Antivirus review · Ranked #5 of 8
McAfee review 2026
The lightest on your PC, the noisiest in one test. We reviewed McAfee Total Protection Plus using published lab results and prices we read on McAfee's site.
Reviewed by the AVSO Editorial Desk
Prices and lab results verified How we scoreEditorial policy
Our verdict on McAfee
8.5/10
Editorial score
#5 of 8 suites
McAfee is the lightest antivirus AV-Comparatives measured in September 2026, first of 20 products, and AV-TEST named it Best Performance for 2025. Protection is solid but not top tier (98.5% Real-World), and 36 false positives in the September Malware Protection Test dropped it to STANDARD. We could not verify prices on McAfee's own site.
Best for:Best for older or slower PCs
- Protection 40%
- 8.7
- Performance 15%
- 9.8
- Value 20%
- 7.6
- Features 15%
- 8.4
- Trust & transparency 10%
- 7.4
What it does well
- Lightest system impact of 20 products (AV-Comparatives, Sep 2026)
- AV-TEST 18/18 and TOP PRODUCT (August 2026)
- AV-TEST Best Performance and Best Advanced Protection 2025
- VPN included from the Plus tier
Where it falls short
- 36 false positives in the September 2026 Malware Protection Test (STANDARD)
- 98.5% Real-World protection, behind the top four
- Prices could not be verified on McAfee's own site
- Basic plan renews at $84.99, nearly 3× its first-year price (secondary source)
McAfee Total Protection Plus · 5 devices
$39.99first year1
Renewal price not stated by vendor
Not verified on vendor site30-day money-back guarantee (secondary source)
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On this page
McAfee in brief
If you have an older laptop, McAfee's results are hard to ignore. AV-Comparatives measured an impact score of 3.1 in its September 2026 performance test, the lowest of the 20 products tested, and AV-TEST gave McAfee its Best Performance and Best Advanced Protection awards for 2025.
Protection is a step behind the leaders. McAfee blocked 98.5% of threats in AV-Comparatives' Real-World test (ADVANCED), and while its online protection rate in the September Malware test was 99.97%, it produced 36 false positives, the second-highest count among our eight, so it received only STANDARD.
We could not read McAfee's prices ourselves: mcafee.com returned an access-denied page to every check from our location. The prices here come from a secondary source and are footnoted. Treat them as indicative and confirm on McAfee's site.
8 independent lab results for McAfee, 2025–2026
Read on each lab's report page. Product versions are the ones the lab tested.
| Test | Result | Award | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AV-Comparatives2Real-World · Share of 400 live web threats blockedTested: Total Protection 1.35–1.38 | 98.5%4 false positives | ADVANCED | 15 Jun 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives3Malware · Online protection rate against malware samplesTested: Total Protection 1.40 | 99.97%81.3% offline detection, 36 false positives | STANDARD | 15 Oct 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives4Malware · Online protection rate against malware samples | 99.97%14 false positives; award lowered for false positives | ADVANCED | 15 Apr 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives5Performance · Impact score; lower means less slowdown | 3.1Impact score; lightest of the 20 products tested | ADVANCED+ | 20 Oct 2026 |
| AV-Comparatives6Summary 2025 · Year-end rating across the 2025 test series | ApprovedBronze: Real-World Protection, Performance | Approved | 14 Jan 2026 |
| AV-TEST7Windows · Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6Tested: Total Protection 1.39 | 6 / 6 / 6 | TOP PRODUCT | Jul–Aug 2026 |
| AV-TEST8Awards 2025 · Annual awards across all 2025 test rounds | Best PerformanceAlso Best Advanced Protection and Best Usability | Best Performance 2025 | 12 Mar 2026 |
| AV-TEST9Android · Protection / Performance / Usability, each out of 6Tested: Mobile Security 10.6 | 6 / 6 / 6 | – | Sep 2026 |
Not in: AV-C Advanced Threat · 2026; AV-TEST macOS · Jun 2026; AV-C macOS · 2026; AV-C Android · 2026. Absence is not a failure; vendors choose which tests to enter, and some tests cover few products.
What McAfee costs, plan by plan
Secondary source| Plan | Devices | First term | Renewal / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Protection BasicAntivirus; no VPN | 1 device | $29.99 | $84.99 |
| Total Protection PlusRanked planAdds VPN | 5 devices | $39.99 | Not stated |
| Total Protection PremiumVPN | Unlimited | $49.99 | Not stated |
USD, before tax, read on 12 Nov 20261. 30-day money-back guarantee (secondary source).
