Head to head

Surfshark Antivirus vs Bitdefender

One 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.

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

#7 overall

Surfshark One

7.5/10

A VPN-first bundle with antivirus for unlimited devices.

$44.85first 15 months¹

Renewal price not stated by vendor

Not verified on vendor site

Wins 1 of 8 criteria

View Surfshark One 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 2 of 8 criteria

View Bitdefender pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Criterion by criterion

Bitdefender takes 2 of 8 criteria to 1, with 5 tied or not comparable. Every row uses published lab results or the vendor's own price page.

Surfshark Antivirus and Bitdefender compared criterion by criterion. A tick marks the better figure.
Criterion	Surfshark Antivirus	Bitdefender
Our score	7.5rank #7	9.0rank #1
Real-World protection	Not tested	99.5%³ADVANCED+
False positives (Real-World)	Not tested	5³false positives
Malware protection (Sep 2026)	Not tested	99.98%⁴ADVANCED+
AV-TEST Windows	6 / 4.5 / 6⁵16.5/18 · Jun 2026	6 / 6 / 6⁶18/18 · Aug 2026
Performance impact	Not tested	8.7⁷ADVANCED+
Price, first term	$44.85¹first 15 months · Unlimited devices	$59.99²first year · 5 devices
Renewal per year	Not stated	Not stated
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Android	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
VPN	Unlimited	200 MB/day
Password manager	Not included	Included
Cloud backup	Not included	Not included
Breach / dark-web monitoring	Included	Not included
Parental controls	Not included	Not confirmed
Free version	Not included	Windows only

Lower is better for false positives, performance impact and prices. Features refer to the ranked plan: Surfshark One and Bitdefender Total Security.

Bottom line

If the antivirus is the point, buy Bitdefender: its lab evidence is far deeper. If you want a full VPN for every device and solid baseline antivirus, Surfshark One is the cheaper bundle.

Choose Surfshark Antivirus if…

You want an unlimited VPN on unlimited devices
Lowest first-term cost (about $2.99/month during Black Friday)
Breach alerts included

View Surfshark One pricing Full Surfshark Antivirus review

Choose Bitdefender if…

Much deeper lab record: 12 lab results vs Surfshark's single AV-TEST round
Antivirus for iOS and better performance scores (6/6 vs 4.5/6 at AV-TEST)
Password manager included

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.

Surfshark AntivirusBitdefender

Protection 40%: Surfshark Antivirus: 7.2; Bitdefender: 9.8
Performance 15%: Surfshark Antivirus: 6.5; Bitdefender: 9.1
Value 20%: Surfshark Antivirus: 8.6; Bitdefender: 7.8
Features 15%: Surfshark Antivirus: 8.0; Bitdefender: 8.6
Trust & transparency 10%: Surfshark Antivirus: 7.0; Bitdefender: 9.0

Add a third

Every figure, against the field

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

9.0

Bitdefender#1 overall

First term

$59.99

first year

Real‑World protection: 99.5%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

7.5

Surfshark Antivirus#7 overall

First term

$44.85¹

LowestUnverified

first 15 months

Real‑World protection: Not tested
False positives: Not tested
AV-TEST (Jun 2026): 6 / 4.5 / 6
Performance impact: Not tested
Devices: Unlimited
Renewal / year: Not stated
VPN: Unlimited
iOS app

View Surfshark One pricing

30-day money-back guarantee

Read the Surfshark review

Antivirus comparison. Product columns, feature rows. Comparing Bitdefender, Surfshark Antivirus.
Head to head2 suites	Bitdefender#1 overall	Surfshark (Surfshark Antivirus)#7 overall
Score & price
	Editorial score 9.0 out of 10	Editorial score 7.5 out of 10
	$59.99first year	$44.85¹first 15 monthsUnverifiedBlack Friday priceLowest
Renewal / year	Not stated	Not stated
Devices	5	Unlimited
Money-back	30 days	30 days
Independent lab results
³	99.5%ADVANCED+	Not tested
³	5	Not tested
AV-TEST Windows⁶	6 / 6 / 6Aug 2026TOP PRODUCT	6 / 4.5 / 6Jun 2026Certified
⁷	8.7lower is better	Not tested
In the ranked plan
VPN	200 MB/day	Unlimited
Password manager
Cloud backup
Breach monitoring
Parental controls	Not confirmed
Free version	Windows only
Platforms
Windows
macOS
Android
iOS
Verdict
Best for	overall protection	VPN + antivirus bundle
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 Surfshark Antivirus (opens Surfshark site in a new tab)Review: Surfshark Antivirus

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 2026¹. Lab rows: AV-Comparatives Real-World (Feb–May 2026)³ and Performance (Sep 2026)⁷; AV-TEST Windows (Aug 2026⁶, Surfshark Jun 2026⁵). “Not tested” means the product was not in that test.

Surfshark vs Bitdefender: questions

Is Surfshark Antivirus as good as Bitdefender?

We can't say it is, because there is far less data. Surfshark Antivirus has one AV-TEST result (June 2026: 6/6 protection, 4.5/6 performance). Bitdefender has 12 results across both labs in 2025–2026, including AV-TEST's Best Protection award.

Surfshark vs Bitdefender · Our pick

For most readers: Bitdefender. Prefer Surfshark Antivirus? 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 Surfshark One pricing Read the review

We may earn a commission through affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.

More head-to-heads

Back to the antivirus rankings or read the Surfshark Antivirus review and Bitdefender review.

Sources

All accessed 12 Nov 2026

1.Surfshark pricing page. surfshark.com/pricing (opens in a new tab) · secondary source for USD price
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, June 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-windows/windows-11/june-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
6.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)
7.AV-Comparatives Performance Test, September 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/performance-test-september-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