: stronger protection results and a cleaner record. If you want free protection that the labs actually tested, Avast Free is excellent, and Avast's 10-device Premium plan is good value.

Choose Avast if…

Free edition that the labs tested directly (AV-TEST 18/18)
10 devices for $69.48 in year one
Lighter on the PC: 5.2 vs 8.7 impact score

View Avast pricing Full Avast review

Choose Bitdefender if…

Better protection: 99.5% vs 99.3% Real-World; ADVANCED+ vs ADVANCED in September's Malware test
Password manager included in Total Security
No FTC data-sale order in its history

View Bitdefender pricing Full Bitdefender review

Where the points come from

Our five sub-scores, out of 10, with their weight in the overall score. How each is calculated.

AvastBitdefender

Protection 40%: Avast: 9.3; Bitdefender: 9.8
Performance 15%: Avast: 9.4; Bitdefender: 9.1
Value 20%: Avast: 8.2; Bitdefender: 7.8
Features 15%: Avast: 7.2; Bitdefender: 8.6
Trust & transparency 10%: Avast: 6.6; Bitdefender: 9.0

Add a third

Every figure, against the field

Pre-set to Avast and Bitdefender. Add a third suite, or clear the selection to see all 8.

9.0

Bitdefender#1 overall

First term

$59.99

Lowest

first year

Real‑World protection: Highest99.5%ADVANCED+
False positives: 5
AV-TEST (Aug 2026): 6 / 6 / 6
Performance impact: 8.7
Devices: 5
Renewal / year: Not stated
VPN: 200 MB/day
iOS app

View Bitdefender pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Read the Bitdefender review

8.5

Avast#4 overall

First term

$69.48

first year

Real‑World protection: 99.3%ADVANCED+
False positives: 5
AV-TEST (Aug 2026): 6 / 6 / 6
Performance impact: Lightest5.2
Devices: 10
Renewal / year: $99.99
VPN
iOS app

View Avast pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Read the Avast review

Antivirus comparison. Product columns, feature rows. Comparing Bitdefender, Avast.
Head to head2 suites	Bitdefender#1 overall	Avast#4 overall
Score & price
	Editorial score 9.0 out of 10	Editorial score 8.5 out of 10
	$59.99first yearLowest	$69.48first year
Renewal / year	Not stated	$99.99×1.4 year one
Devices	5	10
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Independent lab results
³	99.5%ADVANCED+Highest	99.3%ADVANCED+
³	5	5
AV-TEST Windows⁵	6 / 6 / 6Aug 2026TOP PRODUCT	6 / 6 / 6Aug 2026TOP PRODUCT
⁶	8.7lower is better	5.2lower is betterLightest
In the ranked plan
VPN	200 MB/day
Password manager
Cloud backup
Breach monitoring
Parental controls	Not confirmed
Free version	Windows only
Platforms
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Verdict
Best for	overall protection	free antivirus
Vendor pricingOpens the vendor's site. Some links are affiliate links.	View pricing for Bitdefender (opens Bitdefender site in a new tab)Review: Bitdefender	View pricing for Avast (opens Avast site in a new tab)Review: Avast

Prices are USD before tax for the plan each vendor leads with, read on its own pricing page on 12 Nov 2026. First-year prices are usually introductory; renewal is what you pay from year two, and “Not stated” means the vendor did not publish it. Black Friday prices are marked. McAfee: mcafee.com blocked our checks; prices from a secondary source updated 26 Aug 2026⁸. Surfshark Antivirus: Surfshark showed us local-currency prices; USD figure from a secondary source updated 4 Nov 2026⁹. Lab rows: AV-Comparatives Real-World (Feb–May 2026)³ and Performance (Sep 2026)⁶; AV-TEST Windows (Aug 2026⁵, Surfshark Jun 2026⁷). “Not tested” means the product was not in that test.

Avast vs Bitdefender: questions

Is Avast Free as good as Bitdefender Free?

Avast Free is the version the labs tested, and it scored 18/18 at AV-TEST in August 2026 and 99.3% in AV-Comparatives' Real-World test. Bitdefender's lab results are for its paid Total Security. Bitdefender Antivirus Free is Windows-only; Avast also has free Mac and mobile apps.

Avast vs Bitdefender · Our pick

For most readers: Bitdefender. Prefer Avast? Both are one click away.

The most consistent lab record of 2026. Total Security: $59.99 first year · 30-day money-back guarantee.

View Bitdefender pricing View Avast pricing Read the review

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More head-to-heads

Back to the antivirus rankings or read the Avast review and Bitdefender review.

Sources

All accessed 12 Nov 2026

1.Avast pricing page. avast.com/en-us/premium-security (opens in a new tab)
2.Bitdefender pricing page. bitdefender.com/en-us/consumer/total-security (opens in a new tab)
3.AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, February–May 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/real-world-protection-test-february-may-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
4.AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, September 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
5.AV-TEST Windows 11 home-user test, August 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-11/august-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
6.AV-Comparatives Performance Test, September 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/performance-test-september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
7.AV-TEST Windows 11 home-user test, June 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-11/june-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
8.McAfee price: mcafee.com blocked our checks; prices from a secondary source updated 26 Aug 2026. mcafee.com/en-us/antivirus/mcafee-total-protection.html (opens in a new tab) · unverified on vendor site
9.Surfshark Antivirus price: Surfshark showed us local-currency prices; USD figure from a secondary source updated 4 Nov 2026. surfshark.com/pricing (opens in a new tab) · unverified on vendor site