Before you pay
McAfee's headline prices are first-year prices. The one renewal figure we found ($84.99 for Basic) is almost three times the $29.99 starting price.
Total Protection Plus5 devices · opens mcafee.com
Who should get McAfee, and who shouldn’t
Get it if you want…
- Best for older or slower PCs
- Lightest of 20 (AV-C Sep 2026)
- VPN on Plus
- Best Performance 2025
Look elsewhere if…
- 36 false positives in the September 2026 Malware Protection Test (STANDARD)
- 98.5% Real-World protection, behind the top four
- Prices could not be verified on McAfee's own site
- Basic plan renews at $84.99, nearly 3× its first-year price (secondary source)
McAfee spec sheet
As published by McAfee, checked 12 Nov 2026 against its official pricing page (opens in a new tab). Features are for the ranked plan.
| Editorial score | 8.5 / 10 |
|---|---|
| Our ranking | #5 of 8 |
| Ranked plan | McAfee Total Protection Plus |
| Developer | McAfee |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, USA |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS |
| Devices (ranked plan) | 5 devices |
| Money-back | 30 days (secondary source) |
| VPN | Included |
| Password manager | Not confirmed |
| Cloud backup | Not confirmed |
| Breach / dark-web monitoring | Not confirmed |
| Parental controls | Not confirmed |
| Free version | Not included |
We could not confirm McAfee's macOS app on its own site, and McAfee was not in either lab's 2026 macOS tests.
What we couldn't verify
3 items we could not confirm on the vendor's site
- All McAfee prices: mcafee.com returned 403 Access Denied to our checks on 12 Nov 2026; figures from security.org (updated 26 Aug 2026)
- Money-back terms (30 days from a search snippet of McAfee's refund policy)
- Password manager, identity monitoring and macOS app details
McAfee alternatives
The highest-ranked alternatives, side by side. Product names open their reviews.
| Compare4 picks | McAfeeThis review | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Editorial score | Editorial score 8.5 out of 10 | Editorial score 9.0 out of 10 | Editorial score 8.8 out of 10 | Editorial score 8.6 out of 10 |
| First year | $39.99first yearUnverifiedLowest | $59.99first year | $49.99first year | $59.99first year |
| Renewal / year | Not stated | Not stated | $124.99 | Not stated |
| Real-World protection | 98.5%ADVANCED | 99.5%ADVANCED+Highest | 99.3%ADVANCED+ | 98.5%ADVANCED |
| False positives | 4 | 5 | 5 | 2 |
| Performance impact | 3.1 | 8.7 | 4.9 | 9.5 |
| VPN | 200 MB/day | |||
| iOS app | ||||
| Get it |
Bitdefender reviewThe most consistent lab record of 2026Editorial score 9.0 out of 10
Norton reviewThe fullest feature set, with the steepest renewalEditorial score 8.8 out of 10
ESET reviewLight, precise and honestly pricedEditorial score 8.6 out of 10- Norton vs McAfeeHead-to-head comparison
- Best antivirus for AndroidBuying guide
- Best antivirus for gamersBuying guide
McAfee: common questions
Is McAfee good for slow computers?
Yes. In AV-Comparatives' September 2026 performance test McAfee had the lowest impact score of all 20 products (3.1), and AV-TEST named it Best Performance for 2025.
Why are McAfee's prices marked unverified?
McAfee's website blocked our price checks with an access-denied page. Rather than guess, we used a secondary source and flagged it. Check mcafee.com before you buy.
Our #1 pick for 2026
Still deciding? Bitdefender is our top pick
The most consistent lab record of 2026. Total Security: $59.99 first year · 30-day money-back guarantee.
We may earn a commission through affiliate links, at no extra cost to you.
Sources
All accessed
- 1.McAfee pricing page. mcafee.com/en-us/antivirus/mcafee-total-protection.html (opens in a new tab) · prices not readable from our location; secondary source used
- 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-Comparatives Malware Protection Test, March 2026. av-comparatives.org/tests/malware-protection-test-march-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-Comparatives Consumer Summary Report 2025. av-comparatives.org/tests/summary-report-2025/ (opens in a new tab)
- 7.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)
- 8.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)
- 9.AV-TEST Android test, September 2026. av-test.org/en/antivirus/mobile-devices/android/september-2026/ (opens in a new tab)