Methodology · version 1
How we test, and what we don't
We don't run a malware lab. We use the two independent labs that publish their methods, verify every price ourselves, and show the arithmetic.
Maintained by the AVSO Editorial Desk
Prices and lab results verified How we scoreEditorial policy
What we do, and what we don't
We do not run our own malware tests, and no review on this site claims hands-on detection testing. Building a credible malware lab takes thousands of live samples, clean reference systems and repeatable automation. Two independent labs already do this and publish their methods: AV-TEST (opens in a new tab) in Magdeburg, Germany, and AV-Comparatives (opens in a new tab) in Innsbruck, Austria.
What we do ourselves: read every relevant 2025–2026 report from both labs, record each product's results with the version tested, read each vendor's US pricing page, and combine all of it with a published formula. Every figure on the site carries a date (12 Nov 2026 for this edition) and a numbered source.
Scoring: five sub-scores, fixed weights
Each product gets five sub-scores out of 10. The overall score is their weighted sum, rounded to one decimal. The weights don't change between products or pages.
| Sub-score | Weight | How it's set |
|---|---|---|
| Protection | 40% | AV-Comparatives Real-World (Feb–May 2026) and Malware Protection (Mar and Sep 2026) rates and awards, AV-TEST protection points (Aug 2026, or Jun 2026 where that is the latest round a product entered), and the optional Advanced Threat test. Repeated false positives lower the score. Products with fewer lab results are scored conservatively: thin evidence is not treated as strong evidence.234 |
| Performance | 15% | AV-Comparatives' September 2026 impact score (lower is better), cross-checked against AV-TEST performance points and the April 2026 performance test.5 |
| Value | 20% | First-term price for the plan each vendor leads with, the published renewal price, devices covered and money-back terms. A large renewal jump costs points; an unpublished renewal costs fewer points than a large published one but is flagged. |
| Features | 15% | What the ranked plan includes, checked on the vendor's page: VPN and its limits, password manager, backup, breach monitoring, parental controls, platforms. |
| Trust & transparency | 10% | Pricing transparency, breadth of independent lab participation, and public enforcement history (for example the FTC's 2024 order against Avast).1 |
The full arithmetic
| Product | Protection | Performance | Value | Features | Trust | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitdefender | 9.8 | 9.1 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 9.0 | 9.0 |
| Norton | 9.4 | 9.5 | 7.2 | 9.4 | 8.0 | 8.8 |
| ESET | 9.3 | 8.9 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 9.4 | 8.6 |
| Avast | 9.3 | 9.4 | 8.2 | 7.2 | 6.6 | 8.5 |
| McAfee | 8.7 | 9.8 | 7.6 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 8.5 |
| TotalAV | 9.0 | 6.8 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.0 | 7.6 |
| Surfshark Antivirus | 7.2 | 6.5 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 7.5 |
| Malwarebytes | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 8.0 | 7.4 |
Sub-scores are editorial judgements anchored to the lab figures above; the weighting is mechanical.
Lab sources used in this edition
13 reports, each read on the lab's own site on 12 Nov 2026. We use the newest published round; when a newer round is announced but not yet published, we say so rather than guess.
| Report | Measures | Date |
|---|---|---|
| AV-TEST Windows 11 home-user test, August 20264TOP PRODUCT needs at least 17.5 of 18 points. The page does not state a publication date. | Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6 | Jul–Aug 2026 |
| AV-TEST Windows 11 home-user test, June 20266 | Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6 | May–Jun 2026 |
| AV-TEST macOS Tahoe test, June 20267 | Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6 | Jun 2026 |
| AV-TEST Android test, September 20268 | Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6 | Sep 2026 |
| AV-TEST Awards 2025 (consumer)9 | Annual awards across all 2025 test rounds | Published 12 Mar 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Real-World Protection Test, February–May 20262The July–October 2026 report had not been published on 12 Nov 2026. | Share of 400 live web threats blocked | Released 15 Jun 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, September 20263 | Online protection rate against malware samples | Released 15 Oct 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, March 202610 | Online protection rate against malware samples | Released 15 Apr 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Performance Test, September 20265 | Impact score; lower means less slowdown | Released 20 Oct 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Advanced Threat Protection Test 2026 (Consumer)11Optional test; vendors choose whether to take part. | Targeted attacks blocked, out of 15 | Released 10 Nov 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Consumer Summary Report 202512 | Year-end rating across the 2025 test series | Released 14 Jan 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test & Review 202613 | Mac malware protection rate | Released 17 Jun 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives Mobile Security Review 2026 (Android)14 | Android malware protection rate | Released 17 Jun 2026 |
How to read the awards
AV-Comparatives ranks products ADVANCED+, ADVANCED, STANDARD or TESTED, and lowers an award when a product produces many false positives. AV-TEST scores Protection, Performance and Usability from 0 to 6 each and gives TOP PRODUCT to products with at least 17.5 of 18 points. AV-Comparatives did not name a 2025 “Product of the Year”; its 2025 summary uses Top-Rated and Gold, Silver and Bronze category awards, so we never claim the former.
Some products are missing from some tests. Vendors choose which tests to enter, and the Mac and Android tests cover fewer products. We list the gaps on every review instead of hiding them.
How we verify prices
- Every price is read on the vendor's US pricing page, in USD before tax, on the date shown in the site header.
- We show the first-term price and, where the vendor publishes it, the renewal price. If no renewal is printed, we say “not stated”; we never estimate it.
- Black Friday and other promotions are labelled as such. Surfshark's Black Friday deal was live when we checked.
- When a vendor blocks our checks (McAfee returned “Access Denied”) or shows only local currency (Surfshark), we use a dated secondary source and mark the figure unverified everywhere it appears. We also leave those prices out of our structured data.
What we exclude, and why
Kaspersky performs well in lab tests, but since 2024 it can't be sold or updated in the United States. We explain that on a separate page and never link to a Kaspersky purchase.
Affiliate relationships never change a score. Most vendors on this site have no affiliate relationship with us at all; their buttons go straight to their official pricing pages. See the affiliate disclosure for the current list.
Updates and corrections
We re-check lab results when either lab publishes a new consumer report, and prices at least monthly and around major sales. If you spot an error, email editors@antivirussoftwareonline.com with the page and the source. Corrections are applied to the data files that feed every page, so a fixed figure changes everywhere at once.
Sources
All accessed
- 1.US Federal Trade Commission: FTC finalizes order with Avast banning it from selling or licensing web browsing data for advertising. ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/06/ftc-finalizes-order-avast-banning-it-selling-or-licensing-web-browsing-data-advertising-requiring-it (opens in a new tab)
- 2.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)
- 3.AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, September 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 4.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)
- 5.AV-Comparatives Performance Test, September 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/performance-test-september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 6.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)
- 7.AV-TEST macOS Tahoe test, June 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/home-macos/macos-tahoe/june-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 8.AV-TEST Android test, September 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/mobile-devices/android/september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 9.AV-TEST Awards 2025 (consumer). av-test.org/en/news/av-test-awards-2025-celebrating-the-very-best-of-it-security-products/ (opens in a new tab)
- 10.AV-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, March 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-march-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 11.AV-Comparatives Advanced Threat Protection Test 2026 (Consumer). av-comparatives.org/tests/advanced-threat-protection-test-2026-consumer/ (opens in a new tab)
- 12.AV-Comparatives Consumer Summary Report 2025. av-comparatives.org/tests/summary-report-2025/ (opens in a new tab)
- 13.AV-Comparatives Mac Security Test & Review 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/mac-security-test-review-2026/ (opens in a new tab)
- 14.AV-Comparatives Mobile Security Review 2026 (Android). av-comparatives.org/tests/mobile-security-review-2026/ (opens in a new tab